Posts Tagged ‘Roy Oppenheim’

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road…Goodbye 30-Year Mortgages?

Monday, March 7th, 2011

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road...Goodbye 30-Year Mortgages?The American Dream as we know it is being redefined for Florida real estate and the nation. Elton John’s famous song Goodbye Yellow Brick Road reminds us that homeownership will no longer define the American Dream and the Yellow Brick Road really leads to no where (just like in Oz).

So the tune Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is sounding the same as Goodbye American Dream as we say see you later to 30-Year Mortgages. The fact is, without housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the 30-year mortgage might fade away, leaving many potential homeowners with little to no financing options.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan has been a steady favorite of American borrowers since the 1950s and is now on its way to become a luxury product.

What would real estate be like without Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

According to The New York Times, life without Fannie and Freddie is the rare goal shared by the Obama administration and House Republicans after the two giants misused the government’s support to enrich shareholders and executives by backing millions of shoddy loans.

Taxpayers have spent more than $135 billion righting those wrongs.

However grave the transgressions, there would be consequences for Americans if Fannie and Freddie are shut down. Interest rates would rise for most borrowers, and lenders could start charging fees for locking in those rates weeks or months before taking out a loan.

Still, other politicians favor a purely private mortgage finance market.
(more…)

Real Estate Madness: Madoff Burns Banks and Brands Government

Saturday, March 5th, 2011

Real Estate Madness: Madoff Burns Banks and Brands GovernmentIs the whole government a Ponzi scheme? Bernie Madoff thinks so and who would know better than the master manipulator himself?

When the greatest financial criminal in history calls collect, you listen. The result? A fascinating feature by New York Magazine writer Steve Fishman exploring Bernie Madoff’s brazen plan, subsequent panic and tumultuous downfall.

Perhaps most interesting is Madoff’s assertion that some of Wall Street’s most prestigious firms, including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney were never blind to the scheme he was orchestrating.

“Look,” he said, “these banks and these funds had to know there were problems.” Madoff told them absolutely nothing about how he made those returns. “I wouldn’t give them any facts, like how much volume I was doing. I was not willing to have them come up and do the due diligence that they wanted. I absolutely refused to do it. I said, ‘You don’t like it, take your money out,’ which of course they never did.”

Madoff continues, “It’s unbelievable. Goldman … no one has any criminal convictions—the whole new regulatory reform is a joke. The whole government is a Ponzi scheme.”

As the housing market continues to waffle and the government rolls out plan after plan to no avail, it’s hard to argue with him.

According to the latest numbers from CoreLogic, the national average of state mortgage holders who are underwater is 22.5%. Florida sits at an astonishing level above 60%.

Homeowners, however, are not powerless in today’s market. Join Oppenheim Law next Wednesday, March 9, for the next free Real Estate Workshop where Roy Oppenheim will share how rising oil prices, continued unemployment and the possibility of an American double-dip recession is impacting the South Florida real estate market.
(more…)

Rolling Stone and Oppenheim Law Ask: Why Isn’t Wall Street in Jail?

Friday, March 4th, 2011

Accountability?

In an era in which almost every bank on Wall Street was entangled in financial scandal, millions of Americans are left in an impoverished hole and billions of dollars in wealth has been destroyed, no one has been held accountable.

Considering these circumstances, Rolling Stone Magazine Writer Matt Taibbi begs the question, “Why isn’t Wall Street in Jail?”

Today’s article highlights a corrupt government culture in many of the agencies that were supposed to protect Americans from banks like AIG, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. Particularly, there is a glaring problem at the SEC where a revolving door that sends government employees out into to private practice and then back to the government, blurring loyalties and breeding distortion.

And Wall Street’s punishment for their brazen schemes and artificial financial boom? According to Taibbi: “carefully orchestrated settlements — whitewash jobs that involve the firms paying pathetically small fines without even being required to admit wrongdoing.”

Americans who sense two sets of laws in this country are completely correct. One set has developed for the masses, and a second special set of rules exists for the wealthy and powerful. This is not the America many of us remember growing up in.

Join Oppenheim Law next Wednesday, March 9 at 6 PM as Roy Oppenheim discusses how the aftermath of Wall Street’s greed is still affecting homeowners across the country and what you can do to pull yourself out of the hole the banks created.

Tomorrow, we will examine the perspective of arguably the poster child of Wall Street greed with Bernie Madoff’s jailhouse interview.

Red Carpet Winners, Short Sales and Oppenheim Law’s March Real Estate Workshop

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Join Florida Foreclosure Defense and Short Sale Attorney Roy Oppenheim March 9th at 6 PM.

“Not a single financial executive has gone to jail”…that is how Producer Charles Ferguson rocked the Oscars by starting his acceptance speech for winning best feature documentary for “Inside Job,” a film about the 2008 financial system meltdown. How appropriate.

Meanwhile, Florida real estate is no red carpet winner when it comes to the housing market. Oppenheim Law announces its real estate webinar streaming live Wednesday March 9th at 6 pm, designed to help Florida homeowners use today’s economic conditions to their advantage and fashion their own bailouts.

In this timely workshop, Oppenheim shares fresh insights, including:

  • How the rising price of oil will affect the American job market, and in turn affect the housing market.
  • What these trends mean for Florida foreclosure defense and how homeowners can use these events to their advantage to engineer and structure a short sale.
  • The impact that a sluggish start to the national “selling season” will have on a local level.
  • Why home prices will continue to drop in the months ahead.
  • And how a double dip recession could impact homeowners in the coming months.

Florida real estate is not immune to the financial system melt down or the recent world events, according to Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney and Legal Blogger Roy Oppenheim.

As revolutionary tremors continue to spread through the Middle East and actual tremors rocked New Zealand with a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, Oppenheim Law offers insight on how these international events could impact Florida’s real estate market as well as sharing the latest legal trends in foreclosure defense and short sales strategies.
(more…)


PHP/MySQL Components, WordPress Plugins, and Technology Opinions at TravisWeston.com

Bad Behavior has blocked 8301 access attempts in the last 7 days.