PLEASE ONLY POST - Articles, Official Letters, Testimony, Rules and Regs. Moe - perhaps a Sticky is

Solange · Jan 30, 2010

30/01/2010
Here are some recent articles showing an increased support from the judiciary branch.

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<o>
</o>Conclusion<o></o>
Debtors ranging from large financial services companies to consumers who have reached the end of their financial ropes walk through the doors of bankruptcy courts each day. With a full plate of issues before them on matters as diverse as tax liability and curing arrearages on home mortgages, bankruptcy judges play a crucial role in both the commercial and consumer realms of our economy. Given these broad responsibilities, bankruptcy courts should fully exercise their powers as federal courts.

United States Attorneys, United States Trustees, and other prominent litigants in the federal bankruptcy system should ask bankruptcy courts in appropriate instances to utilize the power of contempt to effect the purposes of the Bankruptcy Code and to do justice. Federal government lawyers, in particular, have a responsibility to assist the court in bringing and prosecuting contempt actions. As just described, the use of the contempt powers can inure to the benefit of the courts, as well as of the vast majority of diligent and honest litigants who rely upon the bankruptcy court to provide a "fresh start" for debtors and an efficient means for repaying creditors.

<o></o>

Contempt and Violations of the Automatic Stay<o></o>
Lawyers.com<sup>sm</sup> <o></o>

The Bankruptcy Code contains a specific legal action against a creditor who causes injury to an individual by a willful violation of the automatic stay (11 U.S.C. Â§ 362). The automatic stay is a court order that is immediately imposed when the debtor files a bankruptcy petition, and it prohibits anyone from trying to obtain the debtor's property. If someone violates the stay, bankruptcy code provides for actual damages, costs and attorney's fees as well as punitive damages, if appropriate (11 U.S.C. Â§ 362(k)(1)). <o></o>
The automatic stay is a court order, and if creditors violate it, they can be held in contempt of the court that issued the order. Civil contempt is a willful disregard of a court order. Punishment for civil contempt may be a fine or imprisonment, the goal of which is to get the violator to comply with the order. It is quite clear that a violation of the stay's prohibitions constitutes contempt of court. The legislative history of bankruptcy code (Â§ 362(k)) makes it clear that Congress was granting an additional remedy to debtors beyond those already in existence. This includes the bankruptcy court's power to hold a creditor in contempt. However, if it is unclear whether a certain kind of act is prohibited by the stay, the debtor will not be able to obtain relief by either an action for damages or an action for contempt.<o></o>

Warning<o></o>
Contempt sanctions generally can be imposed regardless of whether the violation is in willful disregard of the stay. So long as the party who was ordered not to do something, also known as the enjoined party, has notice of the stay, it is responsible for the consequences. The duty is on creditors, especially those regularly involved with bankruptcy cases, to establish procedures that ensure compliance with the stay, in order to allow for bankruptcy cases to proceed smoothly. Indeed, if either a creditor or its collection agent has knowledge of the case, the creditor may be held in contempt for any collection attempts which are made by its collection agent after the bankruptcy petition was filed. Also, reliance in good faith on the advice of an attorney that collection actions are not barred by the stay is no defense. "Computer error" is not a valid defense, either.<o></o>

Sanctions<o></o>
The sanctions or penalties that may be imposed for contempt are similar to those available under bankruptcy code (Â§ 362(k)) except that punitive damages are not available. They may include fines and attorneys' fees, in appropriate cases, against both the person who violated the stay order and any attorneys who advised such violations. Many courts have held that damages for contempt may also be awarded. But, in any event, the bankruptcy court has exclusive authority over sanctions for violations of the automatic stay itself, and any contempt actions for violating the stay must be filed in the bankruptcy court.

<o></o>

Re: RE: American Home, Option One, Wells Fargo<o></o>
Wells Fargo Sanctioned by Bankruptcy Court for Subprime Lending Role<o></o>

May 13, 2008 | Print this page | Email this page <o></o>
A federal bankruptcy judge has ordered Wells Fargo to pay $250,000 in sanctions for its role as a trustee for a pooled subprime mortgage trust. In re: Nosek, Case No. 02-46025-JBR (Bankr. D. Mass.).

