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NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
liz, I recommend USBank. I use them personally and they seem to have stayed out of the toxic end of the financial pool. We also currently use HSBC, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America but I can't willingly recommend them to anyone. I'm betting that at least one of the four survives the next year, which is why we have kept accounts open at all of them.
 
Wells is safest of those above. US Bank was conservative in the first mortgage market, but they were a monster in the equities market. They were offering fixed 2nd's and HELOCS at great rates for a long time. Just because you originated a lot of 2nd mortgages doesn't necessarily mean you have a lot of bad loans on your balance sheet. I don't think you have to worry about losing money w/ b of a either.
 
"However, the vote was not unanimous. Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig favored holding rates steady".

It appears that the only intelligent Fed folks reside in Missouri (hat tip to Bill Poole). BB must HATE that state right now.
 
From Graph's MW link:

"Originations of jumbo loans in Orange County fell by 43% in early October compared with September and are now down 68% compared with a year earlier. Originations of loans below $417,000, by contrast, fell by just 7% in October in the county."

TIC needs to stick some of that in their pipe and smoke if they think that the problem is only that people don't want to buy until prices drop further. Even those who might want to can't get underwritten.

How big is Bren's cash hoard? I wonder if TIC will consider getting into the loan business in another attempt to preserve values in Irvine.

SCHB
 
"How big is Bren's cash hoard? I wonder if TIC will consider getting into the loan business in another attempt to preserve values in Irvine".

He's rich, not stupid.
 
Not to mention that if he got into lending, the regulatory requirements would put the government's nose into his tent - something he assiduously seeks to avoid.
 
Citigroup’s board is highly likely to name Robert E. Rubin, the former Treasury secretary and an influential adviser to its embattled leader, as its interim chairman at an emergency meeting today, according to a person briefed on the situation.

The move is intended to reassure Wall Street while the board looks for a new chief executive to replace Charles O. Prince III who is expected to resign as chairman and chief executive as early as today. The company has suffered major losses as a result of its large exposure to bad loans and mortgage-related securities. NY Times
 
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This graph, “… shows the price of asset-backed securities (as measured by the ABX index) for the 2007 vintage. Note also that these are not the toxic waste that is the first to suffer when loans go bad.

One series, from 2007, shows securities rated AA, one notch below the highest. There was a brief point in September when the worst seemed to be over; prices rose to around 85 cents on the dollar. But that was merely the prelude to the real downward lurch on the rollercoaster that took prices down to just over 45; the kind of level at which distressed debt trades. Even the AAA notes, in theory the most secure of all, have plunged to between 80-82.5 cents, a level that makes a mockery of their rating…” Economist
 
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"The subprime-lending crisis is in one sense simply the barometer of how far home prices have outstripped incomes. As homes became harder to afford, financing became more creative, and expensive. Irrational exuberance ensued, along with predation.

“Where subprimes are turning up is in hot markets, but also in places like Cleveland and Detroit,” Mr. Katz said. “College towns are more stable places in some respects. If you make between $75,000 and $125,000 in these places, you can get into a pretty decent home and still have very reasonable ratios.” Linky
 
If Prince were a prince, he'd forgo most of his leaving bonuses, to pay for not firing at least some of the rank and file.

Why was this unexpected?

Is it due to the fact that the super SIV never got off the ground, and probably won't. I told my mom to get out of Citi a couple of weeks ago, and wonderful to relate, she did.
 
Ran across this article on OC register that talked about people who are buying even at this period of time. Interesting insights into the buyers' psychology. Still a lot of sentiment remain from the boom days.

www.ocregister.com/money/home-price-deal-1915649-seller-bedroom

Story No. 1:

"Drywall contractor John Tipton came home from a job in Anaheim Hills one day with a real estate flier.

"Look at this beautiful house," he told his wife.

"Look at this beautiful price," she replied.

The Tiptons weren't even looking. But the seller kept dropping the price, so the Whittier couple ended up buying the well-landscaped hillside home on a secluded lot. They paid 15 percent below its year-ago value.

"I know it's not the greatest time to buy, but we got a good price," said Tipton, 55. " … To me, if we lost it, we might not find something like this again for the price"

"Meanwhile, the Tiptons are fixing up their new Anaheim Hills home, getting it ready to move in.

While they got a deal on the home they bought, they couldn't find a buyer for their old home in Whittier. So after two months of trying to sell it, they took it off the market and plan to rent it out instead.

"It's just not selling for what it's worth," he said."

(ahhh... the classic you must buy now or else it will be gone mentality)

Story No. 2:

"Richard Kim bought his home in Garden Grove mainly out of need. His three children moved into his two-bedroom apartment after a divorce and they needed more space. Lower prices and an improvement in his financial situation allowed the single dad to afford a four-bedroom home with a den on Acacia Avenue.

"I believe the market will continue to go down a little bit more, … but the margin that I cut with the seller will be enough if the price goes down 1 to 2 percent more," Kim said. "So I said, 'Why not?' "

(the other classic . . . it is a good time to buy now. . .really how bad can it go mentality)

Story No. 3:

Some residents of Camden Place, a new home development at the former Tustin Marine base, are feeling buyer's remorse. The three-story condos they bought are now selling for more than $100,000 less than they paid.

Erin Kerr said he doesn't regret buying his Camden Place condo but does wish he had waited a little longer. The market was stronger a year ago when he and his wife, Joy, decided to buy the two-bedroom, 1,558-square-foot unit and seemed to be holding up when they closed escrow in April.

They paid $577,000. Last week, the developer offered a similar unit for $464,000.
 
lol, they buy one house at what they claim is a great price, then claim they can't get "what their house is worth" trying to sell their old home?

I swear you can't make this stuff up.
 
jwbrown - that's the exact same thing I noticed when I saw the story in the paper. Seems like they want the best of both worlds - low price for the place they buy; high price for their old house. Just a tad detached from reality there.
 
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