Lynn Effinger
Lynn Effinger is a veteran of more than three decades in the housing and mortgage servicing industries and the author of a memoire, "Believe to Achieve � The Power of Perseverance."
Lynn Effinger is a veteran of more than three decades in the housing and mortgage servicing industries and the author of a memoire, "Believe to Achieve � The Power of Perseverance."
When the next wave of REO activity hits, it will be heavily influenced by some of the leftover problem loans from the last downturn, as well as new defaults from more recent originations.
A new loan program will allow borrowers to put down even less than the 3% down payment mortgage programs to be offered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This move and others like it, while laudable, will no doubt ensure increasing default rates.
Industrywide standards of best practices are a topic that deserves consideration by everyone involved. We should prove that common sense still can prevail.
Despite the opinions of many that low-down-payment mortgages didn't cause the housing crisis, the fact is that these types of loans did contribute mightily to the bubble that burst.
With the news coming out on Oct. 28 that the Federal Open Market Committee has ended bond purchases, finishing its third round of quantitative easing, my first reaction was to check the stock market.
There are still enough indicators out there that suggest another round of foreclosures is near.
Signs are definitely pointing to a rise in REO activity across the country in specific markets, particularly in Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee and elsewhere.
With mounting indicators clearly showing that the so-called housing recovery was just an illusion, and many housing industry pundits who formerly touted the validity of said recovery now recanting their views, there should be no doubt that we are headed for another/further housing downturn.
Momentum continues to build for the fast-tracking of the foreclosure process on vacant, abandoned properties.