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Fannie Mae Foreclosures
By Jayme Hanson
Saving your home from foreclosure is one of the most frequently searched for terms online because of the rapid rise of happening all over the place. Given the increased unfilled need for foreclosure consulting services, a lot of companies have appeared in the marketplace offering foreclosure assistance. Some of these consulting services will advertise that they specialize in certain types of foreclosures, such as Fannie Mae foreclosures.
Once threatened by foreclosure on your property, there are steps you need to take as soon as possible; get legal advice, contact and negotiate with your mortgage lender or servicer. Fannie Mae might qualify for certain types of help or legal advice. If you or someone one listed on the title is a soldier or sailor you may be entitled to stop the foreclosure entirely; under the Soldiers and Sailor's Civil Relief Act, lenders may be stopped from foreclosing on a home owned by an active member of the armed forces.
Selling a pre-foreclosed or a foreclosure frees up a banks reserve money. No one says that once you are threatened by foreclosure, you
Making Policy Public
<a href="http://urbanomnibus.net/">Urban Omnibus</a> is an online project of the Architectural League that explores the relationship between design and New York City's physical environment. They are featuring <a href="http://www.makingpolicypublic.net/">Making Policy Public</a>, a program of <a href="http://anothercupdevelopment.org/">The Center for Urban Pedagogy</a>, through their articles about <a href="http://urbanomnibus.net/2009/05/making-policy-public-vendor-power/">Vendor Power</a> and <a href="http://urbanomnibus.net/2009/05/making-policy-public-predatory-equity/">Predatory Equity</a>. <em>"Just as we were beginning our collaboration, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, a predatory equity building in the Bronx widely recognized as the birthplace of hip-hop, was being overleveraged by a predatory developer. This was not only a case of people potentially losing their homes; but also of New York City losing its heritage and culture. The threats are social and cultural as well as economic.
Through their work helping tenants organize and speaking to lawmakers and media sources, (we) knew that the poster would have to address two different audiences: 1) Tenants who wanted to know how the law and predatory equity practices could directly affect them and 2) decision-makers who would need inside information to take action. They imagined the publication’s goal was to mobilize tenants in affected and at-risk buildings and to convince politicians and banks to recognize the problem and take immediate action. We agreed finding a way to visually explain predatory equity was the best place to start."</em>
Demographics & Depression
I have heard many explanations of the housing crisis, but First Things, A Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life had one that I had never heard: <a href="http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6564"> America’s housing market collapsed because conservatives lost the culture wars even back while they were prevailing in electoral politics</a>. A number of observers have pointed to <a href="http://www.usnews.com/blogs/the-home-front/2008/12/16/household-formation-2009-housing-head-wind.html">household formation</a> as a key driver in the current and future housing markets, but no one else I have run across writes things like "the world is poorer now because the present generation did not bother to rear a new generation".
watch the american housing market spiral out of control
<a href="http://vimeo.com/4240369">subprime.</a> Beautiful animation about the US housing market.
We won't be like that again.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=2C81E75B72B97AD5">Behind The Rent Strike</a> <small>[YouTube playlist; six parts of 50ish min. documentary]</small> <a href="http://www.nickbroomfield.com/home.html">Nick Broomfield</a>'s <a href="http://www.dfgdocs.com/Directory/Titles/557.aspx">graduation piece</a>, a documentary on <a href=" http://www.lmu.livjm.ac.uk/inmylife/template.aspx?itemid=471">the 14-month rent strike by the people of Kirkby New Town</a>, near Liverpool, which began in late 1973 in response (<a href="http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1974/apr/04/clay-cross-councillors-and-housing">it wasn't the only one</a>) to the Heath government's <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=ytcOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA59&vq=changing+policies+recurring+crisis&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0">Housing Finance Act</a>. Broomfield gets plenty of insight from local people and examines the social conditions behind the events. Great viewing of good film-making and <a href=" http://www.liverpooltimes.net/2007/11/07/kirkby-rent-strike-video-online/">an opportunity for a bit of nostalgia if you're a viewer from round that way</a>.
