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Preview: "There Goes the Neighborhood"

December 16, 2011 3:15 PM

Recession-fueled foreclosures are causing extremely high vacancy rates in some neighborhoods, ruining the values of the occupied homes and forcing the demolitions of once valuable properties. Scott Pelley reports.

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by Dmeyers391 December 19, 2011 9:46 AM EST
( www.reclaimedcleveland.com ) This company is going beyond demolishing and making something great out of a bad situation. Reclaimed Cleveland is a retail and custom furnishings company which re-purposes local materials that would otherwise be bound for disposal. The goal of the company is to serve Cleveland's progression into a sustainable 21st century, while preserving its history in heirloom quality furniture. Sources for materials are mainly condemned Cleveland area structures, but also include urban trees cut down in the city to make way for utilities and land use, retail storefront renovation, or any other local materials going to waste that our designers can manipulate for re-use.
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by babofsd December 18, 2011 10:58 PM EST
Why doesn't Mr Pelle to check to see how many of those poor banks have had those foreclosures insured by Fannie/ Freddie. So they write them off get paid a tidy summ by the Fed. Then they put them up for sale in some investment mortgage trust.
Now I manage a homeowners assn where many of these homeowners have stopped paying their monthly fees- total can be $2000- $6000. We have a lien, but since the Bank lost money (who does their accounting)- We get a trashed unit and no funds- that have to be made up by the other homeowners- who are facing the same problem. I love it the Banks cry all the way to the Bank. Scott
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
babofsd
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by dgaby_mcknight_historic December 18, 2011 9:39 PM EST
I was very disappointed in this story, and almost turned it off is disgust. Officials are demolishing perfectly good houses. Why? Because the banks have destroyed the local real estate markets with irresponsible banking practices? What about local and State government? They have no better ideas than using taxpayer dollars to financing reducing the tax base? Or is there another agenda underlying their actions? This story should have covered the banks actions and what has called the greatest expropriation of wealth from minority community in this century. But it really comes down to the local response. In Springfield, MA. we are trying to get something positive going to save communities, and it seems feasible, but then we a have National media institution like 60 Minutes effectively endorse the demolition of homes for no good reason, it is very frustrating. Can anything be done to get the media to cover alternatives to neglect and demolition in communities impacted by the sub-prime mortgage-foreclosure crisis?
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by d57moosie December 18, 2011 8:17 PM EST
I'm sorry but the neighborhood shown on 60 minutes, is the ghetto. Have of those homes have been vacant or abandoned for years as in ten to twenty. I've lived in Cleveland all my life 42 years. Who in there right mind would move a family in the inner city when there isn't any protection from police because the city has cut them back. The area is full of thugs,criminals and drug dealers. Why would I want to raise a family there when the people that live there don't even care about the way there neighborhood looks like. It's rundown. If I moved my family there my house would get broken into in a heart beat and cars stolen. It's not because the area is not affordable, it's because it is un liveable.
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by Dividends4U December 18, 2011 8:09 PM EST
SCHOOL TEACHER - You get an A+. A should person should never purchase their primary residence as an investment. Homeownership has never been a good investment for the following reason: Assume the home appreciates at 5% per year, and you have a mortgage interest rate of 5% and inflation is at 3%, the home-ower annual rate, excluding closing costs, repairs, remodeling etc,is -3%. The total P+I = $483k. Tax savings = $63k.
www.plancorr.com

