http://www.foreclosure.com/search/NY_059.html
http://www.foreclosure.com/
Quantitative and Qualitative data reported on this site.
Powerful Article about The state of Real Estate Market in Nassau County, NY, Wednesday March 12, 2008
http://nassaurealestate4buyers.com/the-future-of-the-nassau-county-real-estate-market/
The Future of the Nassau County Real Estate Market
The Future of the Nassau County Real Estate Market
The subprime mortgage crisis has extended itself throughout the economy. According to Congress' Joint Economic Committee, some 3.7 million homes will probably foreclose as a result of the crisis. As of August, 1.7 million of those homes had already foreclosed, and another 2 million are expected during the next two years. Some of the largest names in the financial industry are now subject to multiple lawsuits and are writing off tens of billions of dollars as lost.
The short term future of the housing market looks grim. The Fed chief testified to Congress in November, noting that the housing market will suffer the worst of the consequences of the housing crisis from now until the end of 2008.
While some analysts are expecting lower mortgage rates to help the housing market rebound in the middle of 2008, that is treated by many, including the generally optimistic Federal Reserve Board, as wishful thinking. It is, after all, hard to an envision a scenario wherein the national real estate market will recover while in the middle of the worst of the subprime crisis.
A more likely scenario will probably play itself out in the last quarter of 2009, when improved consumer sentiment and several additional rate cuts by the federal reserve will have served to increase demand in the housing market sufficiently to turn a weak rebound into a steady increase in the value of the nation's housing.
What do you think? We'd love to hear your opinion on the future of the Nassau County market. Leave us your comment below.
Lenders Put a Freeze on Foreclosures
Lenders Put a Freeze on Foreclosures
Six of the nation's largest mortgage lenders, in a joint effort to cool the raging foreclosure crisis, have agreed to temporarily stop foreclosure proceedings on homeowners who have fallen seriously behind in their house payments.
Under a program unveiled recently, legal efforts to oust seriously delinquent borrowers from their homes will be postponed for 30 days while lenders and borrowers try to work out payment options.
The effort, known as Project Lifeline, will not be confined to borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages. So-called ARMs have recorded the highest rates of delinquencies, even as default for loans of all types have risen dramatically over the past couple of years.
Under the program, homeowners 90 days or more behind in their mortgages will get a letter from their lenders asking them to call. Borrowers will be asked if they want to stay in their homes; if so, they will be offered financial counseling.
Loan modifications are not automatically granted. Borrowers will have to provide up-to-date information about their wages and debts. At that point, the lenders decide whether to pause the foreclosure process.
During the moratorium, foreclosure prevention specialists will determine if there's a good possibility that a loan modification will work. In other words, will a borrower be able to regain his footing and start paying his mortgage again?
Lenders often lose money when they foreclose on and resell properties - an average of $50,000 per home. It's cheaper to work out a deal with defaulting borrowers.
The Affect of Mortgage Crisis on Long Island, Wednesday March 12, 2008
Suburban Slowdown
While the country worries over what impact the subprime mortgage crisis will have on the housing markets, New York City's suburbs have turned in decent, if level, second-quarter numbers. In the same way a large body of water acts as a buffer against extreme temperatures, New York City's market strength has been a buffer to cities and towns in New Jersey and Connecticut, and on Long Island and in Westchester. If anything, high residential prices in the city have encouraged buyers to look in the suburbs.
The city's strong job market also continues to support commuters who invest in homes in the suburbs. Sales activity is stronger in New Jersey counties close to Manhattan, and Wall Street bonuses have buoyed sales of high-end properties in Fairfield County communities like Greenwich.
But with uncertainty about times ahead, it remains to be seen if being close to Gotham will continue to cushion the blow. Long Island foreclosure figures, for example, are expected to rise in a rougher market.
