A week or so ago, Bank of America announced it would put a hold on its foreclosure proceedings while it reviewed the processes that moved the foreclosure claims past lawyers, whose signatures were required. Other financial institutes followed suit. The decision came in the midst of growing fears that the foreclosures on tens of thousands […]
Foreclosure Assistance To Banks Almost Slips Past Obama Administration
President Obama enacted a ‘pocket veto’ earlier today, blocking a bill coming from Congress (HR3808) that would have sped up the status of numerous foreclosure proceedings. The pitch for the bill was that it would ease interstate commerce by allowing states to expedite each others’ foreclosure confirmations, and thus help clear out the backlog of […]
The Flooding of New Orleans – Five Years On
The print, broadcast, and online media have all weighed in on the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the resultant flooding of over 80% of the city of New Orleans. Most of the reports we have been reading and watching want to tell a story of recovery, and there are many cases of success to […]
The Currents Of The Gulf Coast Beat On Beautifully, If Barely
This past week marked the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and its devastating effects on the western Gulf Coast states, especially – and most infamously – on the city of New Orleans. Almost 2000 people died as the hurricane crashed into the Mississippi Delta and then overloaded the dilapidated and antiquated levees of The Big […]
Housing Market Continues The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
The shocking number of foreclosed houses in July, over 90,000, has sent shockwaves through the economy – especially the Stock Market, as the Dow Jones Average has been near or below 10,000 the last few days (having reached highs just over 14000 a week ago). Investors worry about perceptions of future growth. The surprise of […]
Recent Reports of Administration’s Efforts To End Foreclosure: “Extend And Pretend”
With midterm elections coming in November, and with the Democrats generally sailing against the political winds, reports about the difficulties and inadequacies of the Obama Administrations project “Making Home Affordable” (MHA) are likely to slacken further the party’s sails. The MHA program was set up in February 2009 as offering “opportunities to modify or refinance […]
Housing Market Remains Soft As Banks Shy Away From Loans
The bubble in the housing market (and the attendant mortgage-backed securities, etc. that pumped up the bubble) is largely blamed for the rise in debt among American consumers. The fear of, and calling in, of that debt led to the collapse in credit in the early fall of 2008 that sparked the recession. Though economists […]
Neighborworks America Starts Summer Holidays With Educating Struggling Homeowners
We have all seen them. Many of the advertisements are made in Microsoft word, printed on a $99 color printer, and tacked onto telephone poles throughout struggling neighborhoods. Many of us know them as the scams – at least ‘too-good-to-be-true’ – deals that they are. But our confidence is likely bolstered by our relatively stable […]