Dispatches From the Displaced on The Huffington Post

Colorado Foreclosures Numbers Show Mixed Signs

2009-12-22T10:38:17Z

DENVER — Foreclosure filings in Colorado's 12 largest counties have been rising this year, but the number of completed foreclosures is down.

The Department of Local Affairs Division of Housing said Monday there were 36,628 foreclosure filings from January to November in the largest counties. That's up 12 percent from the same time last year.

Homeowners Often Rejected Under Obama's Make Home Affordable Loan Modification Plan

2009-12-17T21:27:28Z

WASHINGTON -- Ten months after the Obama administration began pressing lenders to do more to prevent foreclosures, many struggling homeowners are holding up their end of the bargain but still find themselves rejected, and some are even having their homes sold out from under them without notice.

Jim Wallis: The Parable of the Unmerciful Bankers

2009-12-17T15:52:37Z

This week, I joined a press conference with People Improving Communities through Organizing and the Center for Responsible Lending on the steps of the United States Treasury. The first three speakers were not the usual Washington talking heads. Instead, they were American homeowners who were losing their homes to foreclosure--a terrible thing that now happens to another American family every 13 seconds (6,600 per day). And a rapidly increasing number of them are now due, not to subprime mortgages, but to the loss of employment. That's what had happened to those who told their stories on Monday in Washington D.C. across from the White House and just down the street from the huge Bank of America and PNC Bank buildings.

Mercy Martinez began to cry as she spoke. She had saved for years and put $100,000 down to buy her first condo. Choking back tears, she recalled her meeting with the Countrywide Financial mortgage broker. "I had enough money for a traditional, 30-year fixed rate loan; but the loan servicer unethically tricked me into an adjustable rate loan that could put me in foreclosure at any moment." Now she waits for the "time bomb" of her loan to explode, and when it does she will join the millions of Americans facing foreclosure. Mercy is not alone: in 2006, 61 percent of subprime borrowers were forced into mortgages more expensive and riskier than what they qualified for.

Meanwhile, inside the White House, the heads of the nation's biggest banks and financial institutions were meeting with the president. They were told that since the American people had bailed them out, they now needed to do something for the American people by beginning to lend again and to agree to loan modification plans enabling homeowners not to lose everything. But so far, those admonitions are falling on deaf ears. Indeed, I learned this week that the bonuses and extra compensation paid to the executives at the big banks are on track to exceed the 2007 level of $162 billion (even after some banks, like Goldman Sachs, have switched compensation packages away from cash and into stock bonuses). At the same time, the Center for Responsible Lending estimates that the bonus pool of just one of these big banks would have been enough money to prevent or significantly delay foreclosure for all 2.3 million people who lost their homes last year. And what about loan modifications to help homeowners stay in their homes? To date, Bank of America has agreed to fewer than 100 permanent home loan modifications. Amazing.

At the press conference, I pointed out the fundamental moral contradiction of this situation: Those whose behavior is most responsible for causing this economic crisis are being saved from failure and suffering by the American taxpayers, while those least responsible for causing this recession are now losing both jobs and homes--with no bailouts for them on the horizon. My friend Rev. Derrick Harkins made a point about "grace." He suggested that in order to try to save the economy from a feared massive meltdown, some real grace was extended to the big banks; but they now seem unwilling to extend grace to anyone else. Does this sound like a gospel parable to you?

What it sounds like to me is a very bad morality play--one that I write about much more extensively in my new book Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street--A Moral Compass for the New Economy. The book says we need a new national conversation about all this, a return to some basic values, and a moral recovery to accompany an economic recovery. We cannot go back to normal this time; we need a new normal. It's time to change the script of this play. That is the only way all this suffering and pain can be redeemed.

+Click here for a free download of the first chapter of Jim's new book, "Sunday School with Jon Stewart."

Jim Wallis is the author of The Great Awakening, Editor-in-Chief of Sojourners and blogs at www.godspolitics.com.

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1.7 Million Homes Were On The Verge Of Foreclosure This Fall

2009-12-17T15:34:50Z

WASHINGTON — About 1.7 million homeowners were on the verge of foreclosure in the fall, a looming "shadow inventory" of homes that will be put up for sale in the coming years and weigh down prices, a report said Thursday.

The number, up from 1.1 million a year earlier, is likely to keep rising through the middle of next year or later, said Mark Fleming, chief economist of First American CoreLogic, the real estate research firm that released the study.

Rohit Chopra: Should We All Stop Paying Our Mortgages?

2009-12-16T14:59:49Z

Tens of thousands of American families may remember Christmas of 2009 as the last time they'll spend a holiday in a home they own. Millions of properties have gone into foreclosure since the economic crisis began, and 2010 might not look much prettier.

Congress and the media have paid a lot of attention to those who have lost their homes. Less talked about are the millions of people who keep making their payments every month, even though they really can't afford to. Today, most homeowners are losing big on their investment. Shouldn't more people stop paying their mortgages?

I spoke with several homeowners around the country who haven't skipped any mortgage payments - but are seriously struggling. All of them shared common challenges, but they all have more options than they thought existed.

Deep underwater. These struggling homeowners have mortgage payoff balances that are much higher than the value of their home. Selling their home is simply not an option, since they would have to come up with the difference in cash to settle up with their lender.

Deep in debt. Even though they can't really afford their mortgage payments, many are spending down their savings and relying on credit cards to buy food and other necessities. One homeowner is regularly taking cash advances on credit cards to pay the mortgage.

Part of me really admires their efforts. They feel like they are doing everything possible to honor their commitments to their lenders and stay in their homes. But when they drain savings and accumulate enormous debt, that doesn't seem much better than foreclosure.

Foreclosure is sad, but for those who can easily find a new place to rent for much less, it can be financial liberation. If you are $100,000 underwater and go into foreclosure, your loss is essentially erased. In most cases, the lender can only take the house, not your future earnings. So, the only real financial consequence is that you'll have a tough time getting a loan for almost a decade.

But the truth is that there are much better options than staying in a home you can't afford or going to foreclosure. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mortgage, tell them to call their lender to discuss the options. Here are some of the best ones to consider:

Short sale and deed-in-lieu. If you don't want to stay in your home and can't afford to sell, these are worth thinking about. A short sale is when a lender agrees that you can sell the house for less than the mortgage balance. A deed-in-lieu is when you hand over the property voluntarily, saving the lender the high costs of going through the foreclosure process. You'll still take a hit to your credit score, but a decent real estate lawyer can often limit the impact by negotiating the terms of the agreement carefully.