The matter arose out of a debtor's Chapter 13 petition listing a secured subprime mortgage note purportedly held by Ameriquest Mortgage Company. Throughout the course of the litigation, Ameriquest and its attorneys repeatedly referred to Ameriquest as the "holder" of the securitized note. In reality, however, the true "holder" of the note was Wells Fargo, the trustee for a trust which held an entire pool of subprime mortgages, including the debtor's. The loan was originated by Ameriquest but subsequently assigned to the trust, which eventually issued mortgage-backed securities. Pursuant to a pooling and servicing agreement, Ameriquest retained the obligation to service the underlying loans held as collateral for the securities while the loans themselves were held in trust. Despite this, it was Ameriquest that sought to assert creditor's rights with respect to the mortgage before the bankruptcy court.

The bankruptcy court ordered Rule 9011 sanctions not only against Ameriquest for misrepresenting its creditor status as a "holder" of the mortgage, but also against Wells Fargo for failing to correct the misrepresentation. In doing so, the court flatly rejected the arguments of both Ameriquest and Wells Fargo that "[n]otes and mortgages are bought and sold so frequently that it is difficult to know at any given moment who holds the note and mortgage." In a harshly worded opinion, the court chastised Wells Fargo for turning a "blind eye" towards Ameriquest's conduct, stating that if Wells Fargo had "shown even a modicum of oversight or review of Ameriquest's behavior, it should have been able to correct the misrepresentations." <o></o>

The court went on to comment that "[t]he link between lender and borrower in the current residential mortgage industry is a multilayered, tightly - if not hopelessly - entangled 'assembly line,' the purpose of which seems to be the avoidance of responsibility." In the court's words, "nder the guise of creating a complex structure to suit their needs, Wells Fargo and Ameriquest have attempted to jettison the obligation to be forthright and diligent." In response, the court would "not allow Wells Fargo or any other mortgagee to shirk responsibility by pointing fingers at their servicers" such as Ameriquest, further noting that "because Wells Fargo continues as a participant in the mortgage industry, the Court is cognizant that the sanction must be sufficient to deter its cavalier behavior in the future."

For a full copy of the order, please click here.

Wells Fargo has since filed an appeal of the bankruptcy court's sanctions order.

<o></o>

THANKS2U · Jan 31, 2010

AzGryffindor said:
Actually, we've been claiming the standard deduction for the past few years since it is higher than itemizing. Even when we were paying our full mortgage amount there simply wasn't enough interest to itemize.

Those of us lucky enough to receive permanent mods will see that interest write off become even lower as the majority of people seem to be getting the floor interest rate of 2% and then stepping up to 5%. Unless you have a large loan, I don't think many are going to actually benefit from the ability to write off your mortgage interest as there just won't be enough to justify itemizing.

Property taxes, up to 1000 for a married couple, are now added on top of your standard deduction making it even higher.

I think that 90 plus percent of homeowners and 99% of CPA's would highly disagree with you.

But as always, thank you for your opinion

THANKS2U · Feb 2, 2010

YouTube - citizentube's Channel

CITZEN TUBE

YouTube - citizentube's Channel

I know we as a team have been trying to get President Obama to answer some questions about the modification nightmare. So, I was inspired (by ms_udrstood) to submit a video. I (0334231) submitted a You TUBE question to the President and this one was voted "the number one question regarding financial reform.... The question had to be no longer than 24 seconds when submitted-this was a LIVE you tube Q & A with Obama at White House "TODAY" around 1:45Pm ....the Q & A is about 35 min long, however, the modification question is the 4th question into the segment, and the cursor to start or play right to the modification question : place the cursor @ 9:15 into the (segment) question....

This one is (dedicated) to ms_uderstood for all of your hard work trying to get Obama's attention.

All who listen please post your comments : if you feel the President answered the question or he just don't get it....

