So THAT’s What *Lehman Bros. Did If all you did was skim The Wall Street Journal’s headlines today, you could be mistaken for thinking that the average American’s financial health was improving — sort of like a dieter finally losing those pesky, excess pounds. The reality is a bit different. As the Journal article makes...Read More
New Program to Streamline Short Sales Debuts April 5 HAMP: Home Affordable Modification ProgramHAFA: Home Affordable Foreclosure AlternativesRASS: Request for Approval of a Short SaleSSA: Short Sale AgreementMHA: Making Homes Affordable Program As far as I know, “Huh” isn’t an acronmyn for anything — yet. But all the other acronyms are for real. Beginning April...Read More
From Stigma to “the Norm”I was at an industry conference yesterday where the speaker compared “strategic default” — making a business decision to walk away from an “underwater” mortgage — to society’s notion of divorce up until the 1970’s. Back then, relatively few people divorced, so there was a stigma attached to it. Fast forward...Read More
What Happens May 1 (and Beyond)? The word amongst Realtors is that the tax credits for home Buyers — $8,000 for first-time Buyers, $6,500 for move-up — is a dud. Unlike the first round of incentives which expired Nov. 30, the sequel — scheduled to expire April 30 — does not appear to be catalyzing...Read More
