I read a lot, and this is the one thing that has frightened me big time (housing)

[turbo6bar]

That CW rep is a loser. A real player would have given whipped a few loans for flip condos in Southwest Florida. They aren't making any more hurricane-prone swampland, ya know.

[fram914]

All this talk about loans and money begs the question, where do I go for some of that 2%

[RANDY P]

The thing is, people wanted the stuff. Like diet food, just means you can eat more.. Prudence? What was that?

[turbo6bar]

Ruh Roh, Raggy.

Linked from Calculated Risk:
Fannie, Freddie 'Insolvent' After Losses

Chances are increasing that the U.S. may need to bail out Fannie Mae and the smaller Freddie Mac, former St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said in an interview. Freddie Mac owed $5.2 billion more than its assets were worth in the first quarter, making it insolvent under fair value accounting rules, he said. The fair value of Fannie Mae's assets fell 66 percent to $12.2 billion, data provided by the Washington-based company show, and may be negative next quarter, Poole said.

The entire article is worth a read. It'll get worse before better.

[stomachmonkey]

Fast n Easy is over.

Closed 2 weeks ago on the new place.

58% LTV

Mid 7's combined FICO

I make some pretty good coin.

Figured no doc, no points, lenders lined up around the block.

Nope, while it was not the usual paperwork hassle it was not a walk in the park either.

[turbo6bar]

Some lenders are bleeding in defaults. They have to tighten standards to ensure the loans can be sold, and worst case clean up an ever-worsening portfolio.

I heard anecdotal evidence banks like First Tennessee (FHN) are telling builders to take virtually any offer, even at loss. The bank will write off the loss.

It is not quite famine, but not nearly as rosy as some would ascribe.