Loan modification. If you want to keep your home, your best bet might be to modify the loan. The Obama economic rescue package included substantial help for struggling homeowners. The program will allow many homeowners to substantially reduce their monthly payments. Individual lenders also offer their own modification, repayment, and refinance options that are far better alternatives to staying and struggling or going into foreclosure.

Deed-for-lease. Many homeowners might be eligible to hand over their home in exchange for a lease. Instead of a mortgage payment, you'll make a rent payment, which will probably be substantially lower. Again, depending on the terms of the agreement, this might damage your credit, but you'll be able to stay in your home.

While we can all admire the efforts of those who keep paying bills on time, we should be worried about the deep financial hole that millions are digging. Foreclosure may seem like the only way out, there are better options that would allow millions of Americans to take back control of their lives and keep a roof over their head.

Got questions? Direct message me on Twitter (hitchop).

Homeowner Spraypaints "Help!" "Foreclosure!" Onto House

2009-12-15T15:35:33Z

As part of our Bearing Witness 2.0 project, the Huffington Post is rounding up compelling local stories about the victims of the recession.

A distressed homeowner in San Antonio, Texas, spray-painted "Help!" and "Foreclosure!"on the side of her home when she learned she might lose it, reports Janet Kwak for WOAI-TV. Mary Ann Herrera has been unable to make payments since losing her administrative assistant job in March.

"I didn't know if we were going to be homeless," she told WOAI. Herrera eventually won a modification, but with back taxes her bills are even larger than they used to be. She doubts she will be able to hold onto her house for long. "I used to pay $440 a month," she said. The bank "did lower the payment to $380... but I have to pay house taxes, house insurance, and the escrow for those past eight months, and now I'm facing $760 a month."

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An emergency fund meant to assist Idaho military families while soldiers are deployed is being used to help current soldiers get through the recession at home, reports Tim Woodward for the Statesman. Idaho National Guard Pfc. Bambi Williams, a single mother of three, lost her civilian job as a nursing assistant this fall, and could not keep paying the rent. She told the paper that she would he homeless without the Idaho Guard and Reserve Family Support Fund, which paid for two months of rent and gave her a $600 gift card to Walmart for food and household needs.

The fund was started in 2004 to help military families at home with things like transportation and major household appliances. Maj. Jim Hicks, the fund's secretary-treasurer, attributed a quarter of their current requests to the poor economy. "That's quite a bit more than when the program started," he said. The fund distributes interest-free loans and no-strings-attached grants. Williams said that, because of the grant she received, this year "will probably be the best Christmas we've had in a long time."

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On Saturday, the school district in Salinas, Calif., will team up with a local church to host a Christmas party for about 400 homeless students in the city, reports Maria Ines Zamudio for the Californian.

"Most of these families are not going to have a Christmas at all," said Cheryl Camany, homeless liaison and outreach consultant for the district. "[Parents] have lost their jobs, homes and vehicles. They don't even know if they are going to have a roof over their heads on Christmas."

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A family in Sarasota, Fla., would have lost their home had it not been for the help they received from the Jewish Family and Children's Service, reports the Herald-Tribune's Jennifer Shea. Kevin Witkowski is a mechanic whose business has fallen off. "I get paid by the job, not by the hour," he said. When his pay declined by about 45 percent, the Witkowskis started to fall behind on their housing payments.

Kevin and his wife, Teresa, negotiated with their bank, but even their new payments were a struggle, and after two months Teresa got in touch with the Jewish Family and Children's Service. The JFCS helped them make a mortgage payment and provided financial advice for the future. They managed to keep their home and "we are surviving and paying our bills," said Teresa.

*********

Anslee Willett reports for the Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colo., that Marti, who preferred to keep her last name private, was out of work for three months after her husband found her collapsed on their living room floor with intestinal ulcers. While she was recovering, the family could not pay all of their bills, and the couple and their three children were almost evicted.

They turned to Ecumenical Social Ministries, a charity receiving grants from the Empty Stocking Fund, a project partly organized by the Gazette. Marti's family was given some money to help with the rent, as well as emergency food and future access to their food bank.

*********

Brain Wofford, whose house was featured on the TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," has been given additional time to avoid foreclosure, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune's Tanya Mannes. The house was supposed to be sold Monday, but after media exposure the bank, OneWest, has delayed the sale until mid-January. Brian's daughter, Rebekah, said the family was prepared move out, if they need to: "We love our house, but it doesn't define us."

HuffPost readers: Seen a compelling local story? Have a neighbor going to bizarre lengths to get through the recession? Tell us about it! Email jmhattem@gmail.com.

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Barry D. Wood: Michigan's Desolation Row

2009-12-15T15:24:32Z

Warren, MI - Here in southeast Michigan the great recession feels more like depression. The region's unemployment rate is 17% and rising. Already the highest jobless rate of any metropolitan area, the carnage will worsen in 2010, as several still operating auto-related plants are slated to close.

Michigan never emerged from the last recession and has shed jobs for eight consecutive years. But 2009 has seen the biggest job losses in 70 years, with University of Michigan economists projecting 292,000 lost throughout this year alone. Michigan's cumulative job loss is just under one million, meaning 20% fewer people are at work than a decade earlier. Once the world's premier car production center, industry in southeast Michigan is a shadow of what it was. Today, more Michiganders work in health care than manufacturing.

Michigan is a case study of how job losses and the housing slump combine with ferocious effect. Unlike many parts of the country, Michigan didn't have a home price bubble in the first half of this decade. But despite having been flat, home prices since 2007 have fallen off a cliff. Zillow, a firm that monitors home prices, reports that in Warren, the Detroit suburb that is Michigan's third largest city, the median home price fell 42% in the past two years to $73,000. Realtors claim later data reveals even lower prices. Warren mayor Jim Fouts says it is not uncommon for a foreclosed property assessed at $100,000 to sell at a 90% discount. In September an investor paid $80,000 for 24 vacant lots and 38 repossessed houses. In Pontiac, Warren's neighbor to the west, the once proud Silverdome, the former home of the Detroit Lions, sold at auction for $583,000. The 80,000-seat stadium situated on 127 acres cost $52 million to build in the 1970s.

