2008

“The deepening toll from the global financial crisis could...”
— Credit crunch may take out...

“As soaring home prices set the stage for America’s...”
— AP IMPACT: Weak rules cripple...

“IT MAY BE CURTAINS SOON FOR THE MANAGEMENTS and shareholders...”
— The Endgame Nears For Fannie...

“The U.S. Treasury Department’s plan to shore up Fannie...”
— Fannie Plan a `Disaster’...

“Investors continued to flee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...”
— Fannie Mae Ugly - WSJ.com It...

“Worries that the government may nationalize struggling...”
— Wall St brokers face Fannie,...

“IndyMac Bancorp Inc., the second- biggest independent U.S....”
— IndyMac Bank Seized by U.S....

“Bank of America Corp is primed to assume all debt of the...”
— BofA may assume all...

“Last year, an Orange County man was rejected for a personal...”
— SignOnSanDiego.com -...

“Here’s a scary, and relevant, question to ponder as...”
— The Fannie and Freddie...

“So much for that second-half rebound. Truth be told, that...”
— Steven Pearlstein - This...

“Barclays Capital has advised clients to batten down the...”
— Barclays warns of a financial...

“In a sign of continuing trouble in the housing market,...”
— Delinquencies Rise at Fannie...

“The global credit crisis will slow construction and U.S....”
— Bloomberg.com: U.S.

“Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned on...”
— Economy on brink of recession,...

“Confidence among Americans dropped to the lowest level in 16...”
— U.S. Economy: Consumer...

“Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in April by...”
— S&P/Case-Shiller Home...

“Bank of America Corp.’s offer for Countrywide...”
— Bank of America’s Bid...

“More than 400 real estate industry players have been...”
— Hundreds swept up in mortgage...

“During the housing boom, from mid-2001 to early 2006, banks...”
— How rising home values, easy...

Total borrowings of depository institutions from the Federal...

“The clash between the European Central Bank and the US...”
— Morgan Stanley warns of...

“The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for...”
— RBS issues global stock and...

“The Countrywide Financial sweetheart loan scandal continues...”
— Beltwaywide Financial -...

“Annual cost-of-living rate rises to 4.2% after...”
— CPI rose 4.2% over last year,...

“With home prices plunging by more than 30% in some markets,...”
— Hard hit cities are set for...

“LandSource Communities Development, a real estate...”
— Huge California real estate...

“Renters may be the biggest winners in the current housing...”
— Desperate sellers turn to...

“The forgettable first half of 2008 is stumbling to a close....”
— The Economy: Why It’s Worse...

“Business analysts say Bank of America’s move to...”
— Analysts worry about...

“A “credit recession” sparked by the U.S. housing market...”
— Experts: ‘Credit recession’...

“Future U.S. bank failures linked to the downturn in the real...”
— May see bigger U.S. bank...

“The chief executive of Toll Brothers Inc., the...”
— Builder sees...

“More than one million homes are now in foreclosure, the...”
— More than a million homes in...

“Ed McMahon, the longtime sidekick to television star Johnny...”
— Ed McMahon May Lose Beverly...

“Scott Hunter, the FBI’s supervisory special agent...”
— Las Vegas called...

“Countrywide Financial’s cumulative losses are likely...”
— Merrill Sees Countrywide...

“US banks set aside a record $37.1bn to cover losses on real...”
— FT.com / In depth - US banks...

“Suddenly, it seems, we’re getting hit from all...”
— The Fading of the Mirage...

“World food prices will fall from current peaks in the coming...”
— Food prices to fall from...

“Bear Stearns will soon be gone, but the brokerage...”
— Bear Stearns wipeout signals...

“U.S. home prices dropped at the sharpest rate in two decades...”
— US home prices drop at...

“California home prices tumbled 32 percent in April from a...”
— Bloomberg.com: Invest

“Early reviews of the 2007 vintage of Subprime, Alt-A and...”
— 2007 Worst-Ever Vintage for US...

“Profits from government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae...”
— Homeowner rescue plan gets...

