Via the L.A. Land Blog.Reuters reports:
Philadelphia suspends sales of foreclosed homes
Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:02pm EDT
By Jon Hurdle
PHILADELPHIA, March 28 (Reuters) - Authorities in Philadelphia will suspend foreclosure sales of homes whose owners have fallen behind on adjustable-rate subprime loan payments -- potential relief for tens of thousands of struggling debtors.
Sheriff John Green said he would halt sales of foreclosed properties in April and would seek a court order extending a moratorium for an unspecified period.
His action follows a nonbinding resolution passed unanimously by the Philadelphia City Council on Thursday calling on Green to stop the sales to give borrowers more time to seek a settlement that would prevent them from losing their homes.
Any bets as to how many thousands of homemoaners in Philly just stopped paying their mortgage upon hearing thjis news?
26 comments:
It's a feel good measure - it'll get tossed by the courts the FIRST (murst, moist, etc.) time it gets challenged.
Restraint of interstate trade if nothing else, though I suspect simple contract law will suffice.
What I would hope would happen (but sadly will not) would be for any mortgage lender who has payments withheld because of this to sue the city for their losses. It might stop cities from pulling crap like this in the future.
This is great news, really. I hope all the big cities follow suit. This is an exciting time.
Guess what, Philadelphia City Council? The few remaining solvent lenders won't lend any money in your city now.
Sorry Lou, but the gubbermint (i.e. you) will buy all the mortgages.
Who's gonna originate these mortgages, Buzz?
That's why many Fed-watchers believe that Bernanke will ultimately coordinate a $500 billion to $1 trillion taxpayer-funded bailout to buy up all the MBSs from the banks so they can resume normal operations.
Just like the S&L crisis.
Only with a few more zeros added to the end of the bill.
As soon as I buy a home and no longer need to show my income and qualify for a loan I will start evading taxes.
@Bill wrote:
Just like the S&L crisis.
Only with a few more zeros added to the end of the bill.
Agreed.
The scary thing is exactly how many added zeros.
While I don't want my tax money bailing out the Casey Serins and lazy, fat Tiffany bracelet wearing food bank recipients facing foreclosure, I was not too pleased about the Bear Stearns bailout either.
Itallsucks.
Given the zeitgeist, I’m surprised there has been so little MSM coverage of McCain’s involvement in the Keating Five.
I'm not an expert in Pennsylvania law, but I doubt if the city has the authority to bring such an ordinance.
prolonging and deepening the pain to banks and investors makes them less likely to lend like this again, so it doesn't matter what the homeowners might prefer. no moral hazard here. just a whole lot of stupid.
I am actually interning this summer with the Philadelphia DA's office. I'll get more info on this.
Any bets as to how many thousands of homemoaners in Philly just stopped paying their mortgage upon hearing this news?
Well, Robbo™, they'll just be taking their cues from me... if a guy can get off scot free after happily bragging about committing 8 felony counts of mortgage fraud and stealing $250K, what chance do they have of seeing any consequences?
Back to the bank it goes!! The entire city of Philadelphia, that is... :-p
Say what you want about Uncle Ben, but he sure knows how to bring uncertainty to the market.
Great news! Banks now have to hold on to non-performing assets by law. Just like Japan. Add in our demographic "adjustment" and we are in for some serious malaise.
I miss Jimma Carter. Heckuva sharp guy. Can we bring him back from certifying Mugabe's elections or Chavez' referenda? Like a redshirt sophomore, he still has eligibilty to play one more term, right?
Maybe we can turn the cooling valves off on a reactor and press him into duty calming everybody's nerves. After allaying our fears with his gentle southern charm, he should be a shoo-in.
Forget the Ron Paul spam, I'm pushing for the return of the peanut.
Hillary, Pay yr billz!
So, here's another one of those "makes me furious that the media portrays them as victims" story:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/31/news/economy/copes/index.htm?eref=rss_topstories
It especially takes gall to claim that they're "cutting back" when it means trading in for a Suburban and laying off the gardner.
A couple with an 11 year old kid... and they have TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS in expenses a month?
And they're living on unemployment after BOTH having had 6 figure jobs?
Idiots.
Thanks, Jean ValJean, I needed that, not! I just love those names. Mysti better suck it up and sell a lot of jewelry if she wants to make that nut.
buzz:
She doesn't need to SELL the jewelry. She just needs to leave it in the car when goes to the Food Bank.
Ah yes, the food bank. The place where people go when the mortgage, gasoline, and CC bills really cut into the old grocery budget. Perfect.
Jean ValJean, thanks for the link. I found the personal stories link from that page to be very interesting:
America's Money - In their own words
A few smart people, and a few irresponsible people, but a whole lot of people who ran into more bad luck than they knew how to deal with.
A lot of interesting things going on. A lot of complaints about gas; one major factor seems to be that a lot of people live a long distance from work, which translates into huge gas bills that have been crushing some budgets. Also, a lot of complaints about student loans, and some rumblings of forgoing college altogether; I'm betting a lot of educational institutions are thinking they will be immune to this downturn. We'll see about that.
Very interesting quote: "Why bother going to college Mom? You have a great degree, from a great college and it means nothing. I think I might move out of the country."
Move out of the country . . . hmm. A thought that may not have crossed many Americans' minds in the past, but which may be crossing their minds in the future.
Move out of the country . . . hmm.
Maybe they can move to ... Uzbekistan. In the old country, we went to the bathroom by squatting over a hole. Now that's luxury! It's all good...
I like this country better though, since if I tried my fraudulent schemes over there, I'd end up in front of a firing squad in short order. Here, I'm bailed out by responsible taxpayers. SWEET!!
"Why bother going to college Mom? You have a great degree, from a great college and it means nothing"
I often find the people who complain like this have a "great degree" in something like philosophy. A degree in and of itself is not a guarantee of employment and/or an easy life. It is meaningless if you cannot apply the knowledge in the market.
Far too many people go through college and only begin to think about getting a job in "their field" in the last semester. You should know what your degree will be good for long before this.
I have never understood the mentality...
@Jean ValJean
A couple with an 11 year old kid... and they have TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS in expenses a month?
Since 10K only includes their home equity line, mortgage, health and life insurance premiums, their monthly expenses are even *higher* if one includes food, transportation, etc.
Hat tip anon @ HP:
Little guy gets jailed as big firms get bailed
By Al Lewis
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 03/30/2008 06:09:26 PM MDT
When Torrence James was finished serving a federal prison sentence for dealing cocaine in 2004, he took one of the few white-collar jobs then still available to convicted felons.
He became a mortgage broker.
Last week, Chief U.S. District Judge Edward W. Nottingham sentenced James to 12 years in prison for mortgage fraud. James, 44, of Centennial, was part of a ring that fleeced several mortgage companies out of $3.7 million by taking out fraudulent loans.
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