The following are snapshots of New York City's suburban markets:
Expecting more mortgage defaults on Long Island
The Long Island housing market has flattened, though mortgage defaults could increase if the subprime mortgage crisis escalates. The good news: Median prices for the second quarter of the year in Nassau and Suffolk counties barely budged from the year-ago quarter. The bad news: The picture could get a lot worse. Pearl Kamer, an economist with the Long Island Association, the region's largest business group, noted that Long Island has seen a higher rate of defaults than the national average in recent months. What's more, she anticipates a larger amount of defaults continuing the region's housing slowdown to 2009.
Median home prices are higher in Nassau County than in Suffolk County, reflecting Nassau's proximity to New York City. According to the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, the median home price for Nassau County in June was $485,000, an increase of $15,000 over the median home price in March but down from last year's median home price of $500,000.
Meanwhile, the median home price for Suffolk County in June was $420,000, an increase of $26,000 over the median home price in the prior quarter, and an increase of $10,000 over the median home price a year ago.
Kamer said the current climate will affect future development on Long Island.
"If you have not put a shovel in the ground, you will postpone," she said.
She noted that in the past, developers have been hesitant to build in Nassau and Suffolk counties because the land-use approval process is a long one, and multifamily development often meets with community opposition. She did, however, point to several major projects slated for the next decade, including a 450-acre-plus development on the site of the old Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Islip in Suffolk County. That complex will house 9,000 apartments, 3 million square feet of office space and 1 million square feet of retail space.
In the worst-case scenario of a longer downturn in Long Island's housing market, Kamer said the 2009 date for a rebound would bring about a rise of 2 to 3 percent in sales.
Westchester: still not affordable
A lack of affordable housing continues to be a cause for concern in the middle portion of the county, as entry-level buyers are having a harder time purchasing homes in Westchester, already one of the most expensive markets in the country. If the subprime mortgage crisis spreads, it will likely hit buyers with poorer credit ratings and first-time buyers.
Westchester saw home prices drop 2 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, which industry leaders are characterizing as a "leveling off."
Second-quarter figures show the median sales price as $700,000, a strong rise from the first-quarter median of $635,000, but a drop from $715,000 registered the same period last year, and a reversion to the same median price as in the second quarter of 2005.
More worrisome, sales volume for the second quarter shows a drop of 2.5 percent, to 2,342 sales, from this time last year.
"It is not the greatest year we've had," said Gil Mercurio, chief executive officer of the Westchester County Board of Realtors.
Investors are also shying away from buying in Westchester. The multifamily housing market is seeing a big volume decline, with a 28 percent drop in the number of sales of two- to five-family homes from its level last year. Mercurio said the multifamily drop resulted from investors seeing real estate being a less safe investment than securities.
But Mercurio is optimistic about the Westchester market's future. He pointed to the strong New York City economy, along with the county's own 3.3 percent unemployment rate, as strengths. Mercurio noted that he has seen increased activity in the $1 million-plus market, with homes moving faster at that price point.
"We don't have the features that have contributed to the problems elsewhere," he said. "We don't have overbuilding. We don't have much in the way of investor presence in the market."
Hudson County reaps Manhattan buyers
In New Jersey, the median statewide price rose slightly over last year, with housing markets closer to New York City faring better than those farther away. Development-heavy Hudson County continues to lead in real estate sales, with 12 percent growth in contract sales in the first six months of 2007 over the first half of 2006. Inventory grew by 1 percent in the first half of 2007 compared to the first six months of 2006.
"In Hudson County, condo prices average $600 a foot, while in Manhattan they average $1,100 a foot," said Jeffrey Otteau, author of the Otteau Report, a widely read New Jersey market report. "Manhattan is throwing demand to markets like Hudson County."
In general, towns located on rail lines with direct access to Midtown see stronger growth than others, according to Otteau. He pointed to Essex County's Summit, Millburn and Montclair as examples of other suburban communities experiencing growth.
Otteau, also the president of the Otteau Valuation Group, said the secondary markets of the state, those with higher amounts of suburban sprawl, have begun to see decreases in the amount of contract sales. He noted that inventory throughout New Jersey has risen 9 percent compared to the first half of 2006.
