That is hillarious. Dumb and dumber, its beyond the FED to save those liar loans. Main reason banks were able to make those loans was because they were passing the buck to investors. Lenders and banks do not keep those mortgages.
The problem is buyers of those paper have stopped buying. WHo’s going to make these crazy loans if they can’t pass the sh** around.
A friend turned us on to a couple of interesting facts:
1. When a bank forecloses, they have to have the original note signed by the buyer. Which are all now bundled sitting under a desk in India… they’ve been bought and sold so many times, nobody knows who has the original. Of course, a judge has ruled against those being foreclosed upon in the few cases gone to court. But how can you pay money back to a lender when you don’t even know who you owe????
2. For anyone out there as ignorant as I am on these matters, it was just explained to me that many US pensions are heavily invested in mortage-backed securities. Back in the good old days not so long ago, when borrowers were able to make payments on their mortgages, bundles of these mortgages were rated A+ by those in the ratings business. Pension funds bought into them by the truckload as a way to earn interest in your pension fund, keep that money getting bigger for your golden years. But now, those bundles are going on worthless. What will happen to those pensions? If your pension is “secured” by mortgage-backed securities, GET OUT NOW.
xoxo, Chicken Little.
I was watching CNBC when Cramer did this rant. I stopped everything and watched in awe. My first thought was he didn’t get his lithium this morning. I know he doesn’t take drugs, he just has passion and lives/breathes the stock market. Today, I saw him on “Stop Trading” and he looked/acted like his best dog died. The market was down 400 points. He takes it to heart.
I’m probably a moron for not understanding the market, but it sounds bizarre when someone says that results from one company kicked off a wave of fear and selling (or something to that effect). It all seems like some sort of chicanery.
Also, how is the government going to do something about crappy loans that have already been made? Will dropping the interest rate a little magically allow people to not default on loans?
Hi Arp – GREAT question, one that more people should be asking! The answer got so long and I kept tweaking it, so I answered you on my real estate blog here: http://www.so-real.com/2007/08/comments-on-cra.html
Perfect post for that blog…
The falling market is how I “lost my job” in Key West (I count my lucky stars everyday because I wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t happened). But I’m watching my very good Key West friends and neighbors lose EVERYTHING. It is heartbreaking. Will it happen in Costa Rica? Most of the buyers here come from the states so I imagine there will be some fallout. But not like there will be in the states. Most of Costa Rica’s buyers are cash buyers. Plus, buyers come from all over the world to buy here. Many who used to buy in the states…
That is hillarious. Dumb and dumber, its beyond the FED to save those liar loans. Main reason banks were able to make those loans was because they were passing the buck to investors. Lenders and banks do not keep those mortgages.
The problem is buyers of those paper have stopped buying. WHo’s going to make these crazy loans if they can’t pass the sh** around.
A friend turned us on to a couple of interesting facts:
1. When a bank forecloses, they have to have the original note signed by the buyer. Which are all now bundled sitting under a desk in India… they’ve been bought and sold so many times, nobody knows who has the original. Of course, a judge has ruled against those being foreclosed upon in the few cases gone to court. But how can you pay money back to a lender when you don’t even know who you owe????
2. For anyone out there as ignorant as I am on these matters, it was just explained to me that many US pensions are heavily invested in mortage-backed securities. Back in the good old days not so long ago, when borrowers were able to make payments on their mortgages, bundles of these mortgages were rated A+ by those in the ratings business. Pension funds bought into them by the truckload as a way to earn interest in your pension fund, keep that money getting bigger for your golden years. But now, those bundles are going on worthless. What will happen to those pensions? If your pension is “secured” by mortgage-backed securities, GET OUT NOW.
xoxo, Chicken Little.
I was watching CNBC when Cramer did this rant. I stopped everything and watched in awe. My first thought was he didn’t get his lithium this morning. I know he doesn’t take drugs, he just has passion and lives/breathes the stock market. Today, I saw him on “Stop Trading” and he looked/acted like his best dog died. The market was down 400 points. He takes it to heart.
I’m probably a moron for not understanding the market, but it sounds bizarre when someone says that results from one company kicked off a wave of fear and selling (or something to that effect). It all seems like some sort of chicanery.
Also, how is the government going to do something about crappy loans that have already been made? Will dropping the interest rate a little magically allow people to not default on loans?
Hi Arp – GREAT question, one that more people should be asking! The answer got so long and I kept tweaking it, so I answered you on my real estate blog here:
http://www.so-real.com/2007/08/comments-on-cra.html
Perfect post for that blog…
The falling market is how I “lost my job” in Key West (I count my lucky stars everyday because I wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t happened). But I’m watching my very good Key West friends and neighbors lose EVERYTHING. It is heartbreaking. Will it happen in Costa Rica? Most of the buyers here come from the states so I imagine there will be some fallout. But not like there will be in the states. Most of Costa Rica’s buyers are cash buyers. Plus, buyers come from all over the world to buy here. Many who used to buy in the states…