__________________________________________________ ___________

The President responded to your questions in a live YouTube interview at the White House on Monday, February 1st.

You submitted over 11,000 questions and cast over 667,000 votes after the President's State of the Union address last week. We collected the top questions, ensuring we covered a range of issues, minimized duplicate questions, and included both video and text submissions.

Watch the full video of the interview here and see what your fellow YouTube users had to say <SCRIPT type=text/javascript> </SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </SCRIPT><SCRIPT>google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);</SCRIPT>

THANKS2U · Feb 2, 2010

from REDCOFF

A few important things I've learned from this process:

1. Persistance and organization work! I have called frequently (daily sometimes) and kept meticulous notes with names, dates and times of who I've spoken to and kept copies of EVERYTHING!

2. You do not need to be behind on your mortgage to initiate the HAMP modification process. I was originally told I had to be late and fought that this isn't true.

3. You do not have to be reported 30,60 and 90 days late during the trial period if you continue to make the full original mortgage payments. We didn't want to destroy our 800+ credit scores and continued to make our original mortgage payments instead of the trial payments. BOA initially held those first mortgage payments in a holding account preparing to report us late and I fought that. I was told that they had to remove the flag from my account marking it as in the modification process. I remained in the mod process but my payments credited normally.

4. If your process seems to stagnate; the email to OOP appears to get the ball rolling again.

My question is:
My rep told me that my final HAMP loan docs will be Fed-Ex'd to my house within 2 weeks and if they are not to please call him back and my account is updated to say:

<TABLE class=servicetable><TBODY><TR class=amortization-greyrow><TD>01/28/2010</TD><TD>Modification</TD><TD>UNDERWRITING TRANSMITTAL/APPROVAL

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Any info on what the above means?

Thanks!

and thank you redcoff<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> </SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </SCRIPT><SCRIPT>google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);</SCRIPT>

THANKS2U · Feb 3, 2010

Plan to cut mortgage principal pitched to Congress | Reuters

PLAN TO CUT MORTGAGE PRINCIPAL PITCHED TO CONGRESS

GEE... I WONDER WHY NONE OF US HERE AT LOANSAFE EVER THOUGHT OF THAT BRILLIANT IDEA ....

PRINCIPAL REDUCTIONS NEED TO BE MADE MANDATORY FOR ALL DISTRESSED BORROWERS.

ESPECIALLY FOR ANY BORROWERS WHO ARE PAYING MORE THAN 31 % OF THEIR INCOME FOR PITIA AND WHO HAVE AN INCOME OF LESS THAN $70,000 GROSS PER YEAR.

PRINCIPAL REDUCTION FOR MANY IS A NO BRAINER

THE PRINCIPAL SHOULD BE REDUCED ENOUGH TO AT LEAST REACH THE CURRENT MARKET VALUE SELLING PRICE.

IF YOUR LOAN IS AT $200,000 AND ITS CURRRENT MARKET VALUE IS ONLY $100,000 THEN 100,000 REDUCTION IN PRINCIPAL SHOULD BE APPLIED.

Plan to cut mortgage principal pitched to Congress | Reuters

THANKS2U · Feb 3, 2010

FROM GARRY

I don't know if anyone is watching "The Ed Show" But he just tore the Gov a new ass-hole, I can't wait to get a link to post. He literally said he didn't care if he lost his job over what he just did. Very impressive, he expressed the RAGE I feel.

Here it is, it gets good about three minutes in. I'll call it "Ed Goes Off" msnbc.com Video Player

msnbc.com Video Player

Thank you Garry

Ed should do a show on Mortgage Modifications with the same FIRE of spirit...

Thanks again Garry !

Thanks2u

Solange · Feb 3, 2010

THANKS2U said:
FROM GARRY

I don't know if anyone is watching "The Ed Show" But he just tore the Gov a new ass-hole, I can't wait to get a link to post. He literally said he didn't care if he lost his job over what he just did. Very impressive, he expressed the RAGE I feel.