Additionally, the interest rate deduction is not that great either. For example: A home-ower in a 28% tax bracket who purchases a $250k mortgage loan, will pay
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by marcwkohler December 18, 2011 8:07 PM EST
This article does not tell the whole truth. These foreclosures were part of a plan to shift about 50 to 75 trillion dollars to the hands of very few. See Time Magazine for March of 2009 doe an article by Janet Mirrissey. It explains that the wealth from American Real Estate was shifted to a few through he the useuse of a derivative called Credit Default Swap Bonds. The plan should have been called NEW URBAN RENEWAL. All the bad moirtages backed bonds that the makjers knew were going to go bad, so bond holders of these all over the world lost billions. The derivative marker created a Credit Default Bond Swap to take advantage of these bonds failing. For every dollar inversted in CDBS pays the holder 30-40 dollars. That means that a forclosure of a $100,000 pay the CDNS holder $3,000,000. Peresident mentiopns this is his first Press Conference, but no one has reported on it except Mprrissey. This process has not been stopped and its aims have been accomplished 1) Moving 75 Trillikons dollars to our futre rulers, hedge funds, 2) The destruction of millionsof homes in red-lined neighborhoods to mnake room for rich immigrants to build new homes. 3) The solidifacation and calcificatrion of Ameriucan society into a three class cultier: The rich, the working poor and the very poor. No one tells us about this, nothing is being done to stop it, and we have no defense from our leaders who are slowly and inevitably becoming our rulers. These are all ready proposals in Congress to give foreign buyers buying homes in America for cash for an American home for $500,000 or more. They will get 6 month permenent visas. You can be sure that the 6 months will never be enforced. In a way, this will send out wolrd into a world of feudal cenetrs where the wealth and srenght of private armies will determine who survives and who does not. See the reports on the Emassy we are leaving in Iraq: 16,000 employees including 5,000 mercenaries who are not accoluntabel to any set of l,aws or moral standards of human behavior. SILENCE makes this Plan the largest theft in the history of the wprld. Countries, in this new system will not be needed. There will only be those who hold welath dictate how it is distributed,a nd those who will serve them. I predicted that the plan included the ultimatge demolision of all American urdan sums. This article proves that is happening and will continue to happen
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by WithoutMercy December 18, 2011 8:05 PM EST
Is anyone really shocked by the actions of these banks? They don't really care about any of us. I hope people have not forgotten about BOA's attempt to take homes away as quickly as possible so that they can flip the houses around and obtain a nice profit. BOA made their employees forge signatures in order to push the paperwork along. Now I see those damn commercials for 1, 2, or 3% cash back. They are obviously trying to get back into the good grace of the public. They can take their card and shove it up their @$$. Oh yeah, and they were the first in trying to force a $30 debit card fee every year. HOW MUCH MORE MONEY DO THESE BANKS NEED?!?!
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by Mark_Ph December 18, 2011 8:02 PM EST
This was a really interesting piece, but you missed the whole aspect of 'where the heck are these people going'? The idea that that family had paid 23 years on their mortgage and then lost EVERYTHING is appalling. So is the idea that this county is ripping down houses rather than figure out how to get people in there. You know they don't magically not have homeless people in Cleveland. Are we so callous and stupid that we'd rather honor the banks' papers than stabilize the people of Cleveland in existing shelter?
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by jdev789 December 18, 2011 8:00 PM EST
This situation was caused by greed by the banks, they made loans without checking W2's of customers and not appraising the home appropriately. You see, if banks do not make a loan - they don't make money. Banking is about debt. The more debt the banks create - the more money the generate. This attracts greed by the banks by sidestepping common sense and yes de-regulation, yes - as a Ron Paul supporter, there must be banking regulations since they can damage the economy and the taxpayers suffers. Still, what the banks should do is not only liquidate debt but re-issue loans by the depreciating value of the home, allowing lower mortgages instead of destroying home or having it vacant for criminal activities. Thank you bankers and mortgage firms for creating this bubble for decades and now we are reaping what we have been sowing for so long.
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by mike_henderson December 18, 2011 8:00 PM EST
In one breath, you say that the home owner should not pay for their home and should leave the bank with the home that is valued less than the mortgage and in the other breath you say the banks are wrong for foreclosing on the homes when payments aren't made. Is there any place at all in this program where the individual takes responsibility for their actions? You should do a story on the issue that we now live in a society of entitlement and complete lack of self reliance. We are living through the fall of society and there is no 60 minutes story.
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