Inman News: The bad business of 'Friends of Angelo' |
Tuesday, 15 July 2008 |
Perspective: Industry should condemn sweetheart home loans for politicians
Which mortgage company chieftain took home $140 million in compensation last year while the company he founded lost $704 million? If you said Angelo R. Mozilo, CEO of Countrywide Financial Corp., take a bow. And add a couple of gold stars if you knew Mozilo's pay was comprised of more than $120 million from exercised stock options and more than $22 million in other compensation, according to a Reuters' report based on the mortgage company's year-end filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission...It's tempting to dismiss Mozilo's special deals as just another corporate perk, just another example of too much money in politics or just another instance of greed gone wild in real estate transactions. |
Read more...
|
|
White House, Fed will rescue Fannie, Freddie |
Sunday, 13 July 2008 |
The implicit government guarantee of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is now explicit
In a dramatic statement released Sunday, the White House and Federal Reserve moved to give the mortgage giants the capital they need to survive the depression in the housing market and turmoil in financial markets that had left them dangling over a cliff. Of most immediate importance, the Fed's board of governors voted to open up its emergency discount window to Fannie and Freddie. In addition, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that he will seek Congressional authorization to by stock in the two companies and increase the government's credit line. At the moment, each company may borrow only $2.25 billion. |
Read more...
|
|
Outstanding Comment - How To Thank The NAHB? |
Sunday, 13 July 2008 |
I can't find anyplace else to thank the fine work of the NAHB (as Bush did some years ago) for saving the American economy, and making the American dream come true for millions of Americans. Their devotion to blocking consumer protection legislation, and meaningful accountability of their industry has panned out to be a real blessing in home affordability for all. As foreclosure rates have reached one quarter of a million families per month, thank you NAHB for that show of deep concern for American's ability to own the American dream. As serious new home construction defects went into the millions of homes during the big boom, thanks again NAHB for making most all those mistakes profitable for big name builders, though it was often devastating for the families who bought them. And thanks for the spin on the whole situation, so most people may never know how much you've really done
for to Americans. By Ron Jackson. Read more and comment... |
|
You Tube Builder Mortgage Fraud Part II |
Wednesday, 02 July 2008 |
Builder Mortgage Fraud "The Making of Modren Day Ghost Towns"Top ten builders participated in mortgage fraud to sell homes. Inflating appraisals and paying off packages: new car, paid credit cards, furnishings, and swimming pool. A Realtors got big bonuses and trip to
Hawaii
. Addendums were destroyed for hidden incentives.
See You Tube... |
|
You Tube Builder Mortgage Fraud Part I |
Wednesday, 02 July 2008 |
Builder Mortage Companies Creative Mortgage Fraud Part 1
Las Vegas Real Estate - Buildr Incentives...Fluf or Fraud: New homebuilders participated in massive mortgage fraud to sell new homes. Insider Dana Ellis talks about builder fraud. Builder paid off debt, credit cards and new cars for the buyer. See Part I You Tube Video more... See more related videos... |
|
African Americans & Latino's Targeted in Mortgage Scam |
Sunday, 22 June 2008 |
The arrests took place over the past three months in about a dozen cities.