Here it is, it gets good about three minutes in. I'll call it "Ed Goes Off" msnbc.com Video Player msnbc.com Video Player
Thank you Garry
Ed should do a show on Mortgage Modifications with the same FIRE of spirit...
Thanks again Garry !
Thanks2u

And thanks to you too for posting this. I almost missed it.

This man deserves a medal for his outspoken honesty. I just wish more prople would have the courage to face facts and act upon what they see. It is a disgrace for a country which claims to be the first in the world when its citizens are abandoned to suffer and die without care.

Leave the children of Haiti with their parents, they may not get better care here.

THANKS2U · Feb 6, 2010

Thank you 0334231 & MERCURY213

The House Oversight panel is launching an investigation

http://oversight.house.gov/images/s...he_Treasury-Mortgage_Modification_Program.pdf

Committee launching probe into efforts to buoy housing market - TheHill.com

From the Huffington Post

Housing Crisis Articles

PAGE 1
Housing Crisis : Pictures, Videos, Breaking News

PAGE 2
Housing Crisis : Pictures, Videos, Breaking News

PAGE 3
Housing Crisis : Pictures, Videos, Breaking News

PAGE4
Housing Crisis : Pictures, Videos, Breaking News

PAGE 5
Housing Crisis : Pictures, Videos, Breaking News

nativelasvegan · Feb 7, 2010

Countrywide RESPA Class Action Defense Cases–Alston v. Countrywide: Third Circuit Reverses Dismissal Of RESPA Class Action Alleging Payment Of Kickbacks Holding Plaintiffs Had Standing To Prosecute Class Action

Countrywide RESPA Class Action Defense Cases–Alston v. Countrywide: Third Circuit Reverses Dismissal Of RESPA Class Action Alleging Payment Of Kickbacks Holding Plaintiffs Had Standing To Prosecute Class Action - Class Action Defense Blog

THANKS2U · Feb 8, 2010

<TABLE id=post197140 class=tborder border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #d1d1e1 1px solid" id=td_post_197140 class=alt1>I once made an estimate in a post regarding the MULTIPLE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THE SERVICERS GET TO KEEP / STEAL WHEN THEY DENY MODIFICATIONS.

What happens to those multiple billions of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ ?

The billions are NOT returned to the bamboozled and defrauded homeowners who paid in vain !

The billions are NOT applied to the loan principal or interest when the homes are forclosed !

Where do those billions of dollars go ?

I suspect the billions are locked away in stealthy servicer accounts to be used by the servicers in any way they see fit...Such as to raise the stock prices of their companies / Bank of America, Wells Fargo etc, to throw lavish parties and especially to give big fat *** bonuses now and or in the future, when Obama is out of office !

Many Banks, Servicers and Investors are conniving, conning and complicit criminals and such an effort to further expose them by this recent move of Chairman Towns, to get more information from our Treasury Dept. is a good start.

I think such efforts as those from Chairman Edolphus Towns, should be followed by hundreds of other political and juridical forces on a weekly basis, YES, ON A WEEKLY BASIS, until the Bestriding Walls of these Banking Institution criminals, with their cemented blocks of deceptions and deceit, perpetrated with impunity, come crumbling down.

These banking criminals are at war with "We the People" and this a war that we the people can not afford to lose !
</TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #d1d1e1 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #d1d1e1 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #d1d1e1 0px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #d1d1e1 1px solid" class=alt2>

<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbrep_register("197140")</SCRIPT>

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>TRIAL MODIFICATIONS STEAL BILLIONS FOR SERVICERS POCKETS

House Committee Opens Investigation Into Treasury's Mortgage Modification Program

http://oversight.house.gov/images/s...he_Treasury-Mortgage_Modification_Program.pdf

I once made an estimate in a post regarding the MULTIPLE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THE SERVICERS GET TO KEEP / STEAL WHEN THEY DENY MODIFICATIONS.

What happens to those multiple billions of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ ?

The billions are NOT returned to the bamboozled and defrauded homeowners who paid in vain !

