Jul212016
Responsible homeowners did not lose their homes in foreclosure
Whether or not “responsible” homeowners lost their homes depends on how you define “responsible.”
A common theme in the financial media is that people lost their homes during the housing bust due to unemployment, probably because it’s easier than acknowledging the bad loans and borrower profligacy. During the Great Recession (2008-2009), American businesses terminated more jobs than they created — by a wide margin. More than 7 million people lost their jobs during a two-year stretch. I recently noted that US lenders completed 6,324,545 foreclosures over the last ten years. Does that mean the foreclosures were caused by the unemployment?
To some degree, this is certainly the case. I bought a foreclosure from an unemployed construction worker in Las Vegas. I paid him $1,500 cash-for-keys and sent him on his way. But many, if not most, of the foreclosures were not caused by unemployment.
When people lose their jobs in a dual-income household, often only one of the two spouses loses income, so the family tightens their belts and muddles through the recession. And many obtained loan modifications, a program designed to combat the real cause of the housing bust — unstable mortgage debt and rampant mortgage equity withdrawal.
Many of the sob stories in the mainstream media were focused on who are characterized as “responsible homeowners” in danger of losing their homes. For several years during the recession, I wrote daily posts exposing mortgage equity withdrawal into the millions of dollars. Many astute observers noted the extravagances and poor decisions that often make these homeowners look less than completely responsible. For the most part, responsible homeowners did NOT lose their homes.
To see the truth in this statement, one needs to have a clear definition of “responsible homeowner.”
A “responsible homeowner” is a buyer who, if they utilized financing, did not stray from the conservative parameters set forth by lenders (prior to the bubble) and financial planners. This includes using a maximum 28%-31% debt-to-income ratio on the mortgage, at least a 20% down payment and fixed-rate conventionally amortizing financing.
Few who fit this definition lost their homes; although, some of them chose to walk away from the debt because they were hopelessly underwater. The only ones who fit the above definition who are in danger of losing their homes are those who lose jobs; they are the truly sad casualties of the housing bubble. Unfortunately, it was common due to the financial crisis caused by all the homeowners who borrowed irresponsibly.
Responsible borrowers are not the ones defaulting on their mortgages; irresponsible homeowners are.
If “responsible homeowner” is defined as a buyer who believed they could manage their monthly payment and did so until the loan terms changed, then by this definition, many responsible homeowners did lose their homes.
Almost everyone who signed up for a toxic loan thought they could make the payment; most did for a while. Many were convinced they could make the payments by a predatory lender out to make a few bucks on the origination. Many more believed they could supplement their incomes with the rapid appreciation they would enjoy as their house values rose to infinity. Does ignorance to their inability to sustain their housing payments make them responsible?
In the political debate surrounding foreclosure moratoriums and homeowner bailouts, the political Left embraced the latter definition of “responsible homeowner.” The ignorant and those who knowingly took excessive risk are being rewarded with a government bailout. The prudent paid the bill.
To see the truth in the importance of these definitions, we need to look no further than the astute observations on this blog. One of our frequent commenters is a responsible homeowner. He purchased near the peak, but he did so with terms that his family can afford. He meets the parameters in the first definition. He is in no danger of losing his house in foreclosure. Yes, he is annoyed that the values have dropped–who wouldn’t be–but he is not going to become a foreclosure statistic.
Lenders really worried that guys like him may chose to go into foreclosure and walk away from the debt because there were too many irresponsible homeowners on their way to the meat grinder. A wave of walkaways had potential to make sausage of the entire banking industry.
The reality is responsible homeowners are not losing their homes; some may lose their houses because of a job loss, and some may chose to walk away, but very few truly responsible homeowners were endangered. The foreclosure crisis was caused by the irresponsible.
[listing mls=”LG16158210″]
The strength of capitalism is the weak hands lose everything during a recession. When the recession is prolonged or deep, more people lose everything. This natural cleansing process fuels the next economic growth cycle.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration changed the rules. They bailed the weak hands out with loan modification programs. So, we never got the natural cleansing process. This is part of the reason why the current housing market is weaker than expected. If the loan modification program was never implemented, their would have been more foreclosures, home prices would have dropped lower, but the current housing market would have been healthier.
There you go! Get back to blaming the Left for every problem in the US. Good job.
Actually, he has a point, although I wouldn’t put the blame as squarely on the political left as he did. The bailouts were first implemented by George W. Bush.
We never did get the natural cleansing process of a recession. The bad debts were preserved for the sake of the banks. I think this outcome was probably favored more by the right than the left, but the political left lobbied hard for principal reductions and more generous loan modifications which merely dragged out the process and made the recovery weaker.
That’s my repeated point here – that these issues are more complicated than the Left/Right blame game far too popular.
Yes, the “recovery” from a much lower trough, the result of the absence of bi-partisan bali-outs, would be far more robust. Not sure that’s material.
In terms of bailing out homeowners, that was pretty much squarely on the Left. Bush’s only effort at homeowner bailout was the HopeNow program which was really just a public relations scam. He created a 1-800 number that you could call and get help, but the program had no teeth and no mechanism for forcing lenders to take action.
Obama’s HAMP program was not a bipartisan effort, rather something that Obama rammed through in the early days of his term when both houses of Congress were Democrat-controlled. He basically forced every servicer in country to participate or face a flogging in the media. The other thing about HAMP is that once you signed up as a servicer, there was no mechanism for leaving the program. You are bound by contract to participate as long as you have any loans that meet the basic criteria of the program (essentially any delinquent loans originated prior to 2009).
While these bailouts ostensibly bailed out homeowners, the real recipients of the bailouts where the banks that received all these payments. Just because the homeowner was a conduit doesn’t make them the recipient of the bailout money. The banks were better off with a smaller payment than no payment at all. They certainly didn’t want to foreclose and recognize another huge loss.
While the political left dressed the HAMP program up to make it look like they were doing something, the political right wasn’t about to fight very hard for a bailout that was also essential to the financial interests supporting mostly Republican politicians.
I am truly amazed at the ignorance of the writer and those who agree. This was never a “subprime” problem. This fraud was perpetrated by THE BANKS, BOTH DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. TARP was not used to restructure unaffordable mortgages. It was used to shore up bank balance sheets. The MBS trusts are devoid of any mortgages or notes. The banks used homeowners to sign notes, sold those notes forward, and then leveraged the real property by pledging these obligations multiple times to multiple securities. Unrecorded mortgages (MERS) and notes funded with “credit” obtained from foreign national banks (Deutsche, HSBC, etc) are all inherently ILLEGAL. Plenty of case law against banks lending “credit” instead of lending on “assets”.
The judges have been bought off by extinguishing THEIR mortgages through MERS, so that homeowners wouldn’t stand a chance in court even when the law was on THEIR side. As for this article, it’s BANK propaganda. The “subprime problem” narrative that the writer tries to keep alive is more evidence of the fraud and dishonesty going all the way to the top amongst political, judicial, and media elitists.
Go screw yourself, Mr. “IRVINE RENTER”. What’s your real name?
Banks used HAMP to pad their own pockets, used it as a ruse to jerk homeowners around for years, and “greased the skids” for the foreclosure machine. Just ask TIMMY GEITHNER. This was his idea.
It’s not always the Left that is the problem, but you haven’t been paying attention if you don’t think Obama is a problem.
Share what you think the problems are.
ProblemS? Ha!
THE problem…
Perspective said 21-07-2016, 08:02
“Corrupt” Meh.
————————-
End of debate!
cor·rupt: adjective – having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain.
I’m fine with folks labeling Clinton “corrupt.” Be fair though, and evaluate Trump similarly.
Doesnt he have a good point though? Regardless of whether it was the left or right, his point is valid in my opinion.
Great conversation today. I missed engaging in the dialogue on this forum while I was traveling.
So, Cruz can’t endorse Trump because of two things he said that were beyond the pale regarding his wife and father? Does Cruz then give Trump a pass on the dozens of other things he’s said beyond the pale?
Trump-Pence Is the Ultimate Throwback Ticket
The Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees evoke yearnings for a past era.
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-07-20/trump-pence-is-the-ultimate-throwback-ticket
A very boring ticket but at least it is not as corrupt as Hillary/anyone ticket.
“Boring” isn’t a word I’d associate with this ticket.
Fine, you caught me. It is only boring on the “Pence” side, Trump makes this ticket exciting but not always in a good way. I don’t agree with Trump’s policies completely but he makes good points, this country is very slowly becoming France, Denmark, Sweden, where citizens are not being prioritized for the good of others.
I think Trump has lost an opportunity to become more moderate and eliminate his “anti-immigration” and “walls” stance for things that make a little more sense in today’s melting pot society that we have. He lost his mojo after beating everyone in the GOP side, this concerns me because we will be stuck with the most corrupt president ever in this country (Hillary). As corrupt as the president’s in Mexico and central America. I don’t care if Trump really wins, I care that Hillary is the alternative.
“Corrupt.” Meh. I don’t like her, but we could easily label Trump “corrupt” too. He doesn’t have a political record to judge, but there are sufficient business dealings to judge.
So you will judge him corrupt based on business deals not his political record as it should be. He has been a business man and last time I checked, they were all about making money not worrying about being nice to people. She has no stance when it comes to defending her corruption other than lying about it.
cor·rupt: adjective – having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain.
Most of Trump’s business dealings involve him using his name recognition to sell a lot of junk bonds and then forcing the bondholders to take a haircut later. While this may sound like “just good business” it is deceptive by its nature. Trump promised people one set of terms knowing full well he would go back on his word and cram them down when the time was right.
He’s also used litigation frequently as a sword to threaten others into acquiescing to his demands.
Trump probably is not a very nice person if he wants to get the best of you in a business deal but he so far it seems that he has done it according to the law. So calling him corrupt is a different issue.
As my wife says, don’t blame litigation or litigators, blame the laws that allow it to happen.
cor·rupt: adjective – having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain.
I think Trump would be more effective at getting things done in Washington.
Hillary will be opposed by a united Republican Congress, so she will accomplish nothing outside of agency appointments and bureaucratic work.
Trump has made statements supporting some positions long favored by the left. If he wanted to cobble together compromise legislation, his own party wouldn’t oppose him, and he could get enough support from the left to get legislation passed.
It all depends on what Trump actually wants to do. Unfortunately, in the morass of conflicting statements and pandering to gain support, nobody has any real idea what he would propose as President. With his past history of making deals, and his lack of any ideology, I would expect him to try to find consensus legislation he could get through Congress and made into law.
Well apparently he wants to re introduce glass steagall which would gain support among most democrats.
I would certainly support reinstating it.
Unfortunately, in the morass of conflicting statements and pandering to gain support, nobody has any real idea what he would propose as President.
This statement could easily be written about Hillary.
That statement has Hillary written all over it.
The difference with Hillary is that she has put out detailed position papers on a wide variety of issues. While she may have changed her mind on certain issues, it is much easier to accurately determine where she stands today.
The same is not true of Trump — not by a long shot.
As much as I dislike Trump, I just cant get over Hillary and her corruption.
You sound like a defense attorney who’s disillusioned because so many of his clients are guilty.
They are all corrupt. Bernie Sanders was probably the least corrupt of the recent batch, and it wasn’t enough to overcome Hillary.
If you can’t hold your nose and vote for a corrupt politician, you probably won’t vote very much.
You are right. I have a hard time voting for either the candidates on the left or right because of the corruption and hypocrisy. I am very much turned off by politics. Although I always try to ignore political comments on this blog, I supposed I succumbed to a weak moment today.
I suppose the only point I tried to make in my previous comment was that Hilary seems to have a long history of corruption. Trump likely will become corrupt as most politicians, we just dont have a track record with him yet.
As much as I disagree with many of Sander’s political views, I do respect his integrity. The politician who I most admired however was Ron Paul because of his integrity, honesty and commitment to a cause in which he truly believed. I dont many people could have really accused Ron Paul of being corrupt or a hypocrite.
I think I am done with my political comments with this post…
Pence: “I’m a Christian, conservative, and Republican, in that order.” His policies certainly support that priority list.
What would Republicans think of a politician who said: “I’m a Muslim, conservative, Republican, in that order.”
That would be fine except for the fact that you and I are infidels. We would be slaughtered, our women would be oppressed, our children would be raised in a environment that has little respect for outsiders. The LGBT community would be eliminated. You think only “Republicans” are against a Muslim President when that is their belief? You got to be kidding me.
Christianity has its own issues but at least in this era, they aren’t practicing those things. You must be listening to the hateful rethoric from Obama against Christian’s. Oh by the way, this country was founded on Christian principles, does that bothers you? Because we have all benefited from that even if we don’t practice the religion.
So, like many folks, you think “Muslim” means “jihadist” apparently. I used the word “Muslim.” I’m talking about a devoutly religious Muslim, similar to Pence, who is not a terrorist, but simply thinks government should mold policies according to his religious beliefs. In this context, how would he be received by Republicans at the RNC, if he said, “I’m a Muslim, conservative, Republican, in that order.”
The conflation of Muslim and jihadist is exactly what Republicans want. It sets up a clearly defined “other” that they can unite and rally against.
Actually I don’t but it is clear that Sharia Law is a big part of it. My best man and great friend is Muslim, at Stanford which is one of the biggest liberal schools out there, I met many Muslims and they had a big problem with some of the “liberal” movements but my Muslim friends just let it go but they were not shy when they refer to their families about how disgusted they are with that way of life. In government, you also work with a lot of people and again, they don’t shy away about what it really beings and entails to be Muslim, again Sharia Law being a par of that.
I don’t know your background but I would guess you read more about Muslims than interact with them at least as much as I have.
Again, you dodge the real question here. Would America (yes all American’s even Hispanics, Asians, etc.) be ok with someone proclaiming the faith and be ok with it? Based on current world events, I don’t think so. Maybe you want to single out the Republicans but they aren’t the only ones that would be concerned based on what it entails to be a true devout Muslims as you say.
It’s simply a thought exercise. I’m guessing hearing someone say, “I’m a Muslim, conservative, Republican, in that order,” makes you cringe. Well, that’s how many US folks who aren’t associated with organized religion feel when they hear Pence say, “I’m a Christian, conservative, and Republican, in that order.”
You assume wrong, it doesn’t bother me. People can always turn to Islam if they want. Maybe I would move to “Canada” with all those rich celebrities after Trump wins 😉
“Well, that’s how many US folks who aren’t associated with organized religion feel when they hear Pence say, “I’m a Christian, conservative, and Republican, in that order.””
Well this means you should vote for Trump, he is the anti to those things you quoted.
Would you like to discuss some of the principles upon which the US was founded that aren’t so flattering – enslaved Africans, subjugation of women… Shall I go on?
The point is, if we’re going to attribute all of the enlightened positive genius principles that created the US to Judaeo-Christian values, should we also ascribe the barbaric negative principles?
Don’t forget renters were also second class citizens, not being allowed to vote. Ah.. the good ol’ days. 😉
If we limited voting rights to landowners, and if we could roll back the amendments to the constitution granting the vote to blacks and women, there would be no political left.
Cheers to the Christian founding fathers, eh?
See above
It was Lincoln, a Republican and his party that fought for those rights through the civil war.
Someone the left gets the credit? lol
Somehow*
Yes, the Republican Party has been the champion of civil rights!
