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Tuesday
Nov302010

Strategic Default & Living For Free: Josh Bartlett Hasn't Made A Mortgage Payment In 32 Months And He Hasn't Been Kicked Out Yet (PBS VIDEO)

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In anticipation of Tuesday's rerun of our report on strategic mortgage defaults, producer Lee Koromvokis checked back in with the characters we interviewed back in April for the story.

Fort Myers restaurant manager Josh Bartlett is still "squatting" in the condo he bought in 2005 for $210,000. "The interview could have been done yesterday," he told us. He hasn't made any payments on the property, now worth $45,000, since our interview.

Bartlett has begun to believe there may be a reason his lender hasn't been after him. "I have come to think that there was something seriously wrong with my original Countrywide loan, maybe fraudulent," he said. "Nobody wants this to come to light ... so I'm continuing to ride it out and whatever happens, happens." Of course there's no evidence that Bartlett's loan is fraudulent, but his frustrations reflect other stories of mortgage mishaps.

Fellow defaulter, golf pro Jason Welsh, said his situation is also the same. "After our interview, we received an offer for $115,000 (we had listed it for $119,000) but we are still bickering with Bank of America, which refuses to accept the short sale. Meanwhile, we are still living in the house, not making any payments, ready to move out as soon as the short sale is resolved."

No word yet from realtor Kevin Jarrett, who was facing foreclosure on his fourth house at the time of our interview last spring. If we do hear back from him, we'll post his update here.

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Reader Comments (13)

The Fed's Biggest Bubble: US Treasuries

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-feds-biggest-bubble-2010-8
Aug 26, 2010 at 1:08 AM | Registered CommenterDailyBail
Another Reason Bill Gross Is Wrong: Low Rates Aren't Even Doing Anything For Housing

http://www.businessinsider.com/another-reason-bill-gross-is-wrong-low-rates-arent-doing-squat-for-housing-2010-8#ixzz0xgZrQe4k
Aug 26, 2010 at 1:10 AM | Registered CommenterDailyBail
Raghuram Rajan accurately warned central bankers in 2005 of a potential financial crisis if banks lost confidence in each other. Now the International Monetary Fund’s former chief economist says the Federal Reserve should consider raising rates, even as almost 10 percent of the U.S. workforce remains unemployed.

Interest rates near zero risk fanning asset bubbles or propping up inefficient companies, say Rajan and William White, former head of the Bank for International Settlements’ monetary and economic department. After Europe’s debt crisis recedes, Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke should start increasing his benchmark rate by as much as 2 percentage points so it’s no longer negative in real terms, Rajan says.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-22/bernanke-must-raise-benchmark-2-points-in-prescient-rajan-s-latest-warning.html
Aug 26, 2010 at 1:45 AM | Registered CommenterDailyBail
Guest Post: Jim Altucher Proves Yet Again The Truth And Koolaid Don't Mix

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-jim-altucher-proves-yet-again-truth-and-koolaid-dont-mix
Aug 26, 2010 at 1:47 AM | Registered CommenterDailyBail
"Interest rates near zero risk fanning asset bubbles or propping up inefficient companies..."

For Uncle Ben's Bubbalicious Bailout Machine, those aren't bugs -- they're features.
Aug 26, 2010 at 1:56 AM | Registered CommenterDr. Pitchfork
Obama only wishes that he could re-inflate those bubbles. At this point, it might be the best case scenario.
Aug 26, 2010 at 2:03 AM | Unregistered CommenterZ
What would it cost for the government to cover (forgive) 50 percent of every mortgage in the United States. My guess is it would be about $3.5 trillion. That's cheaper than what it will cost to "officially" nationalize Fannie and Freddie. The catch? If you stop making payments, you're not eligible for the 50 percent principle reduction.
Aug 26, 2010 at 3:28 PM | Unregistered CommenterJohn S
You want Obama to support trickle up effect?
Aug 26, 2010 at 4:39 PM | Unregistered CommenterZ
Thanks to Patrick.net and Zero Hedge for picking up this story...

http://patrick.net/housing/crash.html

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/frontrunning-august-27-0
Aug 27, 2010 at 8:43 AM | Registered CommenterDailyBail
We have created a moral hazard monster, an entitlement mentality, and now we must live with that monster. It's going to be a violent relationship.
Aug 27, 2010 at 9:41 AM | Unregistered Commentersbenard
Taxpayers Make Things Right...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-26/aig-s-greenberg-settles-investors-fraud-lawsuits-over-insurer-s-practices.html

AIG's Insurers Settle Investor Suit Over Greenberg

Greenberg and his highly paid legal team would like to thank all the teachers, factory workers, small business owners, and the like for helping them get back on their feet.

God knows we need AIG to stay in business and continue to serve the public and provide a valuable service for all Americans.

It's a great system, don't lose hope in Obama.
Aug 27, 2010 at 3:26 PM | Unregistered CommenterZ
Obama is biking in the Vineyard and the market is up 150.

Obama has backed Ben Bernanke and the Fed and Ben told us today that he is going to print more money for the bankers and big investors. This is good news, this will help prop up the failed bankers and keep failed public and private pension funds from going bust in the near future. More money will enable Obama to keep spending and borrowing at levels never seen before in the history of the world.

Don't lose hope in Obama, this fundamental change is what we need. If nothing else, the future will be more fair and the guy in the White House will continue to travel, eat lobster, have Paul McCartney concerts, send his kids to expensive private schools and, well, just continue to be like you and me. Hope and change is working.
Aug 27, 2010 at 3:37 PM | Unregistered CommenterZ

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