Strategic defaults from the unemployed weigh heavily on the depressed housing market. Foreclosures nationally have risen 30% annually for four years and in Michigan there is no relief in sight. Realtor Cathy Coon says by holding many foreclosed properties off the market, banks are triggering further uncertainty and price declines. One of every eight home mortgages in Michigan is in arrears or foreclosure. According to First American Core Logic, 48% of Michigan mortgage borrowers are underwater, a perverse incentive not to keep current on a mortgage that exceeds the home's market value.

Economist Mark Vitner of Wachovia Bank calls housing in metropolitan Detroit "a road to perdition where lower home prices portend lower tax collections and thus higher taxes." An anguished Mayor Fouts says Warren "is at the epicenter of a fiscal crisis, from which it will take 10 years to recover."

That may be too optimistic. Municipal services are being cut. Fouts has cut his own pay and benefits, and is proposing 20% pay and pension cuts for the police and fire departments. He is offering General Motors a 30-year tax abatement to move its headquarters from Detroit to its Technology Center in Warren, the vast half-empty engineering campus designed by Eero Saarinen in the 1950s.

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments is projecting that this year local tax revenues declined by 4% for the third consecutive year. The Pew Charitable Trust identifies Michigan as one of ten states in fiscal peril. State revenue this year, it says, is down 16%, leaving a 12% budget shortfall. The state and southeast Michigan's plight may resemble that of Mike Campbell in Hemingway's 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises. Asked how he went bankrupt, Campbell replies, "slowly and then suddenly."

Jim Jacobs, President of Macomb Community College, a multi-campus facility with over 20,000 students, concedes that area living standards will fall in the short-term. "But," he adds, "if Chrysler, Ford and General Motors survive, we have an opportunity to hold on to many good jobs." He believes southeast Michigan will remain the technical and administrative hub of the car business and create new jobs in new technologies like solar and battery power.

But here in Warren there is no shortage of doomsayers. When Chrysler next year closes its Sterling Heights assembly plant, not only will a further 4,000 jobs be lost but so will $1.2 million of annual tax revenue. A retired medical doctor in one of Detroit's richest suburbs foresees a decade of pain. Not wanting his name used, this successful surgeon has lived all of his 75 years in the Detroit area. Now he sees unprecedented cutbacks with more to come. "People," he says, "have cut back on going to the doctor and the dentist. The demand for legal services is way down. People without jobs are trapped because their property values may have declined 70% and there are no buyers." The pain will compound, he says, "as displaced auto workers are forced to sell their toys--their Harleys, boats, RVs, and lake homes up north. The young people are leaving in droves. Politicians are in denial. And we're left with a god-awful mess."

Detroit Mother of 8 Hopes For Self-Sufficiency, 'Decent' Christmas

2009-12-14T14:32:33Z

Brianna Washington is a 30-year-old single mother of eight from Detroit who simply wants to be able to provide for her children and to be self-sufficient again.

The multitude of challenges and hardships the family have faced include eviction due to a landlord going into foreclosure, being denied Section 8 housing and Washington losing her job.

Then, her Dodge Caravan was stolen twice within weeks and stripped of nearly everything, making it impossible for Washington to take her four sons and four daughters anywhere. Tragically, Washington's 7-year-old son, Javeon, was leaving a friend's house when he was hit by a car. Despite Medicaid, the family is unable to pay the medical bills. Their current house is listed as foreclosed as well.

On top of that, Washington still is struggling to find work. Receiving financial assistance both from her children's father and the state Department of Human Services helps but covers only rent and some basics, Washington said. "We're living day to day. We're just barely making it."

Besides repairing the van, Washington hopes to find bedding, winter clothing and a computer for her kids to complete their homework.

"I just would like for my kids to have a decent Christmas -- to wake up and have something," Washington said. "They all get good grades. They really hung in there through everything. They have been awesome."

That's where Volunteers of America Michigan, a nonprofit human service agency, comes in. The Detroit News is working with Volunteers of America Michigan in Helping Hands, its program to connect low-income families with aid this holiday season.

Volunteers of America's Adopt a Family program, which supplies families with donated clothes, toys and food, is seeing a record number of applicants -- 9,500.
The program matches families with a sponsor who can work directly with them to donate needed items, or sponsors can send in $150 donation for gifts. The program hopes to help 4,000 families this holiday season.

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Foreclosure 'SWAT Teams' Unleashed By Treasury Department: NPR

2009-12-14T12:58:08Z

The Treasury Department has started dispatching what it calls foreclosure "SWAT teams" to big banks to take a hard look at their operations.

Ryan McDermott: Foreclosing Of A Dream

2009-12-14T12:04:24Z

Autumn's cold winds have finally blown away most of the leaves sprouted seasons ago. They remain as nature's memories of spring. Some leaves remain on the ground but most have blown off into hidden areas of our landscape where they will fertilize the upcoming season of renewal.

We are entering what some refer to as the 'dark ages' here in the northeast. It will be months before we enjoy the rejuvenation of a new season. This year, of all years, is one where we should be concerned about the members of our communities.

As fall turns to winter this year, I am reminded of a significant adversity in my life. Fourteen years ago my family experienced what so many families are going through now, losing a house to foreclosure. In many cases, but not necessarily all, it represents more than losing a home: it is the foreclosing of a dream.

A dream can have more impact than reality in our perceptions of the world, in that, we remember our dreams and can appreciate the passion with which we pursued them. At some point, we hope they become reality. In this way, former dreams can become more memorable - they represent aspirations that we were most passionate about in life.

When we think of dreams, the one that binds us together is not clearly coherent or visual, but of a singular concept - the American dream.

The concept of the American dream is not directly represented in our homes, nor does it necessarily have anything to do with economic prosperity; rather, it is comprised in the prosperity of our families.

My family's journey really began in 1986 when my parents set out on a dream of home ownership in a suburb of Orlando, Florida. My mother had raised me as a single parent for several years before marrying the man who would be my father growing up. We lived in a small apartment while my parents saved enough for a down payment on a home. Two years later my parents purchased a house big enough for the family they planned to grow over time.