Blow-by-blow of Wachovia's Demise
<a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/408/story/427887.html">A blow-by-blow analysis of Wachovia's demise,</a> as told by the bank's local paper, <i>The Charlotte Observer</i>.
She's not a brick house
<a href="http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1996/3/1996_3_50.shtml">Thomas Edison's Concrete Houses</a> From 1902 to roughly 1917, Edison was in the <a href="http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:g35O3a-3yMcJ:edison.rutgers.edu/patents/01326854.PDF+llewellyn+park+concrete+houses&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us">concrete</a> business, and <a href="http://www.nps.gov/archive/edis/edisonia/08130000.htm">concrete houses</a> would be one of his biggest failures. Shown <a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/edison/ed_d13.htm">here</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenosale/2699959996/">here</a> as models, <a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/edisonthemanandh002659mbp/edisonthemanandh002659mbp_djvu.txt">Edison</a> promised that they would be the salvation of the slum-dweller, priced at $1000 each (a third the cost of a new home at the time). He even made <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B04E7DA1E31E233A2575AC0A9649D946096D6CF">concrete furniture</a>.
Many of the houses still stand on <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&q=concrete%20edison&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il">Ingersoll Terrace," Union, NJ. </a>
Tanta Vive!
<a href="http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2007/07/compleat-ubernerd.html">The Compleat ÜberNerd:</a> a fascinating series of blog entries detailing the nitty-gritty behind the mortgage industry by Calculated Risk's "Tanta." If you're curious about <a href="http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2007/03/ficos-and-aus-we-will-add-your.html">automated underwriting systems</a> or the ins and outs of <a href="http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2007/02/tanta-mortgage-servicing-for-ubernerds.html">mortgage servicing</a> or if you just enjoy some <a href="http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/11/happy-thanksgiving.html">Mortgage Pig</a> Excel art, Tanta was the blogger for you. Tanta, otherwise known as Doris Dungey, passed away on Sunday morning (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/business/01tanta.html">NYT obit</a>, <a href="http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/11/sad-news-tanta-passes-away.html">CR obit</a>).
Crap - I only made $15B last year
There are still some <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120036645057290423.html">smart people</a> left on Wall St. Hedge fund manager, John Paulson, made a cool $15B for his fund as the housing market imploded. His cut? $3-4B. Not too shabby for a year's worth of work. Interestingly, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120036783112890507.html?mod=article-outset-box">Greenspan </a>was an advisor to the hedge fund. How much did he make out in the housing decline?
Say It Aloud
<a href="http://www.norfolkandholmes.co.uk">Norfolk & Holmes</a> is no <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/presenters/alexriley.shtml">ordinary</a> estate agency. More <a href="http://england.shelter.org.uk/">here</a>.
The Shire is in Foreclosure
<a href="http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080731/BIZ0102/807310374/1041&nav_category=">Subprime crisis worse than we thought...</a> The Shire, an Oregon housing development based on Tolkien's Hobbit village, is in foreclosure.
The Beginning of the End of Suburbia?
The New York Times article, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/business/25exurbs.html?em&ex=1214539200&en=5a189d2261eac7d6&ei=5087%0A">Rethinking the Country Life as Energy Costs Rise</a> , is just one of <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-homes17-2008jun17,0,7677060.story">many articles</a> documenting the apparent demise of suburbia. Unlike the notable <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/subprime">Atlantic article</a> which focused mostly on the mortgage bubble (<a href="http://www.metafilter.com/69479/McMansion-ghettos">previously</a>), these more recent<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25338748/"> articles</a> are beginning to focus of the <a href="http://www.worldchanging.com/archives//007963.html">rising cost of gas and transportation</a> in general. (<a href="http://htaindex.cnt.org/map_tool">Previously</a>) Is this the beginning of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uvzcY2Xug">The End of Suburbia</a> as predicted by the <a href="http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/121">curmudgeonly</a> James Howard Kunstler? (Discussed previously <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/41058/The-Long-Emergency">here</a> and <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/49173/The-State-of-Disunion">here</a>.)</a> Or are Americans simply readjusting their lifestyles to fit current economic limitations?
