Have you heard of “buy and bail”? It’s the latest real estate scam. This published on Bloomberg last week. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-10/-buy-and-bail-homeowners-get-past-mortgage-hurdles-from-fannie-freddie.html):
Harvey Collier, a mortgage broker in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says he gets as many as 10 calls a month from people planning to default on their loans. The twist: They first want financing to buy another home.
Real estate professionals call it “buy and bail,” acquiring a new house before the buyer’s credit rating is ruined by walking away from the old one because it’s “underwater,” or worth less than the mortgage. It’s an attempt to escape payments on a home whose value may never recover while securing a new property, often at a lower price with a more affordable loan.
The practice, which constitutes fraud if borrowers lie on loan applications, is continuing even after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the biggest U.S. mortgage-finance companies, beefed up standards to prevent it, according to brokers such as Collier and Meg Burns, senior associate director for congressional affairs and communications at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Whether driven by greed or desperation, the persistency of buy and bail underscores the lingering impact of the worst housing crash since the Great Depression. Read more »
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I read with great interest an opinion piece written by Laurence Kotlikoff last week and published on Bloomberg on August 10, 2010. Here’s an excerpt: (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-11/u-s-is-bankrupt-and-we-don-t-even-know-commentary-by-laurence-kotlikoff.html)
Last month, the International Monetary Fund released its annual review of U.S. economic policy. Its summary contained these bland words about U.S. fiscal policy: “Directors welcomed the authorities’ commitment to fiscal stabilization, but noted that a larger than budgeted adjustment would be required to stabilize debt-to-GDP.”
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This from Bloomberg August 11, 2010 (highlighting added):
The trade deficit in the U.S. unexpectedly widened in June to the highest level since October 2008 as consumer goods imports rose to a record and exports declined.
The gap grew 19 percent to $49.9 billion in June, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. A $42.1 billion deficit was projected by economists, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Imports climbed 3 percent, while exports dropped 1.3 percent, the most since April 2009.
Increased business investment and consumers who are still spending are helping sustain the U.S. appetite for merchandise made abroad. At the same time, growth in emerging economies such as China may cool, limiting shipments abroad that have benefited companies such as Caterpillar Inc. The figures signal trade subtracted more from second-quarter gross domestic product than previously estimated.
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