Otteau said a lack of jobs is the leading cause of the decline, particularly in the suburban parts of northern New Jersey. He noted that while technology jobs were transferred from the city to New Jersey in the 1980s, the situation has since reversed itself.
Statewide, while the volume of sales has dropped, numbers released by the New Jersey Association of Realtors show a slight increase in median home prices for the first quarter of this year -- the latest quarter available from NJAR -- over the same time last year. At $361,300, the first-quarter median price is up from the $356,700 seen in the same period in 2006.
Looking ahead, Otteau believes higher gas prices will continue to help suburban communities with established downtowns, easy Manhattan commutes and pedestrian-friendly layouts.
Feeling fine in Fairfield County
Unlike the other suburban markets, Fairfield County appears to be shrugging at the prospect of a downturn. Barry Rosa, vice president of Prudential Connecticut Realty, said the region's economy has helped the county stay strong in the current real estate market. Higher-priced homes in particular are experiencing strong sales, fueled by Wall Street bonuses as executives and their families look to trade up to larger homes. Whether that will be affected dramatically by Wall Street's credit crunch and the fallout in the mortgage industry remains to be seen.
The luxury home market is robust in the Greenwich and New Canaan areas in particular. Rosa notes that many purchasers in the area have bypassed Westchester because of higher taxes and prices.
Here, buyers can expect to pay lower prices than in Westchester for the same type of luxury homes, he said.
Overall, the Fairfield County single-family housing market has remained steady for the first half of the year, while the condominium market has fallen, he said.
The median price for a single-family home in the county for the first half of 2007 was $585,000, a 4 percent jump from the same period last year. The market has also seen a slight jump, about half a percentage point, in the number of single-family homes sold in the last year, with 3,912 homes sold.
While the median condo price has fallen $900 to $299,000, the number of condo units sold in Fairfield County has dropped slightly more than 11 percent from this time last year.
Of all the towns in Fairfield County, Darien has seen the strongest growth, with the median home price jumping almost 20 percent from 2006 to $1.18 million. Redding posted the only other double-digit percentage jump in median home prices, with a 10 percent jump to $755,000 over last year. The largest drop was in Newton, with median home prices falling 11.5 percent to $517,500.
Comparative Approach Article on Different Neighborhoods in Nassau County Highlighting Disparity on Mortgage Crisis
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/closetohome/2008-02-11-nassua-county-ny_N.htm?csp=34
y Noelle Knox, USA TODAY
Some of the more affordable homes, averaging $300,000 to $400,000, can be found in such areas as Freeport, Baldwin and Bellmore. These areas are still seeing quite a few distressed sales from homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, says Lydia Green, an agent with Re/Max Action in Freeport.
Overall, she says, sales contracts are up a bit, but prices are down 5% to 10% from last year.
In upper-middle-income areas such as Great Neck, the average sales price is closer to $900,000, also down slightly from last year, says Joey Sanders, branch manager for Coldwell Banker's Great Neck office. Prices are down by about 5%, maybe a little more. There's also an unusually high six- to nine-month inventory of homes for sale, Sanders says, and the average home sits on the market for 150 to 180 days.
At the upper end, in places such as Locust Valley, Oyster Cove and Kings Point, there was no fallout from the subprime mortgage mess, and there are signs that the spring selling season may have begun early.
"We are seeing more foot traffic through all of our houses, and, if the house is priced right, multiple bids," says Bonnie Devendorf, vice president of Daniel Gale Sotheby's in Locust Valley.
The one thing Nassau County's 1.3 million residents all share is high property taxes. With a median tax bill of $7,700, Nassau's property-tax burden is the nation's second-highest among counties, according to the Tax Foundation.
The Most Expansive RE Property
On the market is a 26-acre Normandy-style estate owned by financier Frank Richardson III. The mansion, built in 1948, is surrounded by 114 acres of preserve parkland.