The billions are NOT applied to the loan principal or interest when the homes are forclosed !

Where do those billions of dollars go ?

I suspect the billions are locked away in stealthy servicer accounts to be used by the servicers in any way they see fit...Such as to raise the stock prices of their companies / Bank of America, Wells Fargo etc, to throw lavish parties and especially to give big F A T C A T bonuses now and or in the near future, when Obama is out of office !

Many Banks, Servicers and Investors are conniving, conning and complicit criminals and such an effort to further expose them by this recent move of Chairman Towns, to get more information from our Treasury Dept. is a good start.

I think such efforts as those from Chairman Edolphus Towns, should be followed by hundreds of other political and juridical forces on a weekly basis, YES, ON A WEEKLY BASIS, until the Bestriding Walls of these Banking Institution criminals, with their cemented blocks of deceptions and deceit, perpetrated with impunity, come crumbling down.

These banking criminals are at war with "We the People" and this a war that we the people can not afford to lose !

THANKS2U · Feb 8, 2010

CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE LENDING

Center for Responsible Lending

Mortgage Repairs Lag Far Behind Foreclosures

jewls · Feb 8, 2010

THANKS2U, Thank you for your dedication and info to the many links.
In one of you links I found the information According to the "Mortgage Bankers' figures show that one in seven loans are now past due." That's seriously uncomprehensible!
Center for Responsible Lending

A new piece by Gretchen Morgenson, who writes for New York Times, and is usually fair, and mostly unbiased.</NYT_KICKER>
<NYT_HEADLINE type=" " version="1.0">This Crisis Wonâ€™t Stop Moving </NYT_HEADLINE>

<NYT_REPRINTS_FORM><SCRIPT language=javascript>  </SCRIPT><FORM name=cccform action=https://s100.copyright.com/CommonApp/LoadingApplication.jsp target=_Icon>YOU know weâ€™re in trouble when weâ€™re told that the economic problems in Greece, Portugal and Spain, the most indebted countries in the euro zone, are likely to remain safely contained in those nations.

