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Monday, April 14, 2008

Housing Crisis Numbers


Browsing through the Worcester Sunday Telegram I came across some interesting numbers on how the home foreclosure crisis is effecting Worcester County. Every week the paper lists all property transactions and from whom to whom. This is just a sampling of some of the real estate transactions in this little corner of Massachusetts so it had me wondering how bad things really are across the nation?

There was a total of 207 transactions and of those 84 were listed as a bank transfer. That works out to 40.57% of possible foreclosures for the entire county. Then I looked at the transactions by city and town and the probability of predatory lending sneaks out.

Fitchburg 5 transactions 4 for the banks or 80%
Gardner 3 transactions 3 for the banks or 100%
Grafton 4 transactions 2 for the banks or 50%
Marlboro 7 transactions 4 for the banks or 57.14%
Milford 8 transactions 4 for the banks or 50%
Oxford 4 transactions 2 for the banks or 50%
Ware 2 transactions 2 for the banks or 100%
Winch. 4 transactions 4 for the banks or 100%
Worcester 45 transactions 33 for the banks or 73.3%

Just some numbers to think about. Have a nice day…

Papamoka
Cross posted at Bring It On! and To the Center

Feel free to link to or borrow this post…

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Friday, November 30, 2007

Politics, Voting or Not Voting


With the up and coming election for President of these here United but divided United States of America there is a lack of enthusiasm in some circles to not even care to vote. Part of that lack of interest in the election process is the responsibility of the current occupant of the office to some degree. The Decider in Chief, that ran on the principal of being a uniter and not a divider, became a total isolationist within his political party post 9/11. As long as he was happy the Congress was let loose on the people with full Republican brutality on the middle and lower classes of America.

Prosperity in America is more smoke and mirrors than reality. If the politics of our government is to protect and defend only the interest of the corporations and the top 5% of income earners then we have a bigger problem than we all think. If running for the highest office in the land is sponsored by corporations and industries that expect the return on their investment then we have a much larger problem. Political donations for most industries have a higher return than any other investment opportunity in America if the legislation they want is passed.

If our government leaders think that America should be the world police and intervene in the sovereignty of other nations with military force at the drop of a hat then we have and even bigger and larger problem. If you support all of our sons and daughters in our nations military then our political leaders need to know that use of our military is always a last resort. America is not or was not founded on nation building on foreign soil by force.

When you hear someone tell you that their vote does not count you need to remind them who is in the White House now and why he and his party is counting on them not to vote. When they tell you that they are just one vote you need to let them know that by not voting they are enabling the corporate take over of our society and government because they are counting on them to not vote. When they tell you that their vote is meaningless when the big picture is considered then I dare you to ask them if a child’s life is worthy of their vote? What if that child is only eighteen or nineteen years old and serving in Iraq or Afghanistan in our nations military. When you hear them reply that the government does not care about the poor, make sure you tell them that they are absolutely right because the poorest amongst us do not vote! Being poor does not make you absolved of your government’s actions if you do not vote. When the people fail to vote, then the parties that get the vote will walk all over you unencumbered. Not my cup of tea and thus I vote in every election.

Given all the aspects of each political party you can come to several conclusions but one thing is certain, the Democrat Party was not the one that sold the war in Iraq to the American people under a cloak of shame. Democrat’s didn’t sell out the seniors prescription subsidy program by letting the Pharmaceutical industry write the legislation for the government. Democrat’s didn’t write the No Child Left Behind legislation and then did not fund it. Democrat’s are not the ones that handed Haliburton no bid contracts for the Iraq War and then watched as that same corporation moved its corporate headquarters out of the United States of America. I’m not leaving the Democrat’s out of all blame but the price of gasoline was not $3 a gallon when they had control of the House and Senate.

When you find yourself losing your home you can not lay the blame on the Democrat’s because even today the Bush administration stated that they do not think it is a real crisis as yet. Over at Reuters they have this little hidden nugget on the news wires…

White House: too soon to discuss subprime loan plan
Fri Nov 30, 2007 2:43pm EST


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Friday said it was "premature" to discuss possible new steps to address the mortgage crisis and declined to comment on reports that officials are working on a deal with lenders to freeze interest rates on some loans.

"It's premature to talk about those discussions at this point," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel told reporters, when pressed on whether the administration is working on a new initiative regarding the mortgage market.

Stanzel said that administration officials "certainly have been working in close consultation with the private sector and with the industry to look at ways in which we can help people keep their homes."

In August, the Bush administration announced a series of initiatives aimed at preventing homeowners from defaulting on risky mortgages. Those included a tax-relief proposal to make it easier for some homeowners to refinance their home loans.

Economists have become increasingly concerned about the impact of the mortgage crisis, centered on subprime loans extended to riskier borrowers, on the broader U.S. economy.
- Reuters

They have some band aide programs but if you don’t qualify now because of the credit crunch on the middle and lower class then you better call a mover or some friends with a pick up. The red carpet of the White House and the Republican party does not venture further than the top 5% of income earners. If you are in that club then good for you, if you are not, then you better vote or consider yourself damned, screwed and tattooed by any future Republican lead government in America.

At least there is one thing that both political parties have in common . The top three of each party does not care about the middle and lower class because they can count on the majority of us to simply not vote. Big mistake on their part but then again they have the big bucks to sell the ones that do vote the sound bite that just might get their vote. Shiny object over hear on the boob tube while they throw them and you under the bus over there to corporate America.

