By Kim Velsey 2/27 10:41am

Foreclosure Crisis

A Queens homeowner facing foreclosure. (NYTimes)

New York City Foreclosures Linked to Crime

New York City has, in many ways, been spared the worst ravages of the foreclosure crisis. A city of renters, where single family homes are the exception rather than the norm and co-op and condo boards regularly turn their noses up at perfectly decent financial packages, we have avoided the magnitude of problems suffered by many other American cities.

But foreclosures have still troubled the city—and often indirectly. For example, many renters in overleveraged multi-family properties suffered when landlords fell behind on payments and ceased to conduct maintenance. And where foreclosures have hit New York, they have also been tied to increases in crime, according to a new report by NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy. Read More

By Kim Velsey 8/21/12 7:18pm

Mortgage Crisis

Short sales could help the mortgage madness.

Six Years After the Mortgage Crisis, Short Sales Made Easier

For many U.S. homeowners, it’s been a long, slow crawl out of the depths of the housing crisis. Even with housing prices rising again and inventory falling in many U.S. cities, many homeowners are still trapped with underwater mortgages and rather bleak prospects when it comes to unloading their greatly devalued homes.

It comes as a small consolation, then, that some six years after the crisis started, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is making it easier for homeowners to conduct short sales, The Wall Street Journal reports. Read More

By Kim Velsey 8/13/12 4:45pm

Vanity Projects

John Cusack, policy expert.

Say Anything: HuffPost Live Presents John Cusack’s Ramblings On The Mortgage Crisis

Hollywood actor John Cusack has developed some strong opinions on the mortgage crisis. He’s been doing some reading, even talking to a few experts, and is reasonably well-informed about a plan some California cities have to use eminent domain to seize troubled mortgages.

Those of you curious to hear what Lloyd Dobler thinks about a complex policy initiative can now satisfy that curiosity in a poorly-produced, 15-minute long video of John Cusack discussing these issues. Mr. Cusack shares his expertise during a painfully long HuffPost Live video, kicking off the first day of Huffington Post’s video news initiative in true Huffington Post fashion. Appearing via Google Hangouts, Mr. Cusack has a badly organized discussion with Arianna Huffington, segment host John Zepps, a random homeowner in California and John Vlahoplus, the guy who’s pitching the plan and the lone expert in the group. Read More

By Laura Kusisto 2/17/11 2:07pm

makeovers

JPMorgan Goes After Distressed Assets

It’s been a rough couple of years for Jamie Dimon, ever since JPMorgan joined several other banks in fomenting conditions that led to the collapse of the housing market. Just ask Jamie Dimon: “It’s going to be a long ugly mess, but it won’t be life-threatening to JPMorgan,” he told investors last month regarding Read More