After all, we heard the same nonsense in 2007 from United States financial leaders talking about the subprime mortgage mess. Both Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and Henry M. Paulson Jr., then the Treasury secretary, rolled out to reassure concerned investors that troubles in mortgage land wouldnâ€™t permeate the rest of the economy.
As we all now know, mortgage woes were contained â€” to planet Earth. And so it may be with overleveraged nations in Europe.
Simply put, contagion is a fact of life in our interconnected global economy and financial markets. And that means investors must strap in for more gyrations in the stock and bond markets as the great and painful deleveraging that began in 2007 continues around the world.
Sure, there are rays of light amid the gloom. The slightly upbeat jobs report on Friday, for example, is an example. But it is only one data point and not enough to move the needle on much larger issues that remain, including investor fears that Greece, Portugal and Spain will default on their debts.
â€œThis is a reminder that every country has its limit,â€ said David A. Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates in Toronto, one of Canadaâ€™s top wealth management firms. â€œAnd our heightened concerns over sovereign credit quality are not going to abate anytime soon.â€
During his years as chief economist at Merrill Lynch in New York, Mr. Rosenberg was perspicacious indeed. So his take on the potential fallout from financially stressed countries is a valued one.
First, Mr. Rosenberg reckons that the flight to the dollar will continue. Even though the United States has plenty of its own economic challenges â€” enormous public debt weighing on a struggling economy, for example â€” our lot is far better than othersâ€™, he maintains. â€œIn the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king,â€ he said. â€œThe U.S. dollar is that one-eyed man.â€
But that does not mean we are finished with our own debt purge.
â€œWatching the situation in Europe, itâ€™s not even clear that the root cause of problems here at home has been solved,â€ Mr. Rosenberg said. â€œWe still have a very fragile situation: household balance sheets, and delinquencies, defaults and home prices are still vulnerable to another down leg. People think because you finish one chapter in this post-bubble credit collapse that the book is done.â€
As for housing prices, Mr. Rosenberg expects further declines of 10 to 15 percent over the next few years. He pointed to the roughly nine million residential housing units available for sale across the country, a very high vacancy rate when judged against a total housing stock of 130 million units.
If his forecast is accurate, the numbers of borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth will rise significantly. Mr. Rosenberg estimates that fully half of the mortgage-holding population in the country could be underwater by 2011.
For now, these borrowers are getting little to no help from lenders â€” no surprise â€” or from the government. Indeed, the Obama administrationâ€™s loan modification program has more or less allowed banks that own second mortgages on troubled borrowersâ€™ homes to continue to press for full repayment of these obligations.
When it comes to writing down principal amounts on mortgages, the government has pressured those holding the first mortgages more than the institutions holding the seconds. Never mind that the second liens are worthless and should be written down to zero.
THIS see-no-evil approach to second mortgages is part of an overall denial on the part of policy makers, politicians, bankers and regulators that has prolonged the agony of this crisis. Owning up to reality about what loans are worth is rough medicine to take, but denying that problems exist only puts off the inevitable.
â€œWe are much further along the road to price discovery and full disclosure than Japan was at this same stage of their credit contraction,â€ Mr. Rosenberg said. â€œThere are still some very significant credit problems in the U.S. and as they pertain to commercial real estate are still extremely problematic. Some banks will likely be whipped very hard.â€
The challenge for Mr. Obama is that he has thrown oodles of taxpayer money at these problems and still the unemployment rate stands at 9.7 percent.
â€œWe came off a year when you could not have asked for more government stimulus and we lost five million jobs,â€ Mr. Rosenberg pointed out. â€œWhat do you do for an encore? The deleveraging is ongoing and yet the government stimulus is largely behind us. That is problematic for an economic forecaster.â€
The fact is, to save the world from economic collapse we have transferred the liabilities of the private sector to the public. And not every country has the money to service or repay that debt.
â€œWe are in a post-bubble credit collapse and there are going to be periods of calm and stormy weather. Investors will have to navigate through the volatility,â€ Mr. Rosenberg said. â€œUnfortunately, I think we are still in the early stages. The next recession will happen more quickly than people think.â€

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/business/economy/07gret.html

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/gretchen_morgenson/index.html?inline=nyt-per</FORM>

THANKS2U · Feb 8, 2010

jewls said:
THANKS2U, Thank you for your dedication and info to the many links.
In one of you links I found the information According to the "Mortgage Bankers' figures show that one in seven loans are now past due." That's seriously uncomprehensible!
Center for Responsible Lending

A new piece by Gretchen Morgenson, who writes for New York Times, and is usually fair, and mostly unbiased.</NYT_KICKER>
<NYT_HEADLINE version="1.0" type=" ">This Crisis Wonâ€™t Stop Moving </NYT_HEADLINE>

<NYT_REPRINTS_FORM><SCRIPT language=javascript>  </SCRIPT><FORM name=cccform action=https://s100.copyright.com/CommonApp/LoadingApplication.jsp target=_Icon>YOU know weâ€™re in trouble when weâ€™re told that the economic problems in Greece, Portugal and Spain, the most indebted countries in the euro zone, are likely to remain safely contained in those nations.

