Ask Paul Kiel Your Questions on the Foreclosure Crisis
Six million American homeowners are facing foreclosure. Tomorrow, reporter Paul Kiel will field your questions about this mess.
Reporter Paul Kiel will be taking readers’ questions on the foreclosure crisis in a Reddit chat tomorrow, April 11, starting at 3 p.m.
Paul has been reporting on foreclosures for the past three years. He won the 2011 Scripps Howard Award for his work, and his e-book, “The Great American Foreclosure Story,” came out today. It ties all the elements of the foreclosure crisis into one compelling narrative. We highly suggest you read it.
Prior to ProPublica, Paul covered congressional corruption and the Justice Department at TPMMuckraker.
You can ask him almost anything about the foreclosure crisis and investigative reporting. (What’s the best way to get a mortgage modification? How did the government’s decisions affect the foreclosure crisis? To what extent are irresponsible borrowers responsible for the crisis? What’s it like to report on such a massive, nationwide problem?)
To join the chat, just head to the Reddit IAmA homepage at 3 p.m. You can read the whole chat without an account, but to participate, you’ll have to register via the link in the upper right hand corner. If you like, you can start leaving questions in the comments below, and we’ll transfer them to the chat.
Foreclosure Crisis: Banks and Government Fail Homeowners
Banks and the government have fallen short in helping homeowners in danger of foreclosure.
The Story So Far
Systemic failures at the country’s banks and mortgage servicers have exacerbated the most severe foreclosure crisis since the Great Depression, and government efforts to limit the damage have fallen short. ProPublica created an unrivaled database of homeowners who have faced foreclosure, opened a Facebook page to encourage homeowners to share their stories, wrote profiles of some of them, and incorporated their experiences into our reporting. We also provided a comprehensive rundown of the numbers behind the crisis.
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16 comments
Rafael Iverson
April 10, 2012, 4:06 p.m.
Do you think 2nd mortgage lenders will be aggressive in collecting on the notes that were foreclosed on? Do you have any idea about the volume (dollar value and raw number) of second mortgages that have been foreclosed on so far?
Starry
April 11, 2012, 8:47 a.m.
Why is there a ‘teflon’ effect vis a vis the Obama admin on f.c. lapses? BTW - the AZ speech in 2009 had him calling for help for 9 mil., not just 3-4 mil. Yet, it was toothless and Tim G. saw to it that banks profited via fees. Why no outcry?
Patti
April 11, 2012, 9:49 a.m.
Bank of America started the foreclosure process on my home before they had an Assignment of Deed of Trust on my property. The document was not created and recorded until three years after B of A bought Countrywide and there are indications that the doc is a robo-signed one. How can I find out for sure? If the document is fraudulent, or their process is illegal, what is my recourse?
With thanks.
Linda
April 11, 2012, 9:58 a.m.
Don’t you think it is about time the people are told that they are paying a mortgage on a home that is not worth the paper it is printed on? The second liens are a sham and were our own equity that they used to ring us up with. The truth must be told about the unsustainable debt of these financiers is $1.2 quadrillion dollars and can never be repaid. The truth that these financial institutions never lent us any money, they lent us credit and it is GSE’s and the banks who borrowed hundreds of trillions of dollars from the U.S. TAXPAYERS via the hijacking of the U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT. The fraud recycling and the bankrupting of America under the guise of money owed will not stop until the hidden truth is told to the American people. The people who don’t turn to alternative media for the real news and believe the MSM are unknowingly aiding and abetting the demise of America.
Jeff Bazell
April 11, 2012, 11:54 a.m.
PLEASE ALWAYS INCLUDE THE TIME ZONE WHEN YOU ANNOUNCE SOMETHING THIS IMPORTANT. THERE ARE FOUR TIME ZONES IN THE LOWER 48 STATES. THANKS.
Al
April 11, 2012, 12:08 p.m.
Thanks Paul for your very hard work. My problems started back in 2008 when IndyMac Back went belly up. I’ve spent 3 years digging into this myself. They forced me into foreclosure when I couldn’t sell a second property because of their changing the legel description on the deed to include other propeerty i own. I’m stuck with high mortgage rate sine going through foreclosure.
jim mccarthy
April 11, 2012, 12:17 p.m.
YES, when are these fruadulent banks going to come clean - the American people should know that the “money” lent on these mortgages is created out of thin air by the banks and the FED - they loan this fake money and when the economy tanks because of poor monetary policies of the FED, coupled with poor business models of the banks, the American people get screwed!! When are the American people going to rise up and take this country back from the bankers - they run this country - they are the ones who are fleecing us - let’s talk about that for a change!!
Donna
April 11, 2012, 12:24 p.m.
When our Attorneys Genearl have the big banks’ back, how can anyone expect justice for 99%. “Too Big To Fail” banksters are buying our politicians with the lowest bid.
http://www.NoJusticeZone.com
Herbert
April 11, 2012, 12:47 p.m.
If a lender foreclose a home for more than it is owed and send the homeowner 1099 saying balance outstanding was say $70,000 but foreclosed for $100,000. How pocket the surplus? Homeowner or lender?
Drew
April 11, 2012, 1:06 p.m.
Is there any way to tell the difference between people who need help to keep the house they will live in from those who are speculating in real estate? If yes, could mortgage assistance be conditioned on living in the house (ex 5 years)?
venita
April 11, 2012, 1:09 p.m.
We have been trying to get a modafication loan for about 14 mos we was both out of a job BOA said don’t worry about the payment we will get it all modified.For 14 months they lost the paper work about 12 times. We called BOA about 1 and half weeks ago they said looks good still in reveiw.About 3 days later we got just a simple letter in the mail that it was forcloused on.Kinda makes me sick the way the world is going. We did file bancrupsty but maybe to late to save the houseWe was never served any papers at all what happens Now does any one know
Jeff Bazell
April 11, 2012, 1:17 p.m.
I think everyone here has misunderstood this chat invitation. My understanding is that it will take place at 3pm (what time zone, I don’t know, I assume Eastern) at http://www.reddit.com link you provided above.
Mike H
April 11, 2012, 3:31 p.m.
Why no stories about Golden West Financial’s role in the subprime meltdown? Does it hit too close to home?
jim mccarthy
April 11, 2012, 6:09 p.m.
unitl the American people understand how banks make money off of people’s labor, nothing will change - banks lend money created out of thin air and then foreclose on properties - it’s called the fleecing of America and its been going on ever since the FED came into being in 1913 - the banks make money coming and going - led by the unconstitutional and corrupt Federal Reserve our banking system is fraudulent and based on a flimsy deck of cards that is about to fail!!
http://www.fedruin.com
ibsteve2u
April 15, 2012, 10:48 a.m.
I have a question: Who has the horsepower to go around the internet eliminating access to the speech Bush gave on June 18th, 2002 where he and the Republicans launched the mortgage-backed securities pyramid scam?
One of the places it used to reside is:
archives.hud.gov/remarks/martinez/speeches/presremarks.cfm
And if you went to http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242531/posts you could even find a link to a video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW9viaJatpo which is also gone.
lollll…did somebody get tired of myself and others like me pointing to the fact that government programs - like guns - can be used for evil, but it takes bad people - like Republicans - to so use them for evil?
ibsteve2u
April 15, 2012, 10:51 a.m.
(Note: I hypothesize the perception that the American people - if they are pointed to that speech enough - may realize that a Republican “high finance” insider like Romney is even more likely to run an equivalent or worse scam regardless of the decimation of the GS presence in government has a lot to do with it.)
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