Bay Area Real Estate Trends

Dear Edward DeMarco, Your position regarding principal reduction for underwater mortgages illustrates just how unfit you are to be running the FHFA. You argue against principal reductions, because it might cost “marginally” more than principal forbearance, yet you completely ignore all of the data suggesting that negative equity leads to strategic defaults and a potential [...]

The Evolution Of Strategic Default – My Take. Four years ago, when I thought of the idea for YouWalkAway.com, I had no idea of the magnitude the housing and financial crises would have on our economy. Back then, foreclosure was considered the “F” word and was avoided at all costs. Today more than 6 million [...]

There has been an interesting debate in the blogosphere in response to James Surowicki’s comparison of American Airlines’ bankruptcy to a homeowner’s business decision to strategically-default on their mortgage. We normally say that a company “went bankrupt,” implying that it had no choice. But when, recently, American Airlines filed for bankruptcy, it did so deliberately. [...]

Owe more than your house is worth?  Is your credit otherwise good?  Do you have few credit cards but pay them on time? Congrats.  You’re a likely candidate for strategic default, according to FICO (formerly Fair, Isaac), the company synonymous with credit scoring.  And now Moody’s took a look at the mortgage market and said the most likely homeloaner [...]

Countless foreclosure victims will be hit with deficiency judgments for the unpaid portions of their foreclosed mortgages in the coming years. Most states allow lenders to sue borrowers for an unpaid balance, some for as long as 20 years. Many of the collection agencies and distressed-debt investors have not bothered trying to collect yet, because [...]