January 25, 2008

Who's To Blame For the Mortgage Mess?

According to an online survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal and the Harris Interactive Personal Finance Poll, the majority of people polled said the government should NOT provide financial assistance to borrowers who can no longer afford to pay their mortgages to keep them out of foreclosure. Here are the findings:

42% felt the government should NOT provide financial help.
25% felt the government should provide financial help

The poll went on to ask who’s responsible for the mortgage quagmire:

52% said it was mortgage lenders and brokers.
21% fingered government regulators
16% faulted home buyers themselves.
11% blamed someone else.

Of note is that nearly half (48%)feel Direct Lenders are most responsible for making sure borrowers are able to pay their mortgages and should be required to modify loan terms for mortgage holders who couldn’t afford their current terms.

“Even though the sub-prime crisis directly affects only a small proportion of Americans, the damage to Americans’ trust of direct mortgage lenders is widespread and may long outlast this crisis. Direct lenders should reach out to their customers and potential customers now to begin to restore their trust,” commented Harris Interactive’s financial services Sr. VP, Peggy Lebenson.

From where I sit I must say I'm not shocked by the survey results. Caveat Emptor seems to be the prevailing sentiment. But that doesn't temper my sadness for those who are loosing their houses due to poor decisions they made regarding financing, decisions in MY opinion which were largely based upon recommendations from a loan professional who they put their trust and faith in to guide them in making good decisions. Shame on them.

Sure, there were some buyers who knew better and who were looking to make a fast buck while the market was heading for the stratosphere, and for them I have no pity, but unfortunately those who didn't know better are now being punished pretty severely.

Let's just hope that a BIG lesson is learned from this and remembered the next time we enter a real estate market with high demand, low inventory, and home lenders whose main criteria of qualification is fogging a mirror...

You can read the entire survey here

Posted by Jeff at 12:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

December 28, 2007

President Signs Home Seller Tax Relief Bill

A bill signed by President Bush last week lets homeowners off the hook for a little-known tax bite that occurs when mortgage debts are forgiven. The reprieve applies to households that use short sales or other mortgage relief efforts during 2007, 2008 and 2009.

The National Association of Realtors is among those saluting the president's action, calling it "an issue of fairness and not kicking people when they are down."

Read more here.

Posted by Jeff at 08:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

December 26, 2007

Home Prices Post Record Decline

According to a report just released by the Associated Press U.S. home prices fell in October for the 10th consecutive month, posting their largest drop since early 1991.

The record 6.7 percent slide in the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index also marked the 23rd consecutive month that prices either fell or grew more slowly than the month prior.

“No matter how you look at these data, it is obvious that the current state of the single-family housing market remains grim,” said Robert Shiller, who helped create the index, in a statement.

To read the entire release click here.

Posted by Jeff at 07:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)