We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Private Equity’s Foreclosures for Rentals Net 8%: Mortgages

Click here to access article by Edward Robinson from Bloomberg News.

Have I got a hot tip for all sociopathic investors! Get into buying up foreclosed homes! Under the capitalist system, everything becomes a commodity, even homes where people live, raise families, have ties with friends, neighbors, communities, and schools. But, there is an upside--one family's tragedy can make someone else rich. You, too, can make a killing by investing in this widely available commodity!
Wiel says the agency [Federal Housing Finance Agency] may auction pools of properties to investors, perhaps coupled with federally guaranteed financing that lowers their cost of capital significantly. The Resolution Trust Corp. employed a similar policy in the early 1990s to sell off mortgages held by failed savings and loan banks.
 On Feb. 27, the FHFA unveiled a pilot program to sell repossessed houses in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Florida (SPCSMIA) and other hard-hit markets to investors who qualify with the agency. Waypoint submitted an application. “This could be a total game changer for us,” Wiel says.
It’s striking that Washington is looking to Wall Street for answers after investors’ zeal for subprime mortgages helped foment the housing morass, Green says. She says a boom in rentals may encourage mortgage lenders to foreclose on delinquent homeowners instead of reworking their loans to be more affordable.
The US is truly the land of opportunity. Anyone, without a conscience and with insider knowledge, can get rich here. Economic busts as well as booms offer opportunities--for the One Percent. Ain't capitalism wonderful?