Recent Articles
Further proof that the subprime mortgage fiasco is still with us appeared today as GMAC dropped a bomb. GMAC Financial Services and its Residential Capital subsidiary plan to close all 200 GMAC mortgage retail offices nationwide, and cut the ResCap work force by 5,000 employees, or 60 percent. Workers say the field is already saturated, making it difficult to find another job with the same skill set. Many people expected the layoffs sooner.
I saw a news report today about an earthquake in China that reportedly destroyed 258,000 homes. I am not making light of the earthquake, but I wondered about our own plight in the United States. Over one million homes are in foreclosure as of the end of June 2008, and the number is climbing every day. Foreclosure is a traumatic event. So was the earthquake in China. But if I had a choice I would opt for the sudden unexpected destruction, rather than the long drawn out stress of foreclosure.
There was a time when predatory lending laws at the state level were dismissed at the federal level by federally regulated banks. No any more! Even troubled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are leaving New York in a lurch. They are exiting the subprime market in New York, citing a new state law that could make all those involved in lending deemed to be “predatory” legally liable, including those buying such loans on the secondary market.
In the YouTube video below you see a Countrywide advertisement that shows people that were turned down elsewhere for home loans. “But Countrywide can” give them the loan they need, according to the advertisement. My point is this – Countrywide was acquired by Bank of America. Now they seem to be an easy target, when you and I know very well that Countrywide is not the only abuser. Check this out, and the articles continues below: