After 2005 bankruptcy law, foreclosures up 42%.

[happydreams]

This was on NOW last Friday night.
The feudalists are consolidating their power as we witness the greatest transfer of wealth in history.

[bigscott]

1. bankruptcy laws

and easy home lending and sinking home prices and no-down-payment loans etc etc etc

[jwirr]

3. Not to mention predatory loans. There are a lot of factors in this

mess. What I have always wondered is what are the lenders going to do with all the things they are repossessing? Not just empty homes but cars, farm equipment, etc. When the buyers are totally tapped out the bankers will have all the "things" with no place to put them.

For the lender the only value that he/she has for the repossessed property is resale. When that is impossible they will have nothing. So my suggestion to the business world is to rethink the idea of destroying the middle class - to make money you need them.

[happydreams]

9. The banks don't care if the loan is paid back totally...

all they want are payments to continue until the owner is busted, then the banks get the property back and can start another buyer through the same process.

The IMF does this on a grand scale with countries they target for industrial exploitation. They create a debt dependent country to get "easier terms" on deals for resources.

Its predatory capitalism. I'm close to dropping predatory in that description because its starting to sound redundant.

[jwirr]

10. Yes, but in a depression there are no buyers to sell to in the end.

They are pushing buyers out of the market. I of course am assuming that this mess will end in a deep depression. The gap between rich/sellers and poor/buyers is very large already. The housing bubble is here what will come next?

[happydreams]

21. Very good point. I think, but I don't know, that the bar for qualifying

for a homeloan is continually lowered so those who didn't qualify previously are now qualified and the banks can get a moneystream. If we have a depression on the scale of the 30's then your right, there will be very few buyers.
What's weird about it is that loaning to non-credit worthy customers is little concern to the banks.

[Greyhound]

25. They don't care, they're not trying to make more money, they already have more than they

can use. They are buying fiefdoms and serfs, us. We pay for their lives.

Their weakness is that, in their arrogance, they always forget that eventually the serfs get fed up and react in thoroughly unpleasant ways. In each cycle, they think they've got a way to keep the peasants down forever this time, but it always ends the same.

[InkAddict]

19. I hear you.

Lots of bucks in the churn. And yes, it's purposeful and predatory. Now, do you think those in jeopardy could get one of those fancy "restraining orders" from the Congress Critters? Remember, in Bernake's perfect economic world of the future, Boomers would be six-feet under. Good night and good luck!

[Gormy Cuss]

11. The repossessed goods may be sold on the international market

if the domestic market is tapped out. Selling one car wouldn't make sense, but selling a container load of them would.

The repossessed real estate will be sold to investors, including some investors from abroad. Foreign investors already own a substantial amount of commercial real estate in some states. There is a small level of private residential ownership by individual foreign investors; in areas with tourist interest that investment is likely to increase. It's not much different from the way Americans have purchased in Latin America or vacation hot spots in Canada or the Caribbean.

[happydreams]

22. Thanks for pitching in with that. Damn good info.

:hi:

[Greyhound]

24. Please refer to American history of the 1930's.

The truly rich, not the stock market paper millionaires of the 1920's, bought up the country for pennies on the dollar. BTW, they are the same families that own us today.

[ProfessorGAC]

16. That And The Trend Toward Supersizing Homes

Background on why i know this stuff. I'm on the board of directors of a small indie bank with just over $100 million in total assets. (No, i don't get paid. Just mileage for meetings, a dozen or so meals and a couple of golf outings.)

Anyway, the study indicated that in a survey done by Harvard Business School in 2004, more than 2/3rd of respondents under 35 years of age considered a 2500 square foot home to be a starter home! Yep, you heard that right. They buy a 2,500 sq. ft. home expecting to be moving up and on to something bigger.

Two adults, one or no kids, and a 4 bedroom home is the starter home. So, the marketing of the home builders has convinced people that having a mortgage at 3x gross household income is "normal" and acceptable.

The result brought up in the OP is the consequence.
The Professor

[Nabia2004]

28. You just described my materialistic ex-wife

In 2001 our starter home was a 4 bedroom 2000 sq-ft Universal-design custom. It was my dream home, I thought we were going to start a family and grow into it. I was wrong, we had barely finished unpacking when she started talking about getting a bigger place.

I will likely be moving into a smaller home next, and she plans on getting a 3000-3500 sq-ft place.

[Dora]

2. All hail the great Ownership Society. n/t

[tanyev]

5. I call it the Ownership Society Pyramid Scheme.

[happydreams]

6. You said it. Another myth dispelled....

One of the homeowners on NOW who had an illness that threw he and his family into severe financial stress said there is no middle class in America.

[salin]

8. "Ownership"? or for many is it the illusion of ownership?

Those interest-only (at first) with huge baloon payment later loans ... many of those 'owners' have no equity.

[Double T]

4. Aided and abetted by 'OUR' corporatist members of congress.........

on BOTH sides of the aisle.

[etherealtruth]

17. I have never forgiven Debbie Stabenow for voting for that horrific...

... piece of legislation.

[ClintonTyree]

7. But the credit card companies are overjoyed....

remember, the bankruptcy law was supposed to help the credit card companies reduce their losses so they could in turn reduce their interest rates. How's that going, anyway? :shrug: Anyone here get a reduction in their credit card interest rates? Anyone? Anyone? You mean they took the money and ran? :wow: I'm shocked, SHOCKED I tell you! :eyes:

Every Democratic Congressman who supported this abomination should be drawn and quartered. :mad: If they had an ounce of guts they'd reverse this travesty but I'm not holding my breath.

[LaPera]

12. Say it louder, because no one seems to be listening...Good post!

Certainly not our representatives they don't give a fuck.

[Edweird]

18. I second that!

[nolabels]

13. The backlash will come

A lean and tough public that sees they get no breaks will be getting more and more angry as the years go by witnessing all the corporate welfare, bailouts and subjective laws that have been passed in favor of corporations. I have never feared in knowing that majority of the public will eventually outsmart the crooks that rummage around the edge of society. The laws of physics more often than not are mirrored relationships of groups. A good one to remember is that of a force being rendered will eventually have to create an equal force to counteract the force that has been used or emitted.

The French and American revolutions were no accident.

Anyone that trusts any large majority of politicians has the best interest of the public at heart should have their head examined

[Ignacio Upton]

14. That reminds me...

Now that we control Congress, let's try to REPEAL that POS.

[happydreams]

23. I think the Neoliberals--a majority of democrats and repubs--will

want to maintain this law.

Your suggestion sure would separate the wheat from the neo-liberals though.

[ray of light]

15. also...my college age student has received over 10 credit offers in < 10 days...

We've taught them to rip up the offers. So they're trying to trap the college kids and the college kids are going broke paying for college anyways becuase grants and scholarships are scarce.

[WI_DEM]

20. And the Democrats who voted for this are just as much to blame

[Greyhound]

26. The illusion of two parties. One party that owns both teams.

I am a Democrat because they do have a smaller stake in this party, but hold no illusions that they are on my side.

[Nutmegger]

27. And thanks to the Dems who voted for this crap legislation.

They sold us out to the credit card indu$try and didn't do a damn thing.