I’m dumbfounded that the leaders from each political party are the leaders for the highest office in the land. Republican’s have Giuliani that is a Catholic, divorced several times, cheated on his wife in the lead that knowingly used his NYPD for a taxi service for his mistress.

Followed by a close second former Governor that has a larger collection of Flip Flops than Senator John Kerry. I personally think that Kerry had a yard sale and Mitt Romney bought the entire collection.

Then we have the angry Senator from Arizona. He’s a time bomb of anger issues that the White House is not the place to hand the football to him. Television debates don’t lie and McCain was blood boiling mad at Ron Paul and Mitt Romney over torture and Iraq. He needs therapy.

Democrats are no better…

Hillary Clinton does actually believe that she will be the next President of the United States. I find that arrogant. Number one rule of politics is that you can have a ton of money for your campaign but if the people do not think you are sincere then you lose. Canned speeches based on political polls is where and what she is all about and many people have opinions on many issues that are not popular but are still Democrat at heart. It might have worked for Bill but it isn’t working for her this time around.

Barack Obama is a political star but he does not play well to the moderates of the Democrat party. Rather than being himself where he would excel he is fashioning himself as a me too Democrat. Running in the shadow of Hillary is not him and he either does not get what the people want to hear or his political campaign advisors are leading him down the wrong road. In most of the debates he was upstaged with the right answers to the questions posed to all of the candidates. Personally, I do not think that some of the answers he gave were really from his gut. Given a few more years experience in Washington he would have my vote in a heart beat. You can see that he is over his head in this election.

John Edwards is a great politician that has mastered the double speak of politics. Ask him a direct question and you will always walk away with a dazed and confused look. Nice hair though! Four hundred dollar haircuts does not sell you as a man of the poor and middle class. Two America’s, yup and he proved that fact with his haircut.

That is my round up, one thing that I believe very important to all Americans regardless of political belief, you need to vote! Otherwise the limousines will pass you by and the people living the life of luxury will always benefit when you simply do not care to vote. Rise up and take your government back by voting. No matter what party you believe in you need to look at your lot in life and ask yourself if this person is worthy of your vote? Then look again who isn’t the top three and be amazed at the favors they will not owe to the maxed out donors of the campaigns. It’s your country and it is not sponsored by corporation ABC. VOTE!

Papamoka

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Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Housing Bubble Burst!

With the never ending boom in housing foreclosures comes the reality of what the biggest players in the bust did wrong or were victim of. Owning a home is the biggest goal of every up and coming generation and the market that served that dream ripped many of those same people off. While the President gave the green light to lenders to have a “Free Market” he also enabled them to run wild without care as to whom would get burned down the road.

Buying a home knows no political philosophy when the lender tells you can afford the mortgage. Provided you do not plan to eat in five or so years. Small print, really small print.

The mortgage industry has become a process the application production line and the ones that have to face the music are the people that were just passed on through the process. Raise your hand if you know five or more people that you for one know should never have qualified for a home loan?

With the enticement of home ownership, the lenders sold the people a bag of goods with a self destruct button on it several years later. Over at MSNBC they have this piece on the victims great loan options for capturing the American dream…

The plain old adjustable-rate mortgage spells trouble enough. But three high-risk loans are causing most of the trouble:

Teaser ARM. This loan features an alluring initial period of very low interest, around 1% to 2%, which later resets to market rates. About 1.4 million borrowers will be jolted back to reality in the next two to three years as their introductory periods expire. Payments on a $200,000 loan at 2% are about $725 a month; at 7%, they're $1,340.

Subprime ARM. Nearly half of loans due to reset are aimed at low-income people, minorities and people with bad credit -- folks who can't or just assume they can't get a bank loan at a reasonable rate. Many are in a shaky financial position to begin with and so are in greater danger of defaulting. Subprime (also called nonprime) ARMs start high -- 7% or more -- and go higher. And higher. They often feature a fixed, lower-rate introductory period. But when that ends, it's "just the old-fashioned squeezarooni," Cagan says.

Option ARM. This is the real killer. It gives homeowners the choice each month of paying the principal and interest, just the interest or an even-smaller minimum amount. Every month you pay the minimum, you're deeper and deeper in the red. And up to 80% of option-ARM buyers pay only the minimum, according to Fitch Ratings. Because the minimum payment doesn't cover the monthly interest, the deferred interest is added to the loan balance. After the loan balance grows to a certain point, the lender will demand that you start paying the full principal and interest -- on your now-bigger loan. - MSNBC

This is not a case of predatory lending by any sense of the word. This is a case of corporate gluttony. Make the quickest amount of cash as fast and furious as you can and let the people holding the loans worry about it later. Well, it seems as if the people holding the bag later is us. How does an economy survive when the fundamental basis of the economy is housing and that goes bust?

You can not by any means blame the borrowers of all of the snake oil options that the lending industry presented to them. Our government looked the other way. Our leaders looked the other way because a dollar was to be made by friends of friends and the checks cleared over at campaign headquarters. Tom Delay and Nancy Pelosi are just as guilty in this crisis because nobody said boo! Neither of them will here your screams for help when you loose your house to the jacked up call of your loans terms.

I’m sure that you have heard or seen the radio commercials where President Bush has authorized the refinancing of your loan if it met certain terms. Think again, if you could not afford the house to begin with, could you afford it now with a refinance?

Isn’t politics wonderful. They cut your throat and make you look forward to cleaning up the blood.

Papamoka

Cross posted at Bring IT ON!

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