Not until much later in life did I realize the dream they set out upon had probably been doomed from the start - they signed a 'balloon note' to finance the house. To an eight year-old, that means nothing.

Over the years, though, I started to notice that my family was less financially fit for the neighborhood. Seasonally, my dad would put his boat on auction in the front yard, as if it could be sold if he came up short on the monthly bills. His job as a construction supervisor suffered many ups and downs. Along the way, my mom and dad added my two sisters. And yet, I cannot remember a single Christmas when Santa failed to come through with the presents we had asked for.

I wouldn't have known better, but I felt like we had the American dream.

That dream came crashing down dramatically over the course of a year, though, after a decade of roughing it out. My parents were never able to refinance the balloon note and our family's economic situation weighed on their relationship. My parents, who could barely afford to live under one roof, separated during my senior year of high school and set on a course for divorce. In the middle of all this was a dream, a house and three kids.

My mother recalls a grieving period during the fall season of 1995 just as the leaves took on their autumn hues.

The first stage was denial. You try to hold onto the home, even if it is financially impossible. We had garage sales to sell non-essential items for a few bucks here and there. It provided temporary hope, but no real solution - the money barely lasted a week.

There is also a certain amount of bargaining that occurred as we realized our home was lost. At one point, we had another family live with us - another newly single mother and her children. They were able to pay part of the mortgage. It was a balance that did not last long - too many people living under one roof.

My mother tried to look for other places to live all while balancing her job. She did not want to uproot me during my senior year, especially since I was hoping for a Congressional nomination in my current district to attend West Point. There were not many places that would take a dog and be affordable enough for us to move into. The search became an impossible task.

As fall turned to winter and the holidays approached, we found ourselves strapped for cash. Without cash for a babysitter, my mother eventually lost her job - at that point, all real hope was lost.

I worked on weekends at a local fast food restaurant as a cashier. The sixteen or so hours at minimum wage afforded me just enough for gas money and insurance on my jalopy of a car - an '86 Chevy Chevette. At home, we ate cheaply - lots of cereal and canned goods.

In those rough times, all you could think about was the future. You looked for a light at the end of the tunnel. That light of hope is kept alive through dreams of a better tomorrow. Without them, it is hard to face the challenges of making it day to day.

Two dreams kept me going during that time. First, I hoped to win a state championship in the pole vault. Second, I sought an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Whether those dreams were realized or denied would not be determined until months later. December was the dark period - a time when there was little to look forward to other than the holidays. However, even the holidays seemed more of a chore than an opportunity for family time and spiritual renewal.

After hope is lost, all you can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep chopping wood to keep the fire going. Everyone copes differently. My mother prayed for a path ahead, as she struggled without a broader family support network while I simply held onto my dreams. Today, I admit my youthful selfishness - I failed to recognize that my mother was losing her dream.

Christmas was a central event every year in my family, as it is for many Americans. The yearly spiritual celebration marked with church gatherings, presents and family time always offered a marker in our family. My memory fades when I think about that time during the holiday season of 1995. Those memories have been washed away. There is not much I have wanted to remember. Every year until that year, Christmas had somehow stood out as a bright day though it has one of the shortest daylight hours of the year.

Unfortunately, my family was not able to get into the Christmas spirit that year; at least not until the last minute.

On Christmas Eve, at about 8:00 P.M., my mother gathered me and my sisters into her car to try and do some last minute shopping with the little money she had. There were still no presents under the tree at that point. I could sense her desperation - it was heartbreaking, not so much for my own experience, but for my younger sisters. In retrospect, I feel more sympathy for my mother who was fighting so hard to keep her dream alive.

As we drove around to find all the stores closed, the acceptance began to settle in - the dream was over. My mother cried that night - to varying degrees we all did.

Unfortunately, Santa did not come to visit my family that year. I do not recall any special moments, only the car ride the night before and what I wrote in my journal shortly after that time. One might say that presents don't make Christmas special and that is true. However, the lack of presents reminded us that we had nothing to give to one another. The magic of Christmas was gone in my mind - the basic expectation that on just one day of the year that the stars would align and miracles would happen.

My mother and I stuck it out in that house until March - we remained even after the electricity and the water were shut off. It did not end well, but we would survive.

The whole experience is a winter season in my life - a dark period that would eventually be followed with renewal. Admittedly, the foreclosure left the dream of a strong family in disrepair. It would be several years before my sisters and I would share anything close to a normal Christmas.

The magic of Christmas has been renewed in my own family's experience. My wife and I have three children now and I've come to fully understand the Christmas spirit - it springs from family, friends and communities that help one another in good and challenging times. My mother has helped to rebuild our family with my dad, even though they remain divorced. This year, my parents and sisters will celebrate in North Carolina. The home that was foreclosed fourteen years ago, until only very recently, was abandoned.

The spring season always emerges and it often comes marked with new family members - new generations for whom we set hopes for and who begin to take on dreams of their own. Helping a new generation achieve their dreams begins with strong families bound together through special experiences. That is why holidays are so vitally important.

I often wonder how many families are experiencing loss of hope and their dreams. More importantly, I think about how many families could be saved with just a little bit of help. Few people in need have a voice. The news focuses more on statistics than delving into individual stories - there are simply too many.

This holiday season we can help preserve the American dream for many families by giving to various charities. Any amount helps. The Marine Corps' "Toys for Tots" program is one that we should 'surge'. For those looking to give to more comprehensive programs that are focused in this area year-round I recommend the Association to Benefit Children. There are plenty of other charities, so I encourage awareness and outreach on this issue.

Giving to charity during prosperous times is relatively easy, but it is a true test of character to give during troubled times. The American dream is destined to experience a season of renewal following a long winter. In years ahead when we reflect on this holiday season, may it be remembered as a time that our country came together and took action towards the preservation of that dream.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ryan McDermott.

'I'm Losing My Home Basically For Being Fat' (VIDEO)

2009-12-14T09:40:03Z

Greg Staffa is about to lose his home because he needs to lose some weight.

At least that's how the Farmington, Minn. resident sees the situation, and he's created an elaborate website to tell his story: www.becauseimfat.com.

It goes like this: Staffa claims he will be kicked out of his house at the end of the week because he can't make his mortgage payments. He can't make his mortgage payments because he lost his job at Northwest Airlines, where he'd worked for nine years. He lost the job in March because he didn't have any seniority when a merger necessitated staff cuts. He lost his seniority after an injury sustained in 2006 hoisting a bag limited his ability to work. He said he was fired on the spot but got the job back months later as a new hire.

