The cost of foreclosure









Wright: Hey Richard! Did you just catch a flounder?














About the author

Log in to post5 Comments

Addressing the comments below, the couple above, as with most people who refinanced their homes had no idea that massive fraud was about to take down the economy. One would have to read the financial journals to know that. So, investing in home-improvements or thinking you can buy an investment house in an economy that average people didn't understand would end in collapse was not a bad idea. Had the economy only experiences a downturn which is for what most people plan, everyone had the expectation of working and managing the debt. Instead we get complete collapse brought on by fraud. Everyone knows these foreclosures and job losses are part of the DAMAGES from the bank fraud. That is why they expect help.

The media are failing to speak to one of the most costly side of this mortgage and foreclosure fraud in that the use of MERS to launder the fraudulent loans created a titling debacle that will costs hundreds of millions if not billions to correct. It is equivalent to an industry that enriches itself on its product and leaves the environmental cleanup to the taxpayers. Same thing. This titling disaster is part of the DAMAGES that the banks owe over and above the trillions in fraudulent profits. This is big news.....this subprime mortgage fraud is the largest movement of money by fraud in human history and yet the media can't make room for this news inbetween constant talk of unemployment. There is a simple reason for stagnant growth.....it's called global expansion of businesses with no intent to grow domestically.

These kinds of stories just blow me away. Why on earth do people think they are entitled to just have their debts forgiven when things don't go their way?

Here's the real lesson for listeners: Don't take on debts that you can't repay. Better yet, don't take on debts, period. For the amount this person likely had to shell out for her down payment, she easily could have bought a perfectly reasonable house with cash in a more modest location.

The world does not owe you a custom house on the waterfront. If you insist on taking risks like an outsized mortgage in order to get it, be prepared to take the consequences if those risks don't work out.

I'm trying to figure out what the lesson is here for listeners. I thought this show was about how to deal with the reality of the economic world.

If my income was cut in half and I was carrying what must be a million plus dollar loan I would bow to reality and put the house on the market and hope that in the future my lot in life would improve. Wright seems to believe that she is exempted from reality and now must bear the consequences of her decisions. I don't know why this story is relevant to listeners.

The untold story here is that a mortgage is a business deal and in business, deals are subject to renegotiation, particularly when circumstances change. The income of the owner has been halved and as attempts to modify the loan have dragged on the value of the home has dropped. In business one typically negotiates with a decision-maker and works out a mutually acceptable deal; with homeowners and banks the decision makers and the decision-making guidelines are not transparent - there is no real opportunity to work it out. In this particular situation Chase, the loan servicer, has put forth a “pay to play” offer which dangles an affordable payment but offers no information regarding the revised interest rate, term of the loan, etc. In order to see the complete modification agreement the homeowner must make three trial payments and if they find, upon receipt of the actual modification agreement, the terms unmanageable, they may elect not to participate. That is pay to play and that is an unanticipated cost of fighting foreclosure.

With Generous Support From...