Lyndon Johnson lamented that he lost the South for a generation when he went against the Southern bigots and got civil rights legislation passed. All those former Democrats across the south went over to the Republican party which now enjoys a base of support there. Of course, that means the once proud party of Abraham Lincoln that championed civil rights became dominated by the very forces they fought against 150 years ago.
Borrowing Pence’ line, here’s mine:
“I’m a thinker, a reader, unbeholden to any political or religious ideology.”
Cruz is just pissed because he lost. There were ethical lines even he wouldn’t cross, but Trump crossed them, and he won. He’s pissed because he wasn’t willing to to whatever it takes to win.
Adolf Hitler lamented at his death that he was too kind. He lost to Stalin who Hitler believed was completely ruthless. Hitler believed that if he had been more like Stalin, he would have won the war.
Share of income spent on rent is at generational highs: In Los Angeles the amount spent on rent remains near 50 percent of income.
The amount of money being spent on rent is at generational highs. High rents make it tougher for potential home buyers to save up for a down payment and this trend has impacted Millennials greatly. What is interesting looking at nationwide data is that while rents are consuming a larger share of income, those with mortgages are spending less. This is interesting because it doesn’t coincide with the big drop in the homeownership rate. But it makes sense. After all, investors are spending a smaller portion of their income covering the mortgage and those that did own, likely refinanced into record low rates. The trend is clear on a nationwide basis but not so much for markets like those in Los Angeles. Let us look at the latest figures.
Share of income spent on rent and mortgages
The math seems somewhat contradictory here: over the last decade we have gained 10 million renter households while netting out at close to zero for actual homeowners. There is massive machinery trying to push people to buy but many simply cannot especially with more than 7 million completed foreclosures over the last decade:
http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/mortgage-and-rent-affordability.png
It worked for awhile until the foreclosure crisis hit and now people can’t afford homes at current prices. Sales volume is low and real estate is a marginal market so one or two sales can set the market price in an entire neighborhood.
The markets in question are largely in California. But of course, this is no bubble because interest rates are low and some lemming savvy buyer made the 30-year commitment so all is well. Recessions will never happen again either. Memories are short and people live in a bubble. Just travel a bit around the country and you can see the widening gap that is becoming too loud to ignore, even in bubblicious markets.
How to beat high rent as O.C. apartment costs hit $1,800 to $2,000
Orange County landlords upped the asking rent for vacant apartments to an all-time high this spring, two market indicators show.
The average rent for a large-complex apartment was $1,946 a month during the second quarter, up $98 or 5.3 percent from the same period in 2015, according to Real Answers, which tracks the apartment market.
A separate, more inclusive survey by real estate data firm Reis Inc. determined the second-quarter average was $1,770 a month, up $62 or 3.6 percent year over year.
The news came as housing market tracker CoreLogic reported that the median sale price of an Orange County home also hit a record in June: $657,500.
Orange County has some of the most price-stressed and rent-stressed households in the nation.
Nonetheless, industry insiders say there are things you can do to lessen the sting of rising home costs. Tips from Apartments.com and ApartmentList.com include:
• Find special offers like free first-month rents or waived move-in fees.
• Research average rent for desired neighborhoods.
• Find out how many days in a grace period for payments.
• Negotiate: No harm in asking for a delayed or decreased rent hike. Your leverage is highest at the end of the month when landlords are pressured to fill units.
• Negotiate amenities – free parking, upgrades, free storage – as well as dollars.
• Shop for a new place in winter when tenants are harder to find and bargaining power is higher.
• Sign a longer lease, or a lease that ends in the summer, in exchange for lower rent. Landlords are more amenable to lowering rents when tenants stay longer or leave when units are easier to fill.
Rents up, incomes flat
Renter incomes haven’t kept up.
For example, real median renter income here increased just 17 percent from 1980 through 2014, a study by ApartmentList.com shows. Apartment rents, meanwhile, increased 53 percent in that period.
