As a Real Estate Agent specializing in short sales and foreclosures, I know first hand how devastating this market can be to scores of hard working Americans. As Realtors and as consumers, I think it's important to know the latest foreclosure developments. Here are some of the lesser known stories, not typically covered by the major media. Each title is a link that will take you to the original post:
Pulling Back the Curtain: Exposing the 1% Behind the 2011 Big Bank Bonuses:
The nation’s top six banks—Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs—paid out $144 BILLION in bonuses and compensation this past year, making 2011’s payday the second highest on record for these six firms.
Just half of the banks’ bonus and compensation pools would be enough to write down the principal on all underwater mortgages in the country. (video provided at the bottom of this post)
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A Huge Housing Bargain -- but Not for You:
The largest transfer of wealth from the public to private sector is about to begin. The federal government will be bulk-selling the massive portfolio of foreclosed homes now owned by HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to private investors -- vulture funds.
These homes, which are now the property of the U.S. government, the U.S. taxpayer, U.S. citizens collectively, are going to be sold to private investor conglomerates at extraordinarily large discounts to real value.
You and I will not be allowed to participate. These investors will come from the private-equity and hedge-fund community, Goldman Sachs(GS_) and its derivatives, as well as foreign sovereign wealth funds that can bring a billion dollars or more to each transaction.
In the process, these investors will instantaneously become the largest improved real estate owners and landlords in the world. The U.S. taxpayer will get pennies on the dollar for these homes and then be allowed to rent them back at market rates.
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The Foreclosure-to-Rental Screwjob:
And, why–in heaven’s name–would congress want to take on more risk when they can keep millions of people in their homes by simply reducing the principle on their mortgages to the present value of the house?
Did you catch that? Taxpayers are going to get slammed for another $750 billion. That’s nearly as much as Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the fiscal stimulus that added 2 percent to GDP and kept unemployment from rocketing to 13 percent. Bernanke wants to throw that same amount down a Wall Street sinkhole.
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New York Federal Reserve Estimates 3.6 Million Foreclosures Will Occur In The Next Two Years:
While foreclosure rates hit a four-year low in 2011, the early signs for 2012 don’t look good when it comes to housing, as banks have begun to work through a backlog of foreclosures that were delayed by the foreclosure fraud scandal. In fact, the New York Federal Reserve anticipates that 3.6 million foreclosures will occur in the next two years, piling on to the 1 million in 2010 and the 800,000 last year. “The ongoing weakness in housing has made it more difficult to achieve a vigorous economic recovery,” said New York Fed President William Dudley. “Housing has inhibited economic activity through a number of channels.”
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Instead of paying out billions in bonuses to millionaire bankers, the top six Wall Street banks could start investing back in the 99% by:
Mirela, Wall Street and Washington DC are in bed together.
Case in point:
Obama's new White House Chief of Staff, Jacob Lew. The former Citigroup Wall Streeter made millions of dollars betting against American homeowners. He received a $950,000 "Bonus" right after the Stimulus was passed by the Federal Government. And this month Obama made him White House Chief of Staff!
Hi MIrela,
A very revealing post.
Thanks for sharing it.
Phil
marti: thank you very much!
Getting a featured post from you is both rewarding AND visually pleasing.
Merci beaucoup!
Fred: Indeed!
We know that they steal. We don't even make a fuss about it. But when they steal it ALL... then it's time to reexamine and ask some hard questions... Hell, it's time to do something about it!
Thanks for the insightful comment!
Phil: Thank you for reading it! I hope you share it!
bienvenu Mirela, you make us think and I really appreciate your contributions. Bonne nuit...
Hi Mirela, I left a comment here yesterday, but not sure what happened. Anyways, I did reblog this post.
Many of us sale REOs and short sales, looking at this mess the current administration dealing with makes me want to work as hard as I can to keep homes in our hands. With that much money flowing to the corporate higher ups, frankly...it pisses me off.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-28/secret-fed-loans-undisclosed-to-congress-gave-banks-13-billion-in-income.html
Mirela
That one statement alone makes me want to cry
"Just half of the banks’ bonus and compensation pools would be enough to write down the principal on all underwater mortgages in the country."
Just how much money does one person need or want, especially when the rest of the country is in trouble? If we have to economize, they should do their part as well.
I don't think we are even close to seeing the half of it.
Also, I just subscribed to your blog as I am growing my North American and international referral base. I specialize in Silicon Valley, specifically San Jose, Saratoga and Cupertino, Calif. (home of Apple Computer). You are one of the first ActiveRain bloggers I subscribed to in your area. I hope we can help each other grow our real estate businesses in 2012 and beyond. You can read my blog at www.activerain.com/results.