The Arrival of Energy Positive Buildings
A positive energy building is one that produces more power than it consumes <small>(yes they have <a href="http://www.calbournewatermill.co.uk/watermill.shtml">been around for a while</a>)</small>. The <a href="http://www.smithgill.com/MasdarHeadquarters.htm">Masdar Headquarters in Abu Dhabi</a> – due for <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-22-2008/0004760606&EDATE">completion in 2010</a> claims that it will be the first to do this on a substantial scale (mainly thanks to use of solar energy). David Fisher's <a href="http://www.dynamicarchitecture.net/">spectacular </a>“<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/energy-positive-wind-powered-rotating-skyscraper-dubai/9192/">Dynamic Architecture</a>” building in Dubai will aim to achieve the same goal using wind. Scaling up on the ambition stakes <a href="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=50971">France has pledged all of its new housing will fit into this category by 2020</a>.
The Giant Pool of Money
<a href="http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=355">The Giant Pool of Money.</a> This American Life teams up with NPR News to explain the Housing Crisis. (I know everybody here already knows about TAL, but this is an exceptionally well done episode, and worth checking out even if you don't get the podcast.)
Value-added housing costs
How far away from work do you live? How much of your pay gets used up to get you to and from work, get you around town, and pay for where you live? As gas and food prices continue to rise, "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/business/27spend.html?scp=6&sq=inflation&st=cse">affordability</a>" has become a more critical notion for everyday Americans. The <a href="http://www.cnt.org/">Center for Neighborhood Technology</a> developed their <a href="http://htaindex.cnt.org/">Housing + Transportation Affordability Index</a>, which aims to help better inform renters and owners about the relationship of transportation options to where one lives.
Domestic Violence Discrimination in Housing
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/a-1355204~Domestic_abuse_increases_chance_of_trouble_finding_homes__study_says.html">Disclosing victim status</a> could mean being denied that housing is even available. Women strong enough to flee their homes and their abusive situations were more likely to be denied housing outright, something that did not happen to people not disclosing.
Housing Crisis: 1 in 33 Face Foreclosure Within 2 Years
<a href="http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=37976">Will States Respond to the Foreclosure Crisis?</a> Their headline is that 1 in 33 homeowners are projected to face foreclosure in the next two years. But I found the stat that neighboring homes will lose $356 billion in value a rather staggering number to swallow for those not facing the threat of foreclosure.
Circuit Split on Online Housing Ads
Last month, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals: you cannot sue Craigslist for housing ads that violate the Fair Housing Act. <a href="http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/fdocs/docs.fwx?submit=rss_sho&shofile=07-1101_021.pdf">Full decision (PDF)</a>; <a href="http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2008/03/craigslist_gets.htm">summary and analysis</a>. This week, Ninth Circuit: you can sue Roommate.com for housing ads that violate the Fair Housing Act. <a href="http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/F71559D8162BA7EE8825741F00771BC1/$file/0456916.pdf?openelement">Full decision (PDF)</a>; <a href="http://onlineliabilityblog.com/2008/04/03/ninth-circuit-roommatescom-largely-unprotected-by-section-230/">summary and analysis</a>. The difference? Roommate.com facilitates the violations with its insidious check-boxes. It all hinges on how the courts interpret <a href="http://blog.cdt.org/2008/03/28/craigslist-win-good-for-free-speech-but-court-creates-murky-%E2%80%9Csection-230%E2%80%9D-precedent/">a section of the Communications Decency Act</a>, a question that the Supreme Court may have to settle.
Rent Vs. Buy Myths That Ruined the Housing Market
<a href="http://efinancedirectory.com/articles/Rent_vs_Buy_Myths_That_Ruined_the_Housing_Market.html">Rent Vs. Buy Myths That Ruined the Housing Market</a>
mobile homes built without nails
<a href="http://smendes.com/art/vc/vc2.jpg">Chattel houses </a>were very small houses, built by <a href="http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/search.html">freed slaves or plantation workers</a>, that could be dismantled quickly and moved in the event they were fired or unable to pay property tax to the plantation owner on whose land the house stood. Examples in <a href="http://mobaydp.blogspot.com/2007/09/moving-of-chattel-house.html">Jamaica</a>, <a href="http://mendesco.com/chatelh.htm">Barbados</a> and <a href="http://thechutneygarden.blogspot.com/2007/09/paramin.html">Trinidad</a> l <em>Sunday 25 March 2007 marked 200 years to the day that the British Parliament passed an Act to outlaw the <a href="http://www.setallfree.net/africans_america.html">slave trade</a> in British colonies.</em> Images of chattel houses from the <a href="http://www.courses.vcu.edu/ENG-snh/Caribbean/Barbados/Images/chattel.htm">Caribbean Poetry site</a>.