A separate report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition showed the average Orange County renter earned $18 an hour, while the amount needed to afford an average two-bedroom apartment is $32 an hour.
Dave Levy, a program specialist for the Fair Housing Council of Orange County, was at a loss for how local residents should cope with high housing costs.
“Get a higher-paying job. Good luck with that,” he said. “Or double up or cut your budget to the bone, which is what a lot of people do. A lot of people are spending more than 50 percent of their gross income on rent.”
How about moving? That should be at least top 5 on the list. Move so that people that have decent income like me can move in at a better deal. No more government subsidies to keep some people on a lifeline.
How to beat expensive rent??? Buy an expensive house!!!
Or build a many, many more houses and apartments.
Not going to happen. Too much of OC is already built out. Most people that make median type incomes settle for the IE, where there still is abundant buildable land.
They still have plenty of room to build up. New York city has been built out for nearly 200 years, yet they still seem to find room for more housing units.
History affirms that when places that are “special” (like OC ;-)) get built-out, they get built-up. So yes, it IS going to happen in OC.
In fact, the building-up process/phase has already begun, ie., see Bella Terra HB.
Lot Values at Record High
Single-family lot prices set a new record in 2015, with half of the lots priced at or above $45,000. According to NAHB’s analysis of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) data, this is the highest median lot value on record and exceeds the previous record of $43,000 reached in 2006, in the midst of the housing boom when twice as many single-family homes were started.
Given that nation’s lots are getting smaller and home production is still significantly below the historically normal levels, it might seem surprising that lots are becoming more expensive. However, the rising lot values are consistent with record lot shortages that NAHB reported in May of this year. They are also consistent with significant and rising regulatory costs that ultimately increase development costs and boost lot values. It is also possible that home building shifted towards more urban and dense areas where land values are typically higher, and land development faces more stringent regulation requirements.
http://eyeonhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/National_lot_price.jpg
It’s Not a Housing Bubble, It’s Just Expensive
Home prices have hit record highs in some major U.S. metropolitan areas, and house-flippers are behaving like it’s 2005: It’s no wonder people are chattering about another housing bubble.
But residential real estate isn’t in a speculative bubble, industry observers contend. Instead, a low inventory of available homes is driving prices higher—prices, however, will eventually recede as buyers throw up their hands, or as more new homes come on line. The structural issues that led to the housing collapse last decade aren’t present.
“The havoc during the last cycle was the result of building too many homes and of speculation fueled by loose credit,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Realtor.com. “That’s the exact opposite of what we have today.”
To illustrate his point, Smoke compiled an index based on six factors he deemed crucial to the housing boom and bust of the mid-2000s, including price appreciation, the prevalence of house-flipping, and share of buyers who used mortgage financing. (The other factors are price-to-income, price-to-rent, and housing starts-to-household formation.) Then he benchmarked the index to 2001, a year when the housing market was fairly valued.
Last year, only six metro areas exceeded the benchmark by 10 percent, with San Jose coming in highest, at 19 percent above 2001 levels. In 2005, there were 29 cities that were at least that bubbly, as the chart below shows:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-18/it-s-not-a-housing-bubble-it-s-just-expensive#media-2
So it’s the best time to buy? Housing will never drop below current prices?
That’s certainly what the chief economist for realtor.com would like everyone to believe.
At some point there will be another severe recession, and home prices will fall to affordable levels again. This cycle has repeated itself for generations in California. The reason Jonathan “Up in Smoke” doesn’t see it is because he attributes the housing bust to a popping bubble, but it was the severe recession that resulted which caused people to lose their homes, not the drop in prices per se. The bottom line is we don’t need a housing bubble for another severe recession to occur.
And some areas (Irvine!) will be affected by recessions outside of the US.
Any guesses as to when?
The average time between cycles has been 11 years, but that can vary wildly. The last peak-to-peak cycle was from 1990 to 2006. Nobody can say for certain how long this time will take, other than perhaps the Fed. They control the access to money.
