≡ by the Mysterious Flying Miser ≡

From Forbes 17May2007:
“The subprime mess is grave but largely contained, said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Thursday, in a speech before the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. While rising delinquencies and foreclosures will continue to weigh heavily on the housing market this year, it will not cripple the U.S. economy, he said. The speech was the Chairman’s most comprehensive on the subprime mortgage issue to date.

“‘Given the fundamental factors in place that should support the demand for housing, we believe the effect of the troubles in the subprime sector on the broader housing market will likely be limited,’ Bernanke said.

“In March, Bernanke had said that the problems in the subprime market would only ‘reduce somewhat the effective demand for housing.’”

From The Business Insider 21Aug2009:
“The worst of the fearmongers--once deemed irresponsible and panicked by much of the markets--have been proved to have not been fearful enough.

...

“Except this time the toxic mortgages aren't fancy at all. They're regular old prime mortgages. That's right. Last quarter, prime mortgages accounted for 58% of foreclosures. And among theose prime mortgages in foreclosure, the largest segment--32%--was composed of fixed-rate mortgages.

“… This puts fixed-rate, prime mortgages close to where subprime adjustable rate mortgages were a year ago. Of course, the overall level of prime mortgage foreclosures is still far lower than subprime foreclosures. Just 9% of prime loans are in foreclosure, versus 39.5% of subprime loans. Both rates are still climbing.

“To put this slightly differently, the serious deliquencies on prime mortgages now stand where subprime were back in the third quarter of 2007. By that point we were well into what was then quaintly known as the ‘subprime crisis.’ So it's fair to say we're now experiencing a prime crisis.”

From the Orlando Sentinel:
“The downtown Orlando Sheraton is headed for the auction block next month, now that the hotel's owner has failed to come up with a plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

“The hotel, which sits at the north end of downtown near Interstate 4 and Lake Ivanhoe, is scheduled for a Sept. 3 foreclosure sale. Its owner, CF Hospitality Inc., said it is not generating enough cash flow to cover all of its bills. ‘There was no plan that we could execute to ... come out of bankruptcy,’ said Edwin Reisz, who was brought on board as president of CF Hospitality after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2008. ‘We didn't want to get our vendors into a position where they weren't going to get paid.’

“In addition to owing millions on its mortgage, the hotel has debts owed to unsecured creditors totaling between $200,000 and $300,000, said Brett Marks, a lawyer with Akerman Senterfitt who represented the creditors' committee.”

From Indystar:
“David A. Marsh, former executive of the supermarket chain that bears his family’s name, has been sued for falling behind on loans connected to his multimillion-dollar house on Geist Reservoir.

“Marsh hasn’t made a payment on the 11,800-square-foot home since March of 2008 and banks are threatening he may lose his house to foreclosure should he continue to default, according to a lawsuit filed in Hamilton Superior Court 3.

“Two separate lawsuits have also been filed against Marsh in Hamilton County courts. In all, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Fifth Third Bank want to recover $3.3 million Marsh borrowed for a mortgage and two other loans that offered his Fishers home as collateral.

“The house is currently listed for sale at $2.2 million. When originally put on the market in 2007, the home was listed for nearly $4 million.”

From CBS News:
“Five tigers have joined the ranks of those threatened with losing homes to foreclosure in Ohio.

“The animals are cared for by Jose and Denise Flores at their Tiger Paw Exotic Rescue Center outside Ashland in north-central Ohio. The couple fell behind on their mortgage payments after Jose Flores was laid off several months ago from his job with a tool company, and their property is scheduled to be sold in a sheriff's auction Aug. 24. Their lawyer has filed for a stay.

“Denise Flores says she doesn't know where they'll be able to go with big cats Tazzie, Ticha, Katie, Delilah and Sammie. Three of the tigers were adopted from a woman who had bought them at auction, a fourth had been hurt by a dog, and the fifth is the offspring of two of the others.”