Price: $20 million
Bedrooms: 10
Bathrooms: 10 full, 2 half
Size: 17,862 square feet
Features: 15 fireplaces, Tudor-style coach house, 12-stall stable, tennis house and indoor/outdoor courts, swimming pool, trails.
The Median Priced Home
This house in Rockville Centre, built in 1923, is on the market.
Price: $458,876
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 1
Size: 1,408 square feet
Features: Eat-in kitchen, finished basement.
A Press Release from District 16 in Nassau County, Wednesday march 12, 2008
Jacobs & Nassau lawmakers, REALTORS, homeowners
call on White House to reject tax panel’s proposal to reduce home mortgage deduction
Nassau County Majority Democrats, led by Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury), joined today with representatives of the Long Island Board of REALTORS (LIBOR), the Long Island Progressive Coalition and several Nassau County homeowners to rally against a Presidential Panel�s proposed tax reforms that will devastate current tax benefits for homeowners. The Nassau County Legislators, including Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead), Deputy Presiding Officer Roger Corbin (D-Westbury), Joseph Scannell (D-Baldwin), Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside), Lisanne Altmann (D-Great Neck), Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington), Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick), Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove) and Dave Mejias (D-North Massapequa), all called upon federal representatives in Washington to block this proposed plan.
A Presidential Advisory panel recently recommended reducing deductions for mortgage interest and eliminating those for state and local taxes. The tax overhaul is at the top of President George Bush�s second term agenda.
�Cutting the current tax benefits would wreak havoc on Nassau County homeowners, their budgets and their retirement savings,� said Legislator Jacobs.
LIBOR President Marian Fraker-Gutin said, �The housing industry, which has driven and sustained the economy for the last five years, could be seriously impacted by the proposed tax reforms. By reducing the deduction on mortgage interest and property taxes, as well as state and local taxes, the financial stability of many Long Island families could be grossly compromised. Moreover, consumers� nest eggs will be jeopardized because much of their investment for retirement is tied to the equity consumers have in their homes.�
�Just like the presidents tax cuts which benefited the wealthiest Americans, this plan will cost more for the middle class while further reducing taxes for the wealthiest,� stated Lisa Tyson, Director of the Long Island Progressive Coalition. �This will erode the progressivity of the federal income tax while hurting many Long Islanders and deepen the affordable housing crisis�
In letters to U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, Congressman Gary Ackerman, Congressman Tim Bishop, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy and Congressman Steve Israel, the Nassau lawmakers commended the federal representatives for the tough stance they have already taken against the President�s proposed tax reforms.
�Limiting the mortgage interest deduction for homes under $300,000 when the average house in Nassau County is worth $485,000 puts the dream of homeownership that much farther out of reach for Long Island families,� said Deputy Presiding Officer Corbin.
Currently, an interest payment on up to one million of first mortgage debt is deductible. According to published reports, the panel is considering recommending that the figure be lowered to $300,000. The median price of homes is $485,000 in Nassau County and in Suffolk County it is $390,000.
Rev Jesse Jackson Conducted a Foreclosure March on Wall Street To Warn about The Impact of Mortgage Crisis to Come, Wednesday March 12, 2008
http://www.observer.com/2007/wall-street-foreclosure-protest-dont-buy-something-you-cant-afford
Wall Street on Jesse Jackson Foreclosure March: 'These People Are Not Victims'
Despite Jesse Jackson’s warning of an impending “economic tsunami” from the subprime mortgage crisis, the only people marching on Wall Street on Monday afternoon were the business people whizzing past the few dozen protestors chanting “Restructure Loans—Don’t Repossess Homes” on the corner of Broad and Exchange streets.
Most business people strode past picket-wielding demonstrators, nonplussed by the accusations of “predatory lending” and “white-collar crime” being lobbed from the podium inside the metal barricades one block south of the New York Stock Exchange. As one speaker called on “Wall Street to help out the main street," a suited passerby shook his head and muttered, “Yeah, well, don’t buy something you can’t afford.”
