Warren opposed to fire sale of distressed mortgages to hedge funds

[portlander23]

NYT: Senator Elizabeth Warren to Join Call to Alter Sales of Distressed Loans

Housing advocates have attracted a prominent ally in their push to change the federal government’s policy of selling distressed mortgages at a discount to private equity firms and hedge funds.

The senator called on the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Fianance Agency, the overseer of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, to make it easier for nonprofit organizations to bid for the bundles of distressed mortgages put up for auction.

The sale of distressed mortgages by HUD and the government-sponsored mortgage finance firms has been drawing growing criticism from housing advocates and lawyers in recent months. The critics are concerned that private buyers of distressed mortgages are moving too quickly to put borrowers into foreclosure instead of modifying the loan terms as housing officials had hoped.

The investors are buying loans at a discount, often as much as 30 percent.

In a statement, Ms. Warren accused HUD and the F.H.F.A of “lining up with the Wall Street speculators.”

“Wall Street is interested in profits, not in working out a way for people to stay in their homes,” she said.

It's been eight years since the financial meltdown, and not only has there been no justice, but Wall Street is trying to make money off the misery they inflicted.

Give 'em hell Elizabeth.

Related:

WaPo: Sanders and Warren captured the enthusiasm within the Democratic Party, not the power

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. She's really on a roll these days.

I'd love it if she could extend her financial blitzkrieg to ending our many, many subsidies to the fossil fuel industries to help work on making renewables more competitive and help us avoid that 3.5C increase in temps by 2100.

[portlander23]

2. ;)

[LiberalArkie]

3. If the lenders are going to sell the debts to someone, the current owner should be able to buy it

for that discounted price.

[daleanime]

4. +1

[Ikonoklast]

5. Loan modification should be the first option, not foreclosure.

[SusanaMontana41]

6. I keep thinking that, at some point, Sen. Warren is going to be stretched too thin.

And she's proven me wrong repeatedly, I'm happy to say.

[Live and Learn]

7. K&R nt

[Sunlei]

8. Nothing should go to hedge funds. refinance distressed mortgages or forgive those loans.

Or list them in public and let people help pay off those mortgages.

There is a family, a real human behind every 'distressed mortgage' . don't let hedge funds "own" those people.

[turbinetree]

9. WE the PUBLIC were all told................2008.................

the banks would help the home owners if they were in distressed to help pay for there 800 Billion + bailout of criminality for homeowners and the taxpayers---------------------------that there would be loan modifications-------------------------that has not happened, it was a big FAT LIE, and if it has happened it has been years and sometimes just a means to foreclose on the property after the facts where represented to help those in distressed.

This is why this present system is rigged----------------it was devised not to help----------------but hurt


Enough is Enough


Honk-------------------for a political revolution Bernie 2016

[LovingA2andMI]

10. This is a LIE...

As in Loan Modification. Noting of the sort is going on. We're recently told in a state that suppose to be one of the hardest hit, that, the bank would not do a loan modification period (now mind you, this was what is one of the available opinion on this groups website). Instead, the "Best" recourse was payment of the past due payments, with a house STILL massively underwater and taking on a 5 year "lien" for that BS. Seriously!

We're moving on and that whole "bailout" of the mortgage companies and "Helping Homes Affordable Program" is straight up a BS lie were the banks got paid, taxpayers got screwed and folks are STILL losing their homes.