Hard Times Update: Readers Share Tales of Foreclosure Schemes, Mortgage Misfortune

Huffington Post Investigative Fund:

Last month, we put out a call for stories and photos to help document the effect that "Hard Times Profiteers" are having on distressed borrowers and others suffering financial hardship because of the recession. The response was robust. We received more than 100 tips from borrowers, tenants, real estate brokers, investors and others who have experienced or observed misfortune amid the current housing crisis. We also collected dozens of photos documenting bandit signs from California to Maryland, a sampling of which are below.

Read the whole story: Huffington Post Investigative Fund

Comments

[2tango]

04:24 PM on 03/10/2010

Well the majority was thinking of how smart they all were, Not downpayments/No background financials investigations. A real deal...they "Outsmart" the banks (clapping) But they didn't think, about those tricky-contracts they signed.

This remind me..."Honey how we will pay for this?" and then "Oh well when we get there, we will figure it out"
The answer: They never "Figure it out"

[RJII]

11:36 PM on 03/10/2010

Do you really think the majority of homeowners losing thier homes or getting scammed are as lame as you and your lame assessment. this recession is liquidating the working middle class. The devastating effects of the recession seem to have escaped or avoided you. cheers.

[2tango]

11:56 PM on 03/10/2010

You must be one of those losers, demanding a miracle, After running to banks for loans like bandits.
Is time to pay back Joe, And your leaders left you belly up, and full of debts, Oh well you had been cheerleading with Pizza, Champagne, and singing "WE ARE THE WORLD" all this time, So now, face the music, And SUCKITUP.

[sc300nc]

04:04 PM on 03/10/2010

PT Barnum said there is a sucker born every minute.

This article proves he was right. There are plenty of them out there.

[America free]

02:49 PM on 03/10/2010

Don't I feel stupid
1st I was tricked into signing at closing a loan I could not repay

2nd I get tricked again into keeping my home when I fell behind

this keeps up I am going to have to get some personal responsibility
forget that I just want some Obama cash

[aspertame2]

02:29 PM on 03/10/2010

Really clunky, access-unfriendly setup with these pages. The investigative fund page linked to here links to another page with a map to click on to read individual stories after another click...not great with the organization of information this time, HP.

Aggressive website interactivity and graphic linkage always puts me in mind of an Aasif Mandvi's bit from the "Daily Show" where he explained to Stewart that they'd retooled the DS's election set so that he could show off all these cool and time-consuming interactive graphics for "absolutely no f---ing purpose".

This is a worthy story and deserves straightforward coverage.