Some spectators, like lawyer Angelo A. Paparelli, agreed that the government needs to do more to stem the two million mortgage foreclosures that are expected in the next two years.
“Obviously, there has to be a political solution [because] someone’s ox is going to be gored the question is who suffers and who wins out,” he said on the sidelines of the protest. “Everyone is culpable here. I feel for these people, but if they had no realistic hope of servicing the debt, they should pay. If they were duped, then the duper should pay. [President Bush’s plan] is arbitrary and doesn’t go far enough though.”
Mr. Bush announced a plan last week to rescue holders of subprime mortgages by freezing interest rates for five years, but it is unclear how many of the two million subprime borrowers will be eligible for loan restructuring under the proposal.
In a statement released by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition last week in response to the plan, Mr. Jackson attributed the foreclosure crisis to a “white-collar crime wave in which billions of dollars were made and lost in real estate speculation in subprime loans by the biggest banks, hedge funds and mortgage companies in.”
The Center for Responsible Lending said in a study that the plan applies to only 7 percent of homeowners facing foreclosure, or 145,000 households. Mr. Jackson is calling for a bigger government bailout along the lines of the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild post-World War II Europe.
Other Wall Streeters resent even limited intervention in the economy.
One investment advisor who would not say which firm he worked for or give his name because he “would get in trouble” said he has been warning clients for the past three years that the housing bubble would eventually burst.
“I had clients cashing out $3,000 IRA accounts to put a down payment on a house they couldn’t afford and now someone has got to pay the piper,” he said in between drags of a cigarette outside the Bobby Van’s steakhouse at Broad and Exchange streets. “These people are not victims of predatory lending and this is not a racial thing. It’s like those guys on the street doing the card tricks--the deal looks too good to be true because it is. People went out and bought houses that they shouldn’t have bought, so eventually they are going to foreclose. The government getting involved is just forestalling the inevitable."
Another dealer who refused to disclose his name because, “I do business with a lot of the companies that I think should pay,” said Wall Street should be held accountable after earning high returns from subprime loans.
“These Wall Street banks are behind a lot of the mortgage companies with abusive lending practices, so yeah I think they should have to pay more,” he said, before stubbing out his cigarette and walking into the Stock Exchange.Will Patterson Save Nassau County on The Eve of Spitzer's Resignation? Wednesday March 12, 2008
http://www.observer.com/realestate
The big question following Governor Spitzer’s resignation announcement today is what will happen to his administration’s agenda for economic development and all the expansive, and in many cases expensive, projects under a Governor Paterson.
Unanswered questions are many. Will he re-review all—or any—of the mega-projects under Mr. Spitzer’s control? How will he alter the budget when he negotiates an agreement with the Legislature (due to happen by April 1)? How will a leadership change on the Capitol’s second floor affect those involved in projects like Moynihan Station?
A new governor, even one with similar priorities, certainly has the potential to delay or alter initiatives mid-stream, as a look at the transition from the Pataki administration to the Spitzer administration suggests. Two different approaches came out of Mr. Spitzer’s office then, with respect to those projects already underway: the rubber stamp and the reexamination.
The World Trade Center is an example of the former, where, despite his reservations with aspects of the project, Mr. Spitzer pushed the development ahead without looking in the rear-view mirror. For the latter, the Javits Convention Center and Brooklyn Bridge Park come to mind as two obvious projects that the Spitzer administration reexamined—spending many months to do so.
Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said in a brief phone call this afternoon that said she’s not all that concerned right now about the state’s big initiatives.
“I expect that it will be a smooth transition,” Ms. Wylde said, back from a trip to Albany yesterday where she met with state officials. “My sense was that there’s going to be an effort to make sure that the important projects continue to move forward, and that I’m sure that, particularly with the economy being as threatening as it is, everyone will want to ensure that development goes forward on the major projects.”
Some, like the World Trade Center, are already well underway and may not see any immediate effect from a new governor. Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein was asked about the transition today at a New York Building Congress luncheon.