An independent medical exam found that Staffa's disability had less to do with the injury and more to do with his weight -- 275 pounds. A compensation judge didn't think much of the doctor's reasoning, but a ruling in Staffa's favor didn't restore his pay or seniority.

"There is no question I am losing my house over being fat because everything stems back to that day," Staffa, 34, wrote on his website, where he's uploaded just about every relevant document -- the medical exam doctor's letter, court filings, letters to the bank, even pay stubs from Northwest. (If you don't feel like combing through all that material, try the simple diagram.)

Staffa wrote that he set up his site partly in response to harsh comments about the need for "personal responsibility" on an article about the foreclosure rate in Minnesota. "It's easy to attack a few bad apples. But what good is that when the entire orchard is on fire?"

Staffa is nothing if not an extrovert. In 2006, he ran an attention-getting write-in campaign for a state senate seat. Last year he traveled across the country to raise awareness of homelessness, something he himself experienced in 2001.

"If you fall on bad times, don't feel ashamed," Staffa told the Huffington Post. "There's a lot of good people who fall on bad times who feel ashamed."

Last week, Staffa sent a desperate letter to his bank, TruStone Financial, begging for a deal that would allow him to keep his home. He said he has received no response.

A TruStone spokeswoman declined to comment, but said, "We work really hard to try to avoid foreclosures."

For his part, Staffa stressed that the bank has done nothing wrong. "The bank doesn't owe me anything. I signed a contract," he said. "But we're in such a different times."

He said he is not on good terms with family. He's frantically looking for a job and a place to stay after Dec. 18.

"It being the week before Christmas really sucks."

Of course, Staffa's enterprise would be incomplete without a YouTube video:

Lawsuit Reveals The Problems Inside Wall Street's Mortgage Machine

2009-12-12T21:19:01Z

DURING the lending mania, as Wall Street's mortgage machinery hummed and the money poured in, millions of loans were bought and sold, zipping across town or around the world.

Fred Redmond: A Call to Arms for Civil Rights Activists

2009-12-11T17:13:51Z

Today I issued a call to arms to the civil rights activists of the United Steelworkers union.

This was no summons to warfare, though.

To the contrary, I challenged USW civil rights committee members to shield the downtrodden in society, to aid those felled by the current economic crisis, to serve as their brothers' and sisters' keepers, not just for labor union companions, but for all fellow community members.

This is a call to arms because it will involve heavy lifting, I warned the USW committees at their 15th International Civil and Human Rights Conference in Pittsburgh, Pa.

We'll get a feel for it this week as 85 of us lug books and movies to be donated to Pittsburgh's Children's Hospital, unpack boxes of food and stock shelves at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in Duquesne, and distribute recyclable bags containing fruit to residents of Pittsburgh Housing Authority's 10 senior citizen communities.

This economic downturn mangled the budgets of our food pantries, churches, schools, charities, even our local governments. The Great Recession has left them under-resourced and under-staffed. And that is hurting our children, our elderly parents, our fragile relatives and our communities' health.

We hear their plea. It is our communities calling us to arms. And we will reach out in response to them.

That does not diminish our civil rights committees' traditional duties. These are crucial and will continue. They will investigate civil rights complaints and explain the value of diversity.

These functions simply can't be set aside. That is what happened in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department during the long, dark Bush years. A Government Accountability Office audit of the division's activity showed a significant drop in litigation in several major anti-discrimination and voting rights areas during the Bush years. The Bush department pursued fewer cases when compared to enforcement during the Clinton years, according to the report released early in December.

This, of course, was deliberate by the Bush administration, which did not believe in enforcing civil rights law. We will not allow our new duties in the community to distract us from vigilantly pursuing civil rights complaints filed with our committees. Instead, we will assume this new function as an additional role.

It is a role that is basic to unions, which have always struggled to improve conditions for their members and their families.

At this moment, it's vital that labor union civil rights activists everywhere - not just at the USW -- take inspiration from the Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Service and intercede for the sake of their communities so hobbled by the effects of Wall Street recklessness.

Families are suffering under the highest unemployment in a quarter century. For every single job opening available, 6.3 unemployed job seekers are desperate to take it. Those who lose out are forfeiting their homes. Every month, banks file another 330,000 new foreclosure notices and seize another 75,000 homes.

Those lucky enough to have jobs have been pinched by pay and benefit cuts, furloughs and shortened hours. The average work week is 33.2, nearly 7 hours short of 40, costing many workers nearly a whole day's wages. The Center for Economic and Policy Research calculates that workers haven't endured the worst of it yet. In its report, "The $1 Trillion Wage Deficit," the Center estimates that unemployment will cost workers more next year than this in lost income.

Families that can't make mortgage payments also can't meet tax obligations. Then local governments and school districts are caught short. Low tax revenues meant $30 billion in budget shortfalls for states this year, and as a result, they will will send even less money to aid cities and schools next year. Families without income don't eat out or frequent local shops, so those decline. Contributions to local religious organizations and charities slack off, so at the very moment when their services are most needed, they're least able to respond. The connections among people and groups so fundamental to community begin to dissipate and deteriorate.

So I propose that union civil rights activists volunteer to do whatever they can to fill those gaps in community service. Like workers across this country, our civil rights activists have suffered layoffs and furloughs and work week reductions. So stepping forward as cash cows is unrealistic. But we can step up as volunteers, in our church groups, community organizations and schools. Our hands can help hold it together during these trying times.

We can link arms to help our communities. That is my call to arms.

American Dream 2: Default On Mortgage, Then Rent For Less

2009-12-10T03:40:07Z

PALMDALE, Calif. -- Schoolteacher Shana Richey misses the playroom she decorated with Glamour Girl decals for her daughters. Fireman Jay Fernandez misses the custom putting green he installed in his backyard.

But ever since they quit paying their mortgages and walked away from their homes, they've discovered that giving up on the American dream has its benefits.

Bailout Watchdog: Obama Foreclosure Plan Inadequate, New Direction Needed

2009-12-09T08:22:24Z

This story has been updated

Add Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law professor-turned-crusader for Main Street and the middle class, to the growing list of experts calling for the Obama administration to scrap its failed foreclosure-prevention plan in favor of one that would actually help troubled homeowners keep their homes.

