'Predatory Lending Practices'

From Wikipedia: Predatory lending is the practice of exploiting a potential borrower's ignorance for profit. Although predatory industries in general are more likely to target racial minorities, women, and the elderly, victims of predatory lending are represented across all demographics.
You read it about here on the Zoo some time ago. We said watch out for the bomb to go off...well it's started with a sharp increase in foreclosures. RealtyTrac is reporting a 24% more forecosures in August than in July. And July was up 55% over July 2005. I've already seen a C-Span show on this topic as it's risen to the level of national Oh-oh! You'll love this guy

“With home price appreciation continuing to decelerate and billions of dollars in adjustable rate mortgages projected to reset in the next few months, this month’s increase could be the beginning of an upward shift in the foreclosures market,” says James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties."

An 'upward shift in the foreclosures market'. Nice. Kind of like saying Baghdad has experienced 'an upward shift in the dead bodies market'. Makes it almost sound like a good thing...this is only going to get worse as 'billions of dollars in ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) ...reset in the next few months'.
None of this is good nor do I take any pleasure in being right. Get ready for more congressionals investigations and teeth gnashing as this gets worse...

Stay Mortgaged and As Always...

Stay Naked.

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A word from the EZ :
First, the poor schmuck borrowers will get wiped out and there will be Congressional handwringing, but no action.
Then the phony appraisals that all these lousy loans were based on will kick in and we will discover that the lenders are losing money because their foreclosure price won't cover the debt.
Then we will see the taxpayers ( see "poor schmuck borrowers" above) rescuing the lenders from the consequences of their own greed (see "S&L Crisis of the 80's").
jd