“Sky-high oil prices are causing pain at the pump, but bills...”
— Think oil prices hurt now?...

“Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. fell in April...”
— Home Resales Decline,...

“Ford Motor Co. is cutting North American production of...”
— reportonbusiness.com: High...

“Short interest in Countrywide Financial (NYSE:CFC) moved up...”
— Short interest in Countrywide...

“Officially, the government is indicating that inflation is...”
— Small Businesses (and Their...

“We are working with borrowers to keep them in their homes,...”
— Why a Housing Bailout...

“Lewis Ranieri, a pioneer of the mortgage bond industry,...”
— Housing fallout spreads to...

Microsoft is Dead

“Microsoft chairman Bill Gates on Wednesday unveiled a new...”
— FORTUNE: Techland Microsoft...

“Commercial property prices in the US in February saw their...”
— Plunge in US commercial...

“Fannie Mae’s CEO told shareholders Tuesday that the...”
— Fannie CEO sees steep...

“The debate over what’s driving the surge in energy and...”
— Senate takes on commodities...

“Wholesale prices rose a smaller-than-expected 0.2% in April...”
— Producer prices rise tame 0.2%...

“Freddie Mac expects the shakeout in the mortgage industry to...”
— Freddie CFO: GSEs gaining...

“President Bush, acknowledging the economic “tough...”
— Bush: No bailout for lenders -...

“As it did when the housing bubble began to burst, California...”
— What’s next for the economy?...

“Economists are trimming back their forecasts for the U.S....”
— Bleak picture for economy -...

“Philomena Gist understands why it hurts so much to be on...”
— New breed of American emerges...

“We’ve all seen those league tables of asset writedowns...”
— An Incredible League Table -...

“On a brisk day last fall in Prineville, Ore., Raymond and...”
— Foreclosures take an emotional...

“The new world order for petroleum markets has some analysts...”
— $4 a gallon not the end of...

“Home sales surged 22% in April in Southern California as...”
— So. California home sales...

Free Foreign Language Lessons: A Podcast...

“It’s not a recession until the rich say it’s a...”
— Al Lewis - The Denver Post

“In an effort to help get the housing market back on its...”
— Fannie Mae changes down...

“Lowe’s Cos., the No. 2 U.S. home-improvement retailer,...”
— Lowe’s profit drops 18%...

“Some people are getting a lift from their foreclosures...”
— Lenders Paying for Untrashed...

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest U.S....”
— Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac a...

“After it bet correctly on the subprime mortgage market,...”
— When Goldman Speaks, People...

“California’s foreclosure crisis passed another ominous...”
— L.A. Land : Los Angeles...

“The dollar fell the most against the euro in a month and...”
— Dollar Falls Most Against Euro...

“Construction of U.S. single-family houses in April dropped...”
— U.S. Builders Broke Ground on...

“The Federal Reserve’s direct loans of cash to...”
— Fed’s Direct Loans to...

“Banks and securities firms should continue to raise capital...”
— Raise more cash, Bernanke...

CNNMoney - The new homeless

“Rising global grain prices helped spark the largest increase...”
— Food Costs Jump Most in 18...

“A federal judge has ruled that a shareholder lawsuit against...”
— Judge: Countrywide shareholder...

“Consumer credit cards have joined mortgage lending as a...”
— Banks Face Mountain of Plastic...

“Washington Mutual did not adequately prepare for the sharp,...”
— WaMu COO: We’re Not Done...

“Dear Chris: Wouldn’t you like to have extra cash at...”
— My crazy lying letter from...

Financial Armageddon

“In 4Q07 I became concerned that the credit reporting agency...”
— Bill Cara: Bill Cara’s...

“Nearly seven in 10 Americans are worried about maintaining...”
— Burdened by the Weight of...

Change in U.S. home prices by state based on Freddie Mac...

“We are all in a large canoe. The canoe is headed for the...”
— Maps of Real Estate Doom by...

“The sinking housing market is fertile ground for mortgage...”
— FBI warns of escalating...

