More Trouble for Mortgage Lenders Ahead
The latest expected casualty of the mortgage market crash is likely to be UBS — again. Subprime writedowns continue amongst mortgage lenders, and UBS is expected to announce additional losses soon, reports the Wall Street Journal:
Write-downs announced Monday by Lehman Brothers are “clearly indicative of further write-downs for UBS, as is the deterioration in AAA-rated securities and the U.K. mortgage market,” said Peter Thorne of independent brokerage Helvea in London.
And UBS is not the only one of the mortgage lenders facing problems. In Britain, Bradford & Bingley continues to struggle. Additionally, Lehman Brothers Holdings, which has investments in mortgage backed securities and other vehicles related to the housing market crisis, has finally received a downgrade — in spite of its rather public fundraising efforts.
Unfortunately for mortgage lenders, things are not likely to improve anytime soon. Even as some feel that foreclosures on the mortgage market are starting to decrease and come to an end, advance warnings are out for early 2009. With another round of ARMs and interest only loans due to reset in April 2009, some analysts feel that the housing market crisis is far from over.
What you can do to avoid foreclosure
Even if you have an ARM or interest only loan that is not due for reset immediately, you should start taking steps now to avoid foreclosure. Find out when the reset is, since you will have to start taking measures at least 90 days before the reset. Try these ideas to help you avoid foreclosure:
- Refinance to a fixed rate, if possible.
- Re-do your budget and start planning for the increase in payments now.
- Limit your spending on nonessentials and save that money.
- Talk to your mortgage lender about your possibilities and options (you may be able to extend your intro period).
- Consider selling the home if none of the above options are feasible.
Tags: avoid foreclosure, foreclosure, home mortgage loan, ARMs,
mortgage loan blog, mortgage lenders, subprime writedowns
June 10th, 2008 at 11:51 am
[…] now, financial sector stocks seem to be nothing but trouble. News of additional writedowns due to the housing market crisis continues to roll in. Indeed, it seems as though there are no good options when it comes to […]