Mortgage Mishaps in Metro Detroit...

Yesterday. the two-year investigation by Sen. Carl Levin-D-MI & co-chair Sen. Tom Coburn-R-Okla. was turned over to the federal investigators of mortgage lenders; in this report it is alleged that companies made thousands of loans to home-owners in Detroit and nationwide that they knew were unlikely to be repaid.

The report is a 639 page report [ small by Washington standards];
...found that in Detroit, more than 1/3 of the mortgages made in Metro Detroit, during the bubble of '05-'07 were in
foreclosure by 2008;
...the report names the 10 Mortgage Companies who sold the bulk of risky loans;
...the total of Metro Detroit Loans is 43,487:
...the total of those loans in foreclosure by 2008 is 13,603;
...the foreclosure rate is 31.3%:
...the Justice Department & the Federal Trade Commission will be the active participants in further & possible,
legal questions;

The article by Nathan Hurst appears in the Thursday Detroit News / Front page 1 A & 15 A / see: www.detnews.com /
" U.S. panel finds mortgage abuse by lenders in Detroit" ..

It is a concise rendering of the 'boiling mess' of risky, bad, or 'never-should-have-been-awarded-in-the-first-place loans. The records of the Top-10-responsible-companies are harsh even with the little recorded in the article. Seeing the numbers of originated loans to foreclosure and the companies involved starkly point out the facts-to-date.

These companies, some being subsidiaries of larger companies, are directly involved with the housing market melt-down in Detroit area & other cities nationally.
The report does address the 'bundling / packaging' of such loans [sold to investors many from overseas] , being included with other loans were sold as 'safe-investments'. Some these investors demanded higher returns on financial products bcked by American mortgages.

Other statements that jump out of the reporting delve deeper into other areas of "How did this happen".
Included is: "Responding to the demand, many lenders opened their arms to buyers who otherwise might not have qualified to buy a home, either because they didn't have the steady income, down payment money, or documentation to get a conventional home loan."

Here in Michigan--the stage-filled officials from the Detroit area remains emblazoned on the minds of all. there was held the 'pep-rally' with local & congressional elected officials were praising the movement of those [unnamed ] banking institutions who are "...seeing...that all who want, can have their piece of the pie..." Today, some of these same folks are crying out against the "Bad Banks"

Is it ever one-sided, or does the 'glee of the moment' become the 'greed of the moment' ?

Another statement is : "But in many cases, investigators say, homeowners were sold --and qualified for--the loans based on low "teaser-rates" that were applicable only for the first few years at most."

Can you say ARMs?
Have we not all been warned over the past 10 years against signing those without careful study?
Will we ever learn?

The jury is still out on the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill--signed last summer---will actually reform anything.
Are these not the same two names & politicians involved with the mad rush in @ 2005 to allow anyone who so wished --the means to acquire a mortgage???

This is a subject that goes on and on; if you like mystery--dishonesty, avarice--malice, transparency--duplicity it is all here. Ripe or Right for the taking