Over the past couple of months, federal agents have nailed hundreds of real estate wheeler-dealers, charging them with fraud in a crisis that has crippled the mortgage industry and left thousands of homeowners, particularly African Americans, cribless. Even as the FBI was announcing the arrests of some 400 alleged financial criminals â including housing developers, mortgage lenders and brokers, lawyers, real estate agents and appraisers â Washington Mutual, the nationâs largest savings and loan association, was firing 1,200 people across the country. Many of WaMuâs layoffs will be in its home loan business, Forbes.com reports, as the Seattle-based bank dissolves its riskier loans, such as sub-prime mortgages. The arrests, 60 of which occurred on Wednesday alone in a dozen or so cities, including Chicago, Houston and Miami , were part of a crackdown against fraud that has cost homeowners about $1 billion. âMortgage fraud poses a significant threat to our economy, to the stability of our nationâs housing markets and to the peace of mind of millions of American homeowners,â Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip said at a news conference. The sting, known as âOperation Malicious Mortgageâ has netted 406 people since it kicked off on March 1, he said. While there is a rainbow of Americans crushed under the weight of predatory lenders and their unscrupulous cohorts, nobody has felt the pressure more than African Americans. Studies have shown that Blacks are more likely to be targeted for high-risk loans than less credit-worthy Whites. These sub-prime mortgages, with interest payments that often balloon after reeling in borrowers with relatively low introductory rates, have triggered a cascade of foreclosures, particularly in Black and Latino communities. |
|
FBI indicted more than 400 including housing developers |
Sunday, 22 June 2008 |
Hundreds swept up in mortgage fraud arrests
More than 400 real estate industry players have been indicted since March - including dozens over the last two days - in a Justice Department crackdown on incidents of mortgage fraud nationwide that stem from the country's housing crisis... Law enforcement officials said their stepped-up focus on mortgage cases aims to combat problems that have grown out of the risky lending practices prevalent until the mortgage market collapse started last year. Officials have identified 10 "mortgage fraud hotspots" nationwide in California, Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Georgia and Florida...Those named in the cases include housing developers, mortgage lenders and brokers, lawyers, real estate agents and appraisers, said Sharon Ormsby, section chief in charge of financial crimes for the FBI. |
Read more...
|
|
The Patriot Post - Countrywide and Politicians on the Hot Seat |
Saturday, 21 June 2008 |
News from the Swamp: Countrywide scandal
Both senators received their juicy home loans from Countrywide honcho Angelo Mozilo, as did Jim Johnson, a top Demo operative who was slated to handle Barack Obamaâs vice-presidential search committee until his relationship with Mozilo became public. Other friends of the toxic Mozilo include Alphonso Jackson, the former HUD secretary who resigned in April, and Donna Shalala, former HHS secretary under Bill Clinton. Dmocrats had been hoping to plow a mortgage bailout through Congress before this whole mess gets exposed, but President George W. Bush has threatened a veto because of the overly generous terms for Countrywide and similar lenders. |
Read more...
|
|
Washington Post - The housing bubble, in four chapters |
Monday, 16 June 2008 |
How homeowners, speculators and Wall Street rode a wave of easy money
It was the peak. It was the embodiment of business success," Connelly said. "We underestimated the bubble, even though deep down, we knew it couldn't last forever." Indeed, Pinnacle's party would soon end, along with the nation's housing euphoria. The company has all but disappeared, along with dozens of other mortgage firms, tens of thousands of jobs on Wall Street and the dreams of about 1 million proud new homeowners who lost their houses...The aftershocks of the housing market's collapse still rumble through the economy, with unemployment rising, companies struggling to obtain financing and the stock market more than 10 percent below its peak last fall... Seen in the best possible light, the housing bubble that began inflating in the mid-1990s was "a great national experiment," as one prominent economist put it -- a way to harness the inventiveness of the capitalist system to give low-income families, minorities and immigrants a chance to own their homes. But it also is a classic story of boom, excess and bust, of homeowners, speculators and Wall Street dealmakers happy to ride the wave of easy money even though many knew a crash was inevitable. |
Read more...
|
|
11 face justice today in mortgage fraud |
Sunday, 08 June 2008 |
Arests expected soon in two other schemes based here
Eleven members of that 16-person ring -- which includes three real estate agents, an attorney, a mortgage broker and a former Wells Fargo bank officer -- are set to be sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Austin after being found guilty of wire fraud, money laundering and falsifying information on loan documents as part of this scam that hit Austin and that San Antonio neighborhood...Texas is among the top 10 states for mortgage abuses, and San Antonio is involved in three such scams so far this year, the Austin case and two San Antonio-based rings under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The San Antonio rings used more than 50 people to inflate prices in Stone Oak, Spring Branch and Dallas. FBI special agents investigating the cases have said that arrests would happen soon this summer. |
Read more...
|
|
|