“The first thing I would tell Governor Paterson is that all the agreements have been signed, and all decisions have been made,” he said, eliciting a chuckle from the crowd.An Article from CNN.com on the Mortgage Meltdown, Wednesday March 12, 2008
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/06/real_estate/defaults_continue_climb/index.htm?postversion=2008030614
http://money.cnn.com/real_estate/
Foreclosures hit all-time high
Over 900,000 borrowers are losing their homes, up 71% from a year ago, and a record number of home owners are behind on payments.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- More home owners than ever are losing the battle to make their monthly mortgage payments.
Over 900,000 households are in the foreclosure process, up 71% from a year ago, according to a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association. That figure represents 2.04% of all mortgages, the highest rate in the report's quarterly, 36-year history.
Another 381,000 households, or 0.83% of borrowers, saw the foreclosure process started during the quarter, which was also a record.
Additionally, the number of mortgage borrowers who were over 30 days late on a payment in the last three months of 2007 is at its highest rate since 1985.
"Boy, that was ugly," said Jared Bernstein, an Economic Policy Institute economist of the data.
"It's another reminder that anyone who thought we had hit bottom was wrong. This was a huge bubble, and when a bubble of this magnitude breaks, it creates a huge mess," he said." It could take a lot longer for the correction to work through the system."
One reason it may take so long is that there seems to be no end in sight for falling home prices.
"Declining prices are clearly the driving factor behind foreclosures, but the reasons and magnitude of the declines differ from state to state," said Doug Duncan, MBA's Chief Economist said in a prepared statement.
The foreclosure rates for prime and subprime adjustable rate mortgages both more than doubled compared with a year ago, from 0.41% for prime ARMs to 1.06% and from 2.70% for subprime ARMs to 5.29%.
But it was subprime ARMs that contributed most heavily to the nation's soaring foreclosure rates. Many of these loans come with low introductory rates that reset higher, often to unaffordable levels, in two or three years. Although they represent only 7% of all outstanding mortgage loans, they accounted for 42% of foreclosure starts during the quarter.
Delinquencies stood at 5.82% of outstanding mortgages, up from 5.59% during the three months ended September 30, 2007, according to the MBA. In the last quarter of 2006, the rate was 4.95%.
"In states like Ohio and Michigan, declines in the demand for homes due to job losses and out-migration have left those looking to sell their homes with fewer potential buyers, particularly with the much tighter credit restrictions borrowers now face," said Duncan.
"In states like California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, overbuilding of new homes created a surplus that will take some time to work through."
California and Florida are the states hardest hit by foreclosures. They accounted for 30% of all foreclosure starts in the United States last quarter, despite representing only 21% of the mortgage market.
Florida's foreclosure start rate more than tripled during the last three months of the year compared with a year ago, and they more than doubled in California.
Both states still have a sizable over-supply of inventory, according to Duncan, due to over-building during the speculative boom that lasted through mid-2006. That will continue to depress home prices and add to mortgage delinquencies in those states.
"We expect to see home price declines to last there through the end of 2008," he said, "after the rest of the country is in recovery."
As prices plummet -- already some California and Florida areas have seen price drops of 25% or more, according to Duncan -- defaults will soar.
And falling prices and growing foreclosures create a vicious cycle; the more prices fall the less likely it is that borrowers can use home equity to refinance into more affordable loans, which leads to more defaults. And as foreclosures rise housing inventory increases, further depressing prices.
At the same time, these trends have lead to a contraction the construction industry, hurting overall U.S. economic activity and increasing the chances that the economy will fall into recession.Mortgage Crisis Impact on the US Economy, Wednesday March 12, 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j1fRo-EV9I_vTb7QDsUiyzUbgdwg
US mortgage crisis creates ghost town
CLEVELAND, Ohio (AFP) — The streets are empty. Trash rustles down the road past rusted barbecues, abandoned furniture, sagging homes and gardens turned to weed.
This is Mount Pleasant, a neighborhood in southeastern Cleveland ravaged by the subprime mortgage crisis roiling the United States.
