Guys! We’re almost done! Next week at this time, all we have to worry about is putting our hard work on the web!
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From CNN today.
KERRY AND MENINO TOUT PLANS TO PREVENT FORECLOSURES
Sen. John Kerry joins Boston Mayor Thomas Menino at a workshop on Saturday on preventing home foreclosures. Kerry has introduced legislation in the Senate to offer safer loans for first-time homebuyers and help homeowners refinance subprime loans. In addition, five different mortgage services are planning to send teams to meet with Boston homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages. The workshop takes place at 11 a.m. Saturday at Madison Park High School, 75 Malcolm X Boulevard, Roxbury.
Here’s a video from CNN today, about people who are forced to live in trailers because they lost their homes to foreclosures. It’s definitely worth a look, and a good example of a package we could try to put together.
- Katelyn
U.S. News & World Report has a variety of articles on the housing crisis with interesting angles. I thought you guys might like to read some of them.
Including, Should you lose sleep over Investing in Foreclosed Property? An excerpt:
“But the misery, fear, anxiety, and anger experienced by someone about to lose a home is an opportunity for foreclosure investors, who are prepared and eager to swoop in and snap up the property at below-market rates, often with cash or a cashier’s check in hand and sometimes well before the property is due for the courthouse steps.”
Also, The Haunted Housing Market.
An excerpt:
“There is no time to delay in combating the trends. Monetary policy cannot make bad investments turn good. Cheaper mortgages won’t cure the market where properties are plunging so much in value. The collapse of value will affect all homeowners and, through them, the whole economy. It’s bound to be the most pressing issue in this presidential election year. Voters in the primaries and general election should look to candidates with credible policies in mind to address this downturn.”
Also, At the Mercy of the Market.
And then 3 Key Ways to Buy Foreclosed Property.
Excerpt:
“More than a million foreclosed and “distressed” properties are expected to hit the market this year, from two-bedroom starter homes to 20-room mansions. But while the banks that own many of them are now preparing to sell them en masse at auction, most of the best properties will be sold long before the gavel comes down.”
Even tips in Talking with a Foreclosure Guru.
Enjoy.
This meeting took place today at 1 Ashburton Place. Besides us, there were three representatives who spoke to the Assistant Attorney General, Christopher K. Barry-Smith.
First, Kevin Cuff, executive director from the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association and Denise Leonard, executive director from the Massachusetts Mortgage Association spoke.
Cuff said he “appreciated the outreach of the Attorney General, [Martha Coakley]” and her “ability to forsee addtional issues…and to work within the industry to clean it up.”
The one issue that stood out from the those listed by Cuff and Leonard was that of “credit triggers.”
Cuff described them as being on “the verge of obscene” and basically defining them in this way:
“When an applicant starts a mortgage loan….the information is then released to other lenders…which in turn triggers 5-7 calls/sales pitches…creating a bad relationship with the primary credit lender. Has the applicant’s credit been breached?”
The third and last person to speak was Kevin Kiley from the Massachusetts Bankers Association who was representing 200 banks. The one thing I got from him was something about the “in depth evaluation of the Massachusetts mortgage market.”
Although the meeting was brief, and the regulation they were speaking of wasn’t readily available, the main theme that came out of it was the issue of “credit triggers” which could be explored in more depth.
- Katelyn Harding
Shaken Foundations: Local Impact of the National Housing Crisis
About us
Sara Alterman compares an urban (Area 4 Cambridge) and a suburban community (Sudbury) and examines the symbiotic impact of foreclosures.
Eric D’Orazio examines who is profiting off the foreclosure crisis.
Javier Garcia-Albea explores how communities are fighting back against rising costs and foreclosure.
Katelyn Harding examines the growth of McMansions in towns like Wellesley, Lincoln and Weston.
David Maltz looks at how urban renters are affected by the rising costs to live.
Colleen Thompson examines how recent college graduates are affected by high housing costs in Boston.
About this project
A multimedia collaboration of Emerson College’s graduate journalism students, Shaken Foundations examines how the national housing crisis affects Massachusetts communities across race and class lines. How is the housing crisis affecting renters? How are communities fighting back? Where do people go when they have to abandon their homes? Who is profiting from the foreclosure crisis? These are some of the questions Shaken Foundations attempts to answer.
Today’s top CNN story.
“Merrill Lynch, for example, is forecasting home prices will fall by 15% in 2008 and another 10% in 2009. That will likely continue to fuel high foreclosure rates.” – an excerpt
- Katelyn Harding