<a href="http://www.setallfree.net/stories_slavery.html">Stories of people in slavery</a>
Definition of chattel house from the <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=PmvSk13sIc0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Dictionary+of+Caribbean+English+Usage&ei=t3LUR8-UCo3WzASYpISBBA&sig=64RKV6LJKfeCKkkSni6r77l3M4U#PPA147,M1">Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage</a>
McMansion ghettos
The sub-prime mortgage crisis is giving way in some places to crime ridden McMansion ghettos, perhaps the beginning of a <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/subprime">larger long term trend in demographics</a>: "many low-density suburbs and McMansion subdivisions, including some that are lovely and affluent today, may become what inner cities became in the 1960s and ’70s—slums characterized by poverty, crime, and decay."
How I built my house for £4,000
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/property/how-i-built-my-house-for-1634000-784278.html">How I built my house for £4,000</a>
Subprime Artistry
<a href="http://docs.google.com/TeamPresent?docid=ddp4zq7n_0cdjsr4fn&skipauth=true&pli=1">The Subprime Primer.</a> [<a href="http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/02/how-subprime-re.html">via</a>] An entertaining, lo-fi, comic-book style explanation of the complex Subprime Mortgage mess.
Room in a Box
Moving houses but don't want to buy bulky furniture? Get a <a href="http://www.mein-casulo.de/en/en_index.htm">Casulo</a>.
America's Middle Class
<a href="http://reason.tv/video/show/61.html">Livin' Large</a> - To hear the Lou Dobbses and Bill O'Reillys of the world--not to mention politicians ranging from Ron Paul to Hillary Clinton--the middle class of America (however you define that term) has never had it so tough. Between credit squeezes, out-of-control immigration, rising costs of education and health care and everything else, it's all darkness out there for those of us who are neither millionaires nor welfare cases, right? (A video presented by Drew Carey and reason.tv)
Flat-Packed
<a href="http://www.homemove.co.uk/news/30-01-2008/affordability-for-first-time-buyers-falls-351.html">Affordability for first-time home buyers in the UK has fallen by 351% over the last 10 years</a>. Never fear; <a href="http://shopping.guardian.co.uk/household/story/0,1587,1403793,00.html">through a deal with the Hyde housing association, Paramount Homes and Scandinavian partner</a> <a href="http://www.skanska.co.uk/">Skanska</a>, Ikea has introduced the <a href="http://www.boklok.com/">BoKlok</a> into the
<a href="http://uk.news.yahoo.com/skynews/20080130/tuk-ikea-enters-the-housing-market-45dbed5.html">British</a> <a href="http://money.uk.msn.com/mortgages/mortgageguide/article.aspx?cp-documentID=7389500">housing</a> market. These <a href="http://shopping.guardian.co.uk/household/story/0,1587,1403793,00.html">prefab homes will start at just £70,000</a> (including a voucher for some free furniture) and will probably be built on the fringes of London, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool. <small><a href="http://www.metafilter.com/41967/A-machine-for-living-in">Previously</a></small>
have to give up and allow the property to be taken away from you. As a homeowner in distress you can benefit from Fannie Mae foreclosure assistance or find a foreclosure assistance program. The news or threat of foreclosure on your home or property can be very devastating for anyone, especially seniors.
If you have enough equity in your home to save it from foreclosure than you will definitely want to take action now. Review your loan documents carefully, especially the mortgage contract and the note; you'd be surprised how often the lender has not complied with some provision of the contract which could be a defense that you can use to stop the foreclosure and give you the ability to negotiate better terms with the bank.
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