Does anyone think this will work?
RealtyTrac takes a new name
At the peak of the housing crash, RealtyTrac’s monthly foreclosure report became a staple of national newscasts, broadcasting the scope of defaulting homeowners.
Now, with foreclosures all but extinct, the Irvine firm is rebranding itself as a go-to source for market data on virtually every real estate parcel in America, the company announced today.
The new name for the RealtyTrac parent company: Attom Data Solutions.
“We’ve rebranded the company to make it as clear as we can we’re not just a foreclosure data business anymore,” Chief Executive Rob Barber said. “We’re not abandoning the RealtyTrac brand, the RealtyTrac website or the RealtyTrac product at all. … But behind RealtyTrac is a new brand.”
RealtyTrac is the latest in a series of rebrandings by foreclosure data and service firms that became popular during a crisis that saw 6.3 million U.S. homes foreclosed.
ForeclosureRadar renamed itself PropertyRadar in May 2013. And in January, Irvine-based Auction.com – which handled foreclosure sales for bank-owned properties – rebranded itself as TenX in a bid to expand home auctions to non-distressed properties.
The change comes four years after the company acquired another website, Homefacts, and its database. And it comes two years after RealtyTrac was licensed to get CoreLogic tax, deed and mortgage data under a Federal Trade Commission settlement allowing CoreLogic to buy competitor DataQuick.
The company said it spent six months overhauling its “data warehouse” to create a single source of information on 150 million U.S. parcels, covering 99 percent of the population.
Historically, the 20-year-old firm had been selling property information to subscribers seeking to invest in foreclosures.
Since its 2014 expansion, it’s moved beyond selling to consumers and now seeks a range of business clients. Among them, Barber said, real estate search portals for multiple listing services and real estate brokerages, big data firms, marketing firms and universities.
Data include property taxes, deeds, mortgages, school rankings, sex offenders, environmental risks, natural hazards and other neighborhood characteristics – all mapped to a unique identity number for each property.
“You have all that information linked,” Barber said.
Company officials declined to release revenue figures, saying the company is profitable but that its financials are private.
But the big question: Why rebrand instead of sticking with the old RealtyTrac name?
“We got a lot of information from the marketplace that confirmed that (the RealtyTrac name) is closely linked with foreclosures,” Barber said.
So we no longer get to call them RealtyCrap I guess? That was a well-earned nickname because they used to double count foreclosure statistics by including NOD’s in their numbers.
I’m back from my travels. Hopefully, we can resume normal operations on the blog. Thank you all for keeping the conversation going in my absence. I may create some weekend posts about my trip. Thank you all for your continued readership.
Welcome back Larry. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your ‘vacation-2016’ series posted last week. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Agreed, welcome back! Would you say my imagining of your high school days as the plot of Dazed and Confused was accurate? 🙂
When I went back up to Wisconsin, it was exactly like Dazed and Confused. There is no better movie at capturing the Zeitgeist of the time.
TOTAL current US $savings deposits: ~$11trillion
TOTAL USD ‘notes and coins’ in circulation: $1.4trillion.
Dear fed, how long should I cook a chicken?
NBA pulls 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, focuses on New Orleans
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/nba-pulls-2017-all-star-game-from-charlotte-focuses-on-new-orleans-190148437.html
Definitely more trannies in New Orleans if that’s their target audience now.
That would make for a much funner weekend than partying with the Westboro Baptists, eh?
+1
[…] Full post here… […]
Money, get away
Get a good job with good pay and you’re okay
Money, it’s a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I’ll buy me a football team
Money, get back
I’m all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack
Money, it’s a hit
Don’t give me that do goody good bullshit
I’m in the high-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet
Money, it’s a crime
Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a raise it’s no surprise
That they’re giving none away
Away, away, way
(Away, away, away, away)
[…] recently ran the post, Responsible homeowners did not lose their homes in foreclosure. In that post I made the case that most foreclosures were caused by overborrowing rather than […]