Some Particularly Good Journalism on the Subprime Mortgage Crisis

by Deepak Gupta

BBC News has been running a compelling series of articles on the subprime mortgage foreclosure crisis, including a particularly interesting article focusing on how the crisis is playing out in Cleveland, Ohio, which the BBC calls "the sub-prime capital of the United States."  The article collects some very alarming statistics and charts and includes an interactive map of Cleveland that lets you see the correspondence between subprime lending, foreclosures, and race.

Relatedly, an article by John Leland in yesterday's New York Times took a look at how the foreclosure crisis is affecting tenants.  "In the foreclosure crisis of 2007," the article begins, "thousands of American families are losing their homes without ever missing a payment. They are renters in houses whose owners default on their mortgages — a large but little noticed class of casualties."

Comments

[John]

Purchasing a new home to bail out on a mortgage that will soon be too expensive can often provide homeowners with additional benefits in terms of their credit, as well. With two mortgages, the late payments and foreclosure of the first house will not drag down the homeowners' credit scores as much as if they owned only one home. This can offset some of the devastating effects of foreclosure and allow foreclosure victims to obtain new credit in a much shorter time than if their only home was foreclosed. If homeowners understand the moral and financial consequences of such an action, this method of avoiding becoming a former homeowner can give families a great head start on the road to financial recovery despite a very recent foreclosure.
http://www.thejohnbeck.tv

[Aron]

Thanks for providing the information.