How to Buy a Foreclosure
I found this article very interesting on what is going on in the purchase of the foreclosed inventory.
by Amy Bickers
provided by: http://www.kiplinger.com/
The price may be right, but be prepared for the hassles.
Michael Lappano knows a home bargain when he sees one. Last year, the Bellevue, Wash., real estate agent purchased a condominium for only $255,000 (including an outstanding lien). That’s $65,000 less than what comparable units were selling for, he says. To get the steep discount, he bid on the home at an auction for foreclosures. “The location was perfect, just two traffic lights from my office,” says Lappano. He now lives in the sunny two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo with his new wife, Stephanie. And the property is still worth about $315,000, even in the face of a nationwide slump in home prices.
Government not expected to help more companies
NEW YORK – The U.S. government is signaling it won’t throw a lifeline to struggling financial companies — except for mortgage linchpins Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — marking a shift to a new and potentially more volatile phase of the credit crisis.
US spells out Fannie-Freddie backstop plan
As an owner of Freddie Mac (FRE) in my personal portfolio. I can only hope they survive!
Sunday July 13, 8:59 pm ET
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Fed offers to lend to mortgage companies, Treasury plans possible equity investment
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve and the Treasury announced steps Sunday to shore up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose shares have plunged as losses from their mortgage holdings threatened their financial survival.
Government shuts down mortgage lender IndyMac
Who is next?
Saturday July 12, 7:21 am ET
By Alex Veiga, AP Business Writer
Office of Thrift Supervision steps in and closes IndyMac Bank; FDIC takes over operations
LOS ANGELES (AP) — IndyMac Bank’s assets were seized by federal regulators on Friday after the mortgage lender succumbed to the pressures of tighter credit, tumbling home prices and rising foreclosures.
Fannie, Freddie sink on government rescue fears
Thank you Doug E Kass for being dead on the money again!
Friday July 11, 6:55 am ET
By Alan Zibel, AP Business Writer
Fannie, Freddie shares drop as worries of government rescue build amid ongoing housing woes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fears that the government will be forced to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could well become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Shares of the government-chartered mortgage finance giants plummeted Thursday and are trading at levels last seen in the early 1990s. If the prices don’t recover, it will be harder for the two companies to raise more money through stock sales to compensate for losses from the housing bust. Investors are afraid their stakes will vanish if the government is forced to rescue the companies.
Fannie & Freddie Nationalized?
It started late Sunday night when I was watching Bloomberg Europe around 3:30 am. They had an interview with a hedge fund manager from the United Kingdom and he was basically saying at the end of the day the US government will have no choice but to nationalize Fannie and Freddie. That got me thinking about the recent drum beat that is coming in unison from Hank Paulson and Ben Bernake. You know the statement they have both been screaming from the rooftop “the markets need to realize that no financial institution is to large or to connected for failure”. At first I was thinking wow who is it, Bank America, JP Morgan, Wachovia? Then the slide this week on Wallstreet with Fannie (FNM) and Freddie (FRE). Doug Kass last night on Kudlow and Company put it like this “I have been short Fannie and Freddie for over a year and half and I am not covering because I fully expect unless goverment policy affects the foreclosures Fannie (FNM) and Freddie (FRE) are heading to zero and will be nationalized”. All I can say is wow, I and a lot of other people always thought Fannie and Freddie were to large and connected to fail.
US foreclosure filings surge 53 percent in June
Thursday July 10, 5:00 am ET
By Alan Zibel, AP Business Writer
Foreclosure filings continue to rise as US housing crisis drags on
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of homeowners stung by the rout in the U.S. housing market jumped last month as foreclosure filings grew by more than 50 percent compared with June a year ago, according to data released Thursday.
Florida Sues Countrywide over Mortgages
By Reuters | 01 Jul 2008 | 04:56 AM ET
Florida sued mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Monday for predatory lending practices, alleging the company at the center of the U.S. mortgage crisis made subprime loans to people who could not repay them.
The Florida attorney general filed the lawsuit, which names Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo as a defendant, in state court in Broward County, Florida.
Last Wednesday, officials in Illinois and the company’s home state of California also sued Countrywide. On the same day, shareholders approved the company’s takeover by Bank of America.
Wachovia quits offering risky mortgage loan
Monday June 30, 5:49 pm ET
By Ieva M. Augstums, AP Business Writer
Wachovia quits offering controversial mortgage payment plan cited in foreclosures