After all, we heard the same nonsense in 2007 from United States financial leaders talking about the subprime mortgage mess. Both Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and Henry M. Paulson Jr., then the Treasury secretary, rolled out to reassure concerned investors that troubles in mortgage land wouldnâ€™t permeate the rest of the economy.
As we all now know, mortgage woes were contained â€” to planet Earth. And so it may be with overleveraged nations in Europe.
Simply put, contagion is a fact of life in our interconnected global economy and financial markets. And that means investors must strap in for more gyrations in the stock and bond markets as the great and painful deleveraging that began in 2007 continues around the world.
Sure, there are rays of light amid the gloom. The slightly upbeat jobs report on Friday, for example, is an example. But it is only one data point and not enough to move the needle on much larger issues that remain, including investor fears that Greece, Portugal and Spain will default on their debts.
â€œThis is a reminder that every country has its limit,â€ said David A. Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates in Toronto, one of Canadaâ€™s top wealth management firms. â€œAnd our heightened concerns over sovereign credit quality are not going to abate anytime soon.â€
During his years as chief economist at Merrill Lynch in New York, Mr. Rosenberg was perspicacious indeed. So his take on the potential fallout from financially stressed countries is a valued one.
First, Mr. Rosenberg reckons that the flight to the dollar will continue. Even though the United States has plenty of its own economic challenges â€” enormous public debt weighing on a struggling economy, for example â€” our lot is far better than othersâ€™, he maintains. â€œIn the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king,â€ he said. â€œThe U.S. dollar is that one-eyed man.â€
But that does not mean we are finished with our own debt purge.
â€œWatching the situation in Europe, itâ€™s not even clear that the root cause of problems here at home has been solved,â€ Mr. Rosenberg said. â€œWe still have a very fragile situation: household balance sheets, and delinquencies, defaults and home prices are still vulnerable to another down leg. People think because you finish one chapter in this post-bubble credit collapse that the book is done.â€
As for housing prices, Mr. Rosenberg expects further declines of 10 to 15 percent over the next few years. He pointed to the roughly nine million residential housing units available for sale across the country, a very high vacancy rate when judged against a total housing stock of 130 million units.
If his forecast is accurate, the numbers of borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth will rise significantly. Mr. Rosenberg estimates that fully half of the mortgage-holding population in the country could be underwater by 2011.
For now, these borrowers are getting little to no help from lenders â€” no surprise â€” or from the government. Indeed, the Obama administrationâ€™s loan modification program has more or less allowed banks that own second mortgages on troubled borrowersâ€™ homes to continue to press for full repayment of these obligations.
When it comes to writing down principal amounts on mortgages, the government has pressured those holding the first mortgages more than the institutions holding the seconds. Never mind that the second liens are worthless and should be written down to zero.
THIS see-no-evil approach to second mortgages is part of an overall denial on the part of policy makers, politicians, bankers and regulators that has prolonged the agony of this crisis. Owning up to reality about what loans are worth is rough medicine to take, but denying that problems exist only puts off the inevitable.
â€œWe are much further along the road to price discovery and full disclosure than Japan was at this same stage of their credit contraction,â€ Mr. Rosenberg said. â€œThere are still some very significant credit problems in the U.S. and as they pertain to commercial real estate are still extremely problematic. Some banks will likely be whipped very hard.â€
The challenge for Mr. Obama is that he has thrown oodles of taxpayer money at these problems and still the unemployment rate stands at 9.7 percent.
â€œWe came off a year when you could not have asked for more government stimulus and we lost five million jobs,â€ Mr. Rosenberg pointed out. â€œWhat do you do for an encore? The deleveraging is ongoing and yet the government stimulus is largely behind us. That is problematic for an economic forecaster.â€
The fact is, to save the world from economic collapse we have transferred the liabilities of the private sector to the public. And not every country has the money to service or repay that debt.
â€œWe are in a post-bubble credit collapse and there are going to be periods of calm and stormy weather. Investors will have to navigate through the volatility,â€ Mr. Rosenberg said. â€œUnfortunately, I think we are still in the early stages. The next recession will happen more quickly than people think.â€

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/business/economy/07gret.html

</FORM>

Thank you Jewls for your positive input.

Many have contributed to this thread and your contribution from Gretchen Morgenson, of the NYT adds to the truth of how the American Economy really is doing.