“Americans are feeling a lot more economic pain than the...”
— Economic ‘misery’...

“U.S. foreclosure filings reached a record high in April,...”
— Foreclosures filing set record...

“The median price for a single-family home in the U.S....”
— Housing Prices Tumble in...

“Will Andrew Cuomo’s “appraisal code of conduct” — the set of...”
— Law Blog - WSJ.com :...

“Bank of America (BAC) is the latest big company to note the...”
— FORTUNE: Daily Briefing BofA...

“For those holding out hope that the American economy can...”
— Europacific Capital - Peter...

“U.S. and European banks and financial institutions have...”
— Bloomberg.com: News

“For less than the price of a decent used car, you can buy a...”
— Tax assessors boggled by...

Forget $200 Oil -- $240 Is Next, and...

“Things have deteriorated far beyond what anyone really...”
— BofA Needs to Rework...

“May 12 (Bloomberg) — Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive...”
— Bloomberg.com: Worldwide

“A congressional proposal to have the government help...”
— Housing bailout: Little cost...

“Bear Stearns may have been deemed to big to fail. But ANB...”
— Get ready for more bank...

“The number of homes heading toward foreclosure more than...”
— Homes facing foreclosure more...

“Mortgage lenders are abusing the bankruptcy court system by...”
— Witnesses: Mortgage lenders...

“The House on Thursday passed a contentious...”
— House passes controversial FHA...

“ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER ROUND of declarations that the worst...”
— Current Yield - Barron’s...

“In a speech to the Columbia School of Business in New York...”
— Bernanke: Let’s fight...

“Homeowners aren’t the only ones claiming they were...”
— Empty Homes Spur Cities’...

“A rebound in the housing market is being held back by stingy...”
— Realtors say tighter lending...

“We’re seeing the prime area coming under pressure,...”
— Mortgage crisis seeps to prime...

“The most brutal real estate slump in decades is...”
— Renters can’t escape...

“Personal credit scores used to be a pretty accurate...”
— Subprime In Sheep’s...

“Countrywide’s loan portfolio has deteriorated so...”
— Analyst says Bank of America...

Thankfully this is a phone conversation...

Me: Hello, Kevin Branson, may I help you?
Loan Officer: Kevin. Hi, this is Linda.
Me: Hi, Linda! How are you doing?
Loan Officer: Um, not great right now. You know the appraisal report you completed for me last week, for that property on Smith Street that is under contract?
Me: Yes, I do. Is there a problem?
Loan Officer: Well yes, unfortunately there is a big problem. The loan committee has rejected your appraisal report. The comparable sales you used were too far away. They especially didn't like the sale you used way out on Brown Road. Kevin, that sale on Brown Rd. is in an entirely different COUNTY than the property you appraised! What was it, 30 miles away?
Me: Yeah, that's about right. Listen, I wasn't too crazy about using that particular sale to tell the truth. But I had to use it, if you know what I mean.
Loan Officer: Oh! Well, I need your help. The Loan Committee told me to ask you to find some comparable sales that are closer to the subject property. I mean, really, there must be another sale closer than the one on Brown Rd. It's thirty miles away for heaven sake!
Me: Linda, let me be perfectly honest with you. I HAD to use that particular sale in order to reach a high enough appraised value to meet the purchase price. If I don't use that sale, then the appraised value will come in way below the purchase price and that will blow the deal! And, yes, to tell the truth, there are closer sales, but like I said, if I use those closer sales I won't be able to get a high enough value.
Loan Officer: Well then just use the closer sales and appraise it at a lower value, whatever the closer sales indicate will be fine at this point. We just need a realistic appraisal from you.
Me: Linda, if I go back now and use those closer sales, well, that could really make me look bad, since I didn't use them in the first place. Do you understand? I really can't risk having two very different values out there. There would be no good explanation for that. So I'm sorry, but I can't do what you are asking me to do.
Loan Officer: Well we can't use this appraisal report as it is! It's no good.
Me: I'm sorry Linda, I really am.