The Congressional Oversight Panel that Warren heads issued a new report Wednesday, concluding that the government's $700 billion bailout program did in fact help stabilize the financial system -- but has largely failed to boost lending or prevent foreclosures.

In a conference call with reporters Tuesday night, Warren spelled out just how dramatically the administration signature foreclosure effort, called the Home Affordable Modification Program, has fallen short:

Nationwide, only 10,187 homeowners have received permanent mortgage modifications. That's only 4.7 percent of those enrolled in three-month trial plans. In October, Herbert M. Allison Jr., the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for financial stability, told the panel that Treasury had internally forecast that "up to 75 percent" of trial modifications would achieve permanent status.

Of the 79 mortgage services enrolled in the program, only 10 have received payment for successfully modifying loans on a permanent basis. They earned $2.3 million for their efforts. By contrast, the administration had set aside $50 billion in bailout money for modifications on mortgages not owned by government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The data is through the end of October. The administration launched its foreclosure prevention drive in March.

HAMP was supposed to help three to four million homeowners avoid foreclosure by modifying their mortgages, enabling them to make lower monthly payments. But with 10 percent unemployment (a 26-year-high), mounting foreclosures and as many as one third of all homeowners with a mortgage currently owing more on the mortgage than the underlying property is worth, the program simply "isn't working," Warren said.

"The program that Treasury has designed does not have the scope, the scale, or the permanence needed to deal with the foreclosure problem," she said.

It's a stinging indictment of a program launched to great fanfare not even a year ago, as President Obama sought to help aggrieved homeowners on Main Street who had watched for months as massive infusions of taxpayer dollars went to Wall Street instead.

The program's failure to live up to expectations has been extensively chronicled by the Huffington Post .

Even though the Treasury Department every month touts the numbers of homeowners signed up for trial plans as a sign of progress, Warren's panel notes in its report that monthly foreclosures still far outpace the number of new trial modifications.

"The Panel emphasizes that it is the number of foreclosures averted, not the number of trial modifications offered or even trial modifications commenced, that is the proper metric for evaluating HAMP," the report reads. "As currently structured, HAMP appears capable of preventing only a fraction of foreclosures."

By contrast to the program's target of three or four million homeowners helped, the report notes: "Projections for foreclosure range from 8.1 million over the next four years to as high as 13 million over the next five-plus years."

So even if Treasury actually hit its target, Warren said, the program would still only be dealing with a third of projected foreclosures. "That's not adequate," she said.

A major source of the panel's frustration is the program's failure to adequately address the problems of unemployed homeowners and those with negative equity.

Those without a job typically don't have enough income to qualify for the program.

And what homeowners who owe more on their houses than they are worth really need is to have their total debt reduced. But HAMP doesn't incent lenders to reduce principal. So "underwater" homeowners might see their interest rates reduced through HAMP, but if their principal remains unchanged, they are at increased risk of defaulting again.

"No one is helped by a program that kicks foreclosures down the line," Warren said. The panel's report suggests that Treasury (like the FDIC is doing) should consider principal reductions.

UPDATE

Treasury released a statement Wednesday morning to HuffPost in response to the panel's report. It reads:

Congress enacted the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) one year ago in the face of the most severe financial crises in modern history. That decision averted a catastrophic collapse and, by every measure, TARP has succeeded in achieving its primary goal of economic stabilization. Confidence in our financial system has improved, access to credit is increasing, and the economy is growing. Moreover, the government is exiting from its emergency financial policies and taxpayers are being repaid. Indeed, the ultimate cost of those policies is likely to be significantly lower than previously expected. Still, challenges to economic recovery remain. Unemployment and foreclosure rates remain high, while access to credit for small businesses is limited. For this reason, the focus of TARP now is on responsible homeowners and small businesses. Improvement in these areas will take some time and our job is not done. We continue to work collaboratively with all oversight bodies to advance our shared goals of full financial recovery and ultimately a conclusion to TARP.

READ the COP report below:

cop-120909-report -

Mark Hanson: 20 Million More Homeowners At Risk Of Default

2009-12-07T09:09:27Z

How many homeowners are over-levered and at imminent risk of default? This answer is...a lot more than most think, especially those who got a loan from 2003-2007 due to a radical, yet subtle shift in loan guidelines across the mortgage spectrum that kicked-off the bubble-years.

Yes, even Prime full-doc borrowers in 30-year fixed mortgages with 20% equity who got their purchase or refi from 03-07 are at much greater risk than most think.

Gretchen Morgenson: Why The Treasury Needs A Plan B For Mortgages

2009-12-06T02:51:38Z

A stalled loan modification plan might not be worrisome if the foreclosure crisis were abating. Yet at the end of September, a record 14.4 percent of borrowers were either in foreclosure or delinquent on their mortgages, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

It's time for the government to acknowledge the flaws in its program and create one that might actually succeed.

Quarter Of Borrowers In Anti-Foreclosure Program Are Late Paying New Mortgage Bill

2009-12-05T03:58:17Z

So far, more than 650,000 borrowers have been enrolled into the initial, or "trial," phase of the program and have seen their payments lowered by an average of $640 a month, or 40 percent. But a recent survey of large mortgage servicers published by the Treasury Department found that that more than 25 percent of borrowers in the program were not current on their trial payments.

FDIC Fire Sale! 11 Homes For Under $10,000 (PHOTOS)

2009-12-04T13:40:35Z

Need a cheap home? Just call the FDIC.

During the housing crisis, the Federal Deposit Insurance Company took over thousands of failed banks' soured properties. All told, the FDIC now owns $1.8 billion worth of real estate, much of which it is trying to sell off at bargain prices.

The agency's website, last updated in September, lists over 1,500 properties that are available for purchase. The value of these listings span the spectrum, and include the Bayview Corporate Center in Newport Beach, CA, which the FDIC sold to S.K. Hart Properties for a reported $53 million last month.

But for our readers with a slightly tighter budget, we've compiled a list of some of the cheapest homes -- all $10,000 or less -- across the country. One Chicago house, sold for $280,000 two years ago, is now listed by the FDIC at the deeply-discounted price of $10,000. And one Detroit home is going for just $500 -- less than the property's estimated annual taxes.