Faded "for sale" signs sit in front of deserted houses. The residents are gone, most after being evicted for missing their mortgage payments.
A red, white and blue American flag flies over windows and doors which have been boarded up to keep the drug dealers away.
Thieves have stripped many homes of the plumbing, the doors, the windows, the aluminum siding.
The police station parking lot is full. The officers are coming back from their rounds. They speak of installing alarms in some of the homes claimed by squatters.
At 9422 Union Avenue, a hand-scrawled sign attached to a window indicates someone lives there: "Please Used."
After three rings of the bell, Sarah Evans, 60, opens the door with a mixture of curiosity and alarm.
She says she is one of the last people left on the street. And she is on the verge of losing this two-bedroom house in which she has lived for more than 30 years because she simply cannot afford her monthly payments.
It is a complicated story. She refinanced in 2003, but did not realize the document she signed included provisions to radically increase the interest rate.
She stopped making payments in 2006 and shows her unpaid bills totaling 24,000 dollars.
Her bank is in the midst of eviction procedures.
"When folks buy a home they expect to die in it, I guess," she said as she stood outside in the cold. "I had my American Dream but it became a nightmare."
Her words are echoed by the angry barks of the guard dogs pacing behind a chain link fence two houses away that was installed by the new owner: a bank.
The massive parking lot of the Eagle Kinsman Fresh Market is empty.
Behind her till, Myra Bibldwit lifts her head when a bell signals the entrance of a customer.
"Not many folks come anymore. We're used to it," said the 24-year-old cashier, one of the few in the neighborhood who managed to hold onto her job.
In the five hours since she started working today she has served just 10 customers. "Maybe you will buy something," she says with a smile.
Then comes customer number 12.
Laura Johnston, 50, says that her street -- about 10 minutes away by car -- was alive two years ago. Today, half the houses are abandoned.
"Folks could not afford their payments. They were asked to pay loans which doubled. They could not afford it, some lost their job. Lenders were greedy. They threw them out of their homes," she told AFP.
"I'm very upset. I missed my friend Helen. She disappeared overnight. She did not even say goodbye."
There are plenty of cases like Helen. They are called the neighbors who disappear in the night.
For county treasurer Jim Rokakis, the greed of the banks is to blame for this man-made disaster.
"All you needed was a pulse to buy a house. Some loans were written with no money down, no proof of buyer's incomes. They did not even check what people were saying. Most of those folks were jobless," he said in an interview.
The Mount Plesant community, he said, "was the perfect storm: poor folks, unemployed and a desire to get a piece of the American Dream."
Number 6: Countrywide homepage advertisement for mortgage and refinance loans, Wednesday March 12, 2008
http://www.countrywide.com/retailloans/loanproducts.asp?
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Number 2: Trend from another lender advertising mortgage products, Wednesday March 12, 2008 http://www.mortgagecorp.com/mortgages.phpThe Mid-Island Mortgage Corp. difference. What separates Mid-Island Mortgage Corp. from everyone else is our solid track record and proven stability since 1959. Mid-Island Mortgage Corp. is your personal mortgage banker, regardless of trends and market cycles. While many of the new players to the home mortgage field have abandoned the community, chasing the next "hot market" to take advantage of, Mid-Island Mortgage Corp. is still happily serving you, your family and your neighbors. Our commitment to the thousands seeking the dream of home ownership is one of the many reasons we say "you always have a home with us!" Mortgage Q&AWe at Mid-Island Mortgage Corp. know that there's a lot of information out there... some of it is confusing, some downright misleading! For that reason, we've compiled a list of some of the most commonly asked questions that we've encountered... What are the most commonly made mistakes in buying or refinancing a house? Do I really need to opt for a "rate lock"? What is PMI? Can I get rid of the PMI on my mortgage? What is the difference between pre-qualifying and pre-approval? What exactly is a Reverse Mortgage and is it right for me? What are the steps of the loan process? Number 3: |
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