Appreciatively,

Thanks2U

THANKS2U · Feb 8, 2010

THANKS2U said:
CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE LENDING

Center for Responsible Lending

Mortgage Repairs Lag Far Behind Foreclosures

ANOTHER POSSIBLE PLACE TO TELL YOUR STORY

Share Your Story

THANKS2U · Feb 9, 2010

GARRY

AWSOME U TUBE VIDEO

thank you

YouTube - McCain-Palin Rap!!! M.C. CAIN-Palin was the Choice

THANKS2U · Feb 11, 2010

Thank you WANNAGO for the article below

New Wrinkle to Loan Modification Plans | Real Estate | Mortgages | Get the best rates on mortgage, home equity loans, CD, money markets and checking accounts | BankingMyWay

NEW WRINKLE IN LOAN MODIFICATION PLANS

THANKS2U · Feb 11, 2010

Take this bank and shove it - Feb. 10, 2010

USE OTHER SMALLER BANKS WHO CARE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS !

CREDIT UNIONS ARE GREAT

THANKS2U · Feb 12, 2010

GREAT FIND GARRY !!

Avoiding Foreclosure - Freddie Mac

THANKS2U · Feb 12, 2010

HAMP STALLS FORECLOSURE BUT DOES NOT FIX IMMINENT FORECLOSURES ?

Some Economists Say HAMP Was Only Intended To Postpone Foreclosures

One of the BIGGEST problems with HAMP or any In House Modificatins is that when a homeowner FINALLY gets graced with a supposed PERMANENT Modification, you know, the HOLY GRAIL of loan gifts, when the heavens open up and angels sing, the homeowners and all the politicians are still wearing their rose colored glasses...

But if they would see the true color and faces of the supposed singing angels Permanent modification ploy, they would see dark diabolical devils, who are playing a deadly financial game upon many. Not all, BUT MANY !

PERMANENT MOD DOES NOT MEAN A SUSTAINABLE MOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE PAYMENTS GO UP EVENTUALLY IN NEARLY ALL THESE MODS AND MANY WILL FIND THEMSELVES, ONCE AGAIN, WITH MONTHLY PAYMENTS THEY JUST CAN NOT AFFORD.

In 5 years the cost of living will be much higher.

Wages will not keep up with inflation.

THEY will say, YOU ARE LUCKY to even have a job !

Without a 15 to 40 year modification that is SUSTAINABLE, millions of homeowners will find themselves in foreclosure hell once again.

so-cal-gal · Feb 12, 2010

THANKS2U said:
HAMP STALLS FORECLOSURE BUT DOES NOT FIX IMMINENT FORECLOSURES ?

Some Economists Say HAMP Was Only Intended To Postpone Foreclosures

One of the BIGGEST problems with HAMP or any In House Modificatins is that when a homeowner FINALLY gets graced with a supposed PERMANENT Modification, you know, the HOLY GRAIL of loan gifts, when the heavens open up and angels sing, the homeowners and all the politicians are still wearing their rose colored glasses...

But if they would see the true color and faces of the supposed singing angels Permanent modification ploy, they would see dark diabolical devils, who are playing a deadly financial game upon many. Not all, BUT MANY !

PERMANENT MOD DOES NOT MEAN A SUSTAINABLE MOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE PAYMENTS GO UP EVENTUALLY IN NEARLY ALL THESE MODS AND MANY WILL FIND THEMSELVES, ONCE AGAIN, WITH MONTHLY PAYMENTS THEY JUST CAN NOT AFFORD.

In 5 years the cost of living will be much higher.

Wages will not keep up with inflation.

THEY will say, YOU ARE LUCKY to even have a job !

Without a 15 to 40 year modification that is SUSTAINABLE, millions of homeowners will find themselves in foreclosure hell once again.

Also, as BAD as those pieces of dung in-house mods may be, you also have to deal with certain of the banksters breaching the blasted contract!

They take more payments only to then refuse to honor the signed permanent mod contract. So they've bled you and then they turn around and push foreclosure at you.

Now HOW does that help the economy recover? It looks to me that they have other angles that make the foreclosure actually PROFITABLE for THEM. (Example: insurance of the AIG type on the full face-value of the note in those pooled 'asset-backed securities certificates' that funded most CountryWide loans.) BofA screws the tax-payers and borrowers again!

PLEASE ONLY POST - Articles, Official Letters, Testimony, Rules and Regs. Moe - perhaps a Sticky is

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