Monday, June 24, 2013

Tuesday June 25 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

Bank’s attitude toward struggling loanowners toughening as prices rise - (www.ochousingnews.com) In any negotiation the options of the parties determines the strength of their bargaining position. Ordinarily, when a lender and a borrower execute a promissory note and a mortgage agreement, the lender has most of the power, which is why they determine the terms of the agreement. The only option a borrower has is to shop for slightly better terms from another lender. If the borrower fails to pay according to the terms of the promissory note, the lender has the option of calling a public auction on the property to regain the outstanding balance on the loan. Lenders wisely force the borrower to put money down on the transaction to provide a cushion to protect the lender from loss if the foreclosure sale doesn’t obtain appraised value on the property. At least that’s how the system is supposed to work. When house prices crashed, borrowers found they had more options and lenders found they had less. The balance of power in the negotiation shifted. Because lenders foolishly loaned money at 100% of appraised value during the bubble, they had no cushion when prices fell. If they were to exercise their contractual right under the mortgage agreement to call a public auction, they stood to lose money – lots of it. This made banks hesitant to foreclose.

'Shadow' homes could burden U.S. housing agencies - (www.reuters.com) Well over a million U.S. homeowners are months behind on payments on government-backed mortgages, raising the risk federal housing agencies will end up facing the cost of managing a fresh flood of foreclosed homes, two government watchdogs said on Thursday. Some 1.7 million borrowers have missed several payments on mortgages backed by the U.S. government, the inspectors general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a joint report. These loan delinquencies represent a "shadow inventory" of homes that could hit the market if foreclosed on, which would need be managed by government-run Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or some other federal housing agency. Once seized, these so-called real estate owned properties, or REOs, present significant financial challenges to these government agencies, the report said.

Turkish Protesters Attacked in Erdogan’s Black Sea Hometown - (www.bloomberg.com) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused protesters across the country of violating laws and damaging state property, and said he won’t permit a minority to dominate. “No right can be sought in violation of the law,” Erdogan said at a press conference in Tunis today, where he’s on the fourth day of a North Africa visit. He said people with “environmental sensitivities” who have protested against the redevelopment of a park in central Istanbul are being exploited by illegal groups, including terrorists. Demonstrations spread nationwide after police attacked a rally in the park, near Istanbul’s Taksim Square, with tear gas and water cannons on May 31. Many protesters have called for the resignation of the Islamist-rooted Erdogan, saying he’s become too autocratic, and cite grievances including alleged police brutality and curbs on alcohol sales.

Philippine, Thai Bourses Try to Calm Investors on Stock Rout - (www.bloomberg.com) Stock exchanges in the Philippines and Thailand have moved to soothe investors after speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve may scale back bond purchases prompted selloffs by overseas investors. Stock Exchange of Thailand President Charamporn Jotikasthira today urged investors not to panic, saying economic and corporate earnings growth in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy remains strong. The benchmark SET Index dropped to two-month low. Philippine Stock Exchange President Hans Sicat described the selloff as an “extreme overreaction.” The Philippines benchmark index has slumped 11 percent and the Thai gauge 8.4 percent since May 22, when Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said policy makers could consider reducing the pace of monetary stimulus if the nation’s labor market improves. Overseas investors have sold a net $414 million of Thai stocks and $147 million of Philippine shares this month.

$1 Trillion Debt Crushes Business Dreams of U.S. Students - (www.bloomberg.com) Dr. Steve Sherick wants to build the emergency-care business he started two years ago that now employs seven doctors and two part-time administrators. The $300,000 in student loans he and his wife carry makes that prospect difficult, he said. Sherick, 36, who contracts with a local hospital in Trinidad, Colorado, about 200 miles south of Denver, graduated in 2009 with about $140,000 of debt. That’s not counting the student loans of his wife, a pediatric oncologist, and their mortgage. He would like to hire a full-time administrator and offer more competitive salaries to entice doctors to work in the rural community. “It deters an entrepreneurial spirit when you already start four steps behind the starting line,” said Sherick. “The student debt increases the risk for an entrepreneur like me and makes it harder to expand new business, get loans and thus hire new people.”





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