To browse the rest of the FDIC's real estate deals, see their website for yourself. The best values can be found on their list of "Bargain Properties."

Keep in mind that some of this information may be slightly outdated, but more information can be found by consulting the FDIC's listing for each home.

Check out the cheapest FDIC homes:

At Last, One Government Agency Considers Cutting Mortgage Principal For Distressed Homeowners

2009-12-04T09:29:00Z

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair indicated Thursday that she is exploring the idea of reducing the principal on as much as $45 billion in mortgages her agency has acquired from failed banks.

That would be the first significant government attempt to employ a measure that some economists and consumer advocates have long argued is the only really effective way to stop foreclosures.

Although the $45 billion in mortgages only amounts to less than half of one percent of mortgages nationwide, the move would be significant because the idea of reducing principal has been all but dismissed for the last nine months by the Obama administration.

Economists like Yale University's John Geanakoplos, however, have argued that cutting the principal on delinquent loans should have been the administration's practice all along. For the nearly quarter of American homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than the house is worth, it's by far the best way to keep them in their homes and reduce foreclosures, Geanakoplos said in an interview last month.

Bair made her comments in an interview with Bloomberg News. She has not yet discussed her proposal with the Treasury Department, a senior administration official said Thursday in a brief interview. Though unfamiliar with the details of her proposal, the official said it was promising.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation no longer owns the mortgages directly; but when it sold them to solvent banks, it agreed to shoulder some of the future losses. Bair's move would effectively make sure that homeowners directly benefit from that guarantee, not just the lenders.

The Obama administration's $75 billion plan to help distressed borrowers has yet to make a serious dent in stopping foreclosures. In addition, when the plan was launched in March it was largely designed to help those homeowners with jobs, as the terms depended on minimum levels of income. Back then the unemployment rate was at 8.5 percent. Since then, the economy has shed about 2.5 million more jobs.

"Now you're in a situation where even the good mortgages are going bad because people are losing their jobs. So you have other factors now driving mortgage distress," Bair told Bloomberg.

The Congressional Oversight Panel, the Elizabeth Warren-led group keeping tabs on the bank bailout, said in an October report that "it increasingly appears" that the Obama foreclosure plan "is targeted at the housing crisis as it existed six months ago, rather than as it exists right now."

Instead of encouraging principal reductions, the Obama plan has led mostly to modifications that either lower interest rates or lengthen the duration of the loan, or both. But both of those practices leave homeowners who owe more on their homes than they are worth "underwater". And while stretching a 30-year mortgage to a 40-year does cut monthly payments, it actually increases the total amount of the debt because the payments are stretched over time, meaning more interest charges. Some modifications even increase principal, by tacking on missed payments and fees.

Another glimmer of hope for supporters of principal reduction: A September report by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on mortgage modifications done by banks outside the administration's plan found that principal reductions, while still uncommon, tripled from 3.1 percent to 10 percent. The amount of principal reduced, though, was oftentimes very small.

Nina Morra: NJ Woman Who Dodged Foreclosure Locked Out Of Home

2009-12-04T08:27:15Z

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey woman returned home from Thanksgiving with family to find the locks changed days after she avoided foreclosure.

Bank of America says it made a mistake.

Read more: Nina Morra, Foreclosure, New York News

Police Break Into Home, Evict Mother And Week-Old Son

2009-12-01T15:52:16Z

As part of its Bearing Witness 2.0 project, the Huffington Post is rounding up a few of the best local stories of the day.

In November, Tiffany Wilkins was facing foreclosure when she gave birth to her son, Malachi. A week later, police used a battering ram to break into her Southern Chicago suburban home, reports Phil Kadner of the Southtown Star. After their violent eviction she and her new son, along with eight-year-old Heaven Perez, and Tiffany's mother Zina, were homeless, going from shelter to shelter every night.

Yvonne Griffin-Bland, a coordinator at a local shelter, found the family and helped to put them somewhere more permanent. "I just saw this little baby and thought this is no place for such a small child," she said. The family spent a few days in a motel until they could be placed into a transitional housing unit, which happened on Monday.

*********

In Fort Yukon, AK, mushers running low on dog food are worried about feeding their animals, reports Joshua Armstrong for the Fairbanks News Miner. A poor fishing season has combined with the bad economy to leave mushers, who run dog-pulled sleds across the frozen tundra, without enough money to buy food for their animals.

Anthony Shewfelt, one local musher, owns 22 dogs, but said he would rather kill his dogs, which he has raised since he was 12, than let them go hungry. "The last thing I want to do is starve a dog," he said.

*********

Richard Crane made over $100,000 a year at his old job, reports Ianthe Jeanne Dugan for the Wall Street Journal. He used to operate heavy machinery for Delco, a former General Motors subsidiary, since graduating from high school in the early 1980s. But since he was laid off three years ago he has been unable to find any comparable work, and has been working two jobs to make just a third of his former salary.

He claimed he has applied for hundreds of other jobs, but nothing has come through, and his current income has forced serious cutbacks. Over the summer he went three months without gas, and working 60-plus hours a week means he rarely sees his son.

*********

Students at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles protested when an adored teacher with low seniority was laid off in September, reports Amina Khan for the Los Angeles Times. Five hundred students staged a sit-in on Christine Gutierrez's last day, and petitioned the Board of Education to reinstate her. "She just actually cares," explained student Veronica Biblarz when asked why she supported the teacher. "She takes it seriously."

The students won out, and school board members admitted the display was touching. Gutierrez was reappointed to the high school last week as a substitute teacher.

*********

Susan, who does not give her last name, used to work for a nonprofit agency that directed clients to local charities and aid organizations. But after her husband lost his job over a year ago, the family is now going to those same charities to stay in their house and give their two children Christmas gifts, reports Beth Lamontagne Hall for the New Hampshire Union Leader.

She was hesitant to start asking for help, she said: "I thought, I really don't want to do this. There are probably more people out there worse off then we are." But she swallowed her pride and went to the local Salvation Army's Santa Fund program, which "makes it possible for the holidays to still be a joyful time" for everyone.

*********

All of the homeless shelters in Portland, Maine, are full to capacity, and assistance grants to help the poor in the city are up forty percent, reports Susan Kimball for local TV station WCSH.

