Steadfast Finances

 Infographics & Chartology,Real Estate         No comments

  More troubling data on real estate and foreclosures as a whole from the NYT: In New York State, it would take lenders 62 years at their current pace, the longest time frame in the nation, to repossess the 213,000 houses now in severe default or foreclosure, according to calculations by LPS Applied Analytics, a [...]

 Financial Crisis,Public Awareness         1 comment

One of the better pieces I’ve seen on CNN since, well, the first Gulf War coverage. Goldman Sachs was the number one private campaign contributor to Barack Obama’s presidential election campaign. It’s one of the single biggest contributors to both parties in Congress. So it’s a rare event when a establishment politician like Carl Levin [...]

 Real Estate         2 comments

A few of us knew the double dip in real estate was a no brainer, but what I didn’t expect, and for some inexplicable reason no one from the financial establishments is facing criminal charges for, is the outright fraud in an attempt to cover up (e.g. paper over) their incompetence. If you or I [...]

 Consumer Education,Real Estate         4 comments

As if we needed more reason question the National Association of Realtor’s financial advice, who profited greatly from the credit bubble and resulting real estate bubble, now we learn they may have been fudging the numbers using the wrong economic model once the housing crash began in 2007. The housing crash may have been more [...]

 Banking,Mortgages,Real Estate         2 comments

The Mortgage Electronic Registration System, known as “MERS”, fallout just keeps getting better. In recent months legal challenges have arisen regarding alleged inadequacies and improprieties in the foreclosure process including allegations of insufficient or incorrect supporting documentation and challenges to the legal capacity of parties right to foreclose. Consistent with the Membership Rules there will [...]

 Investor Psychology,Real Estate         No comments

So you think 30 year fixed mortgage rates over 5% is a bad thing? You think an interest rate above 4.99% has some sort of mystical, psychological barrier to entry? How does 10% sound? What about 18.5%? So quit your cryin’… we all knew 30 year mortgage rates in the 4% ballpark couldn’t last forever. [...]

 Investing 101,Real Estate         No comments

One of my most important metrics for jumping back into the real estate investing game is on the rise: apartment demand is finally showing signs of life. With millions of families switching from being homeowners to renters, apartment-building values have soared. That isn’t good for renters, who enjoyed falling rents, landlord concessions and even offers [...]

 Real Estate,Vulture Investing         No comments

Sage advice from Bloomberg when buying a distressed sale — bank owned (REO), short sale, foreclosure — real estate. [video] As the video says, don’t be afraid of bringing in some hired guns. At the very least, work with a Realtor who, more than likely, knows more about the nuances of distressed property sales better [...]

 Economy,Real Estate         No comments

In the end, it all comes down to jobs, jobs, jobs. 72% of the nation’s metro markets are saw an increase in foreclosure activity in 2010. Cities like Houston (up 26%), Seattle (up 23%), and Atlanta (up 21%) do to unemployment. Why make a 15 to 30 year commitment, where the bank will insist on [...]

 Real Estate         3 comments

How’s this for the ultimate sad country song: Go to war. Bank forecloses on your home. Bank sells it to someone else. Wife leaves you. Lose your kids. Can’t get a job. Find out you’re disabled. Classy move right? More from the NYT article: Typically, banks respond quickly to public reports of errors affecting military [...]

 Banking,Real Estate         No comments

I found the use of the phrase “trust deficit” in U.S. real estate amusing since it’s a euphemistic way of saying “no one wants to buy an asset that may decline in future value“. Hello? Double dip in real estate anyone? You’ve [FHA Commissioner David Stevens] talked a lot at this confidence about the lack [...]

 Real Estate,Vulture Investing         No comments

It’s scary from a consumer perspective that 2010 marked a record in number of foreclosures, and yet, due to the robosigning fiasco delaying up to 250,000 of foreclosures nationwide at the end of the year, we still managed to break the record. For those hoping for a speedier fix — rip the BandAid off quickly [...]