Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for April, 2008

Feds Examining Compensation Packages

One has to wonder why in these tough economic times, with foreclosures still rising, why some CEO’s of failed mortgage companies are walking away with huge separation packages.  This, after making millions last year when everything hit the fan.  Case in point – Anthony Mozilo, who is testifying in front of the Feds that are […]

The Affluent Take A Hit

A lot of people see the foreclosure rates and people losing their homes as a sign of people with limited income that have made poor choices.  Although this may be true in a lot of cases, it is not a level playing field.  Even the affluent are having their woes, which I think is a […]

SoCal Homes Taking A Dive In Value

I subscribe to a lot of feeds from blogs that carry mortgage news.  It helps me stay on top of things for the blog without having to scrounge around the internet looking for noteworthy pieces to comment on.  One of the blogs I subscribe to is DrHosuingBubble.com.  I enjoy getting information from bloggers because I […]

Crunching The Numbers

I spent some time today crunching numbers, looking at the median income of people across the nation.  Boring stuff, but it gives you a good idea of where we all stand.  Here is what I found. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2006, the median the median annual household income was $48,201.00.  This is […]

The Bleeding Continues

News about Citigroup is not good.  For a second straight quarter Citigroup Inc. has shown a loss.  In first quarter 2008, they lost $5.1 billion in write-downs spanning mortgages to leveraged loans.  This was a lot more than Wall Street analysts felt they would drop, but it also showed that the write-down total was less […]

The Trouble With New Century Financial

I read today with much interest about the fall of New Century Financial, and what some feel was the harbinger of the sub prime mortgage crisis.  New Century Financial was setting itself up for a fall long before this mess became so prominent. The chief financial officer, Tajvinder S. Bindra, had on several occasions requested […]

Democrats And Republicans Working Together

It is encouraging to see both House Democrats and Republicans working together to help solve the financial crisis in the mortgage market. However, as is always typical of both parties, they fail to agree on what should be done, and how to accomplish it. The wheels of government turn terribly slow, as we all know, […]

Restructure The Financial System?

With so many people in a jam and facing foreclosure, you would think that the banks would just gather these people together, give them a decent loan rate, and make it affordable to stay in their home.  The banks would not have to be bothered by unnecessary paper work, would surely save billions of dollars, […]

Fannie’s New Rules

Seems like every time you turn around, something new is coming down the pike.  I have read about more stimulus and relief and bailout plans in the past few months than I have read in a lifetime.  To me, it seems like a real indication that this time, we are really in the soup.  Not […]

On Transperency In The Marketplace

I’ve read enough pro’s and con’s this week about various “stimulation” and “relief” packages that it is enough to make an old man’s head swim.  Everyone from Wall Street analysts to Edward L. Glaeser, a professor economics at Harvard University have chimed in.  It is a bit hard to really know what is going on.  […]