Julie, a mother of five who declined to give her last name, has been in a shelter with her family for the last two weeks. She lost her apartment after medical bills put the family behind on rent and a heart attack put the children's father out of work. "Never thought I'd be in this spot" she said, "I'm amazed how easily it can happen."

HuffPost readers: Seen a compelling local story? Have a neighbor going to bizarre lengths to get through the recession? Tell us about it! Email jmhattem@gmail.com.

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Obama Administration To Shame Lenders That Don't Offer To Modify Mortgages

2009-11-30T16:57:00Z

Its signature foreclosure-prevention plan having definitively failed to actually help very many homeowners, the Obama administration today announced its new strategy to get balky lenders to the table: Nagging.

The U.S. government will start to publicly identify those companies that are failing to give troubled homeowners permanent loan modifications, and hound them daily to monitor their progress, the Treasury Department declared.

Top servicers will be required to submit a schedule demonstrating their plans to reach a decision on each loan for which they have documentation and to communicate either a modification agreement or denial letter to those borrowers. Treasury/Fannie Mae "account liaisons" are being assigned to these servicers and will follow up daily as necessary to monitor progress against the servicer's plan. Daily progress will be aggregated by the end of each business day and reported to the Administration.

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) was launched in March to much fanfare as the administration's main response to a growing foreclosure problem. The government would provide cash incentives to mortgage servicers that reduced monthly payments for distressed homeowners, and that way those who were facing higher payments or lower incomes could stay in their homes.

But the program, which the administration refers to as "a primary focus of financial stability efforts," has been a disaster according to consumer advocates, economists, housing experts and government watchdogs. It does nothing for those who have lost their jobs, because they have too little income to qualify, and could make things even worse in the long run for those homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth, because the plan does not require principal reductions.

Furthermore, only a tiny proportion of the relatively few homeowners in the program have obtained permanent relief. As of Sept. 1, only 1,711 homeowners, or less than two percent of those who received a temporary modification under Obama's plan, ended up with a permanent fix, according to a report by the Elizabeth Warren-led Congressional Oversight Panel.

And yet, the plan has cost taxpayers about $27 billion so far.

Meanwhile, as many as 3.4 million homes are expected to enter foreclosure by year's end, with some experts estimating that next year will be even worse.

The administration's latest push -- shaming the mortgage companies -- is "certainly a step forward after six months of operation," says Alan White, a law professor at Valparaiso University who has written extensively on mortgages and foreclosures. "But it's not going to help by itself."

"It's a long-overdue step," he said. "At this point, the servicers are propped up in [many] different ways by the taxpayer -- HAMP isn't the only subsidy they're getting -- and if we're going to prop them up then they ought to achieve our public policy objective."

The four big banks are also the biggest servicers, he noted, and American taxpayers are the majority shareholders in three of them: Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. "He who pays the piper should call the tune."

Others were even more critical. "The Obama administration's latest adjustments to its nine-month-old foreclosure prevention program do little but highlight the continued failure of lenders' voluntary efforts to stop the foreclosure crisis," Michael Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a consumer-advocacy group, said in a statement.

Consumers advocates have long said that the program is poorly managed and relies too heavily on mortgage servicers, whose interests are not necessarily aligned with those of homeowners. Economists and advocates point to principal reduction, for example, as perhaps the best way to achieve a permanent, sustainable modification. Lowering the total amount due -- particularly for those homeowners with negative equity -- could induce homeowners to keep up with their payments and stay in their homes.

But most servicers and banks are loath to reduce principal, particularly for those mortgages that have been securitized. Also, servicers' fees are based on the overall balance of the loan, so if the balance of the loan is reduced, then so are their fees.'

In the administration's plan, the servicers essentially call the shots, rather than the investors -- and yet they still don't want to participate.

One reason is that reducing the principal forces banks to recognize the losses on those loans. By not reducing the principal, the banks can essentially pretend that the loans may one day become current again. It's an accounting trick, consumer advocates say.

Yale economist John Geanakoplos is among those arguing that principal reduction is the best way to reduce foreclosures. By contrast, the administration simply requires that homeowners' monthly payments be lowered, which can happen either through an interest rate reduction, or by lengthening the term of the loan. If a bank turns a 30-year mortgage into a 40-year mortgage, for instance, the homeowner could see the monthly payments drop -- but with 10 years of extra interest, would actually end up owing more.

White House Plans To Step Up Pressure On Lenders To Help Homeowners

2009-11-28T20:52:41Z

WASHINGTON (AP/HuffPost)-- The Obama administration, battling a foreclosure crisis that shows no signs of relenting, will step up pressure on mortgage companies to do more to help people remain in their homes, officials said Saturday.

The administration will announce its expanded program on Monday, Treasury spokeswoman Meg Reilly said.

"We are taking additional steps to enhance servicer transparency and accountability," Reilly said. She said the goal was to increase the rate that troubled home loans were converted into new loans with lower monthly payments.

So far, the program's numbers have been lackluster. When the administration rolled out the program, called Making Home Affordable, it hoped to save 3-4 million homeowners from foreclosure. The New York Times interviews a former Fannie Mae official who says that currently, the program will be lucky if it can save 1.5 million Americans from foreclosure.

According to Realtytrac, 2,631,158 foreclosure filings were reported in the first three fiscal quarters of 2009. Realtytrac expects that nationwide, 3.2-3.4 million properties will go into foreclosure in 2009, up from 2.3 million in 2008. About 10 percent of residential households nationwide, or about five million, were behind by at least one mortgage payment in the third quarter. Almost 4.5 percent of residential properties were in some form of foreclosure.

The New York Times reports on the program:

Last month, an oversight panel created by Congress reported that fewer than 2,000 of the 500,000 loan modifications then in progress had become permanent under Making Home Affordable. When the Treasury releases new numbers next month, it is expected to report a disappointingly small number of permanent loan modifications, with estimates in the tens of thousands out of the more than 650,000 borrowers now in the program.

More unsatisfactory data is likely to intensify pressures on the Obama administration to mount a more muscular effort to stem foreclosures beyond the Treasury's campaign this week. Populist anger has been fanned by a growing perception that the Treasury has lavished generous bailouts on Wall Street institutions while neglecting ordinary homeowners -- this, in the midst of double-digit unemployment, which is daily sending more households into delinquency.