Charlotte Real Estate, Foreclosures, Short Sales

Washington Mutual or how we all know them,WaMu the largest savings and loan bank in the U.S has failed.  This is the largest bank failure ever. Washington Mutual was shut by the federal Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp was named receiver.  "With insufficient liquidity to meet its obligations, WaMu was in an unsafe and unsound condition to transact business," the OTS said.

Washington Mutual has about $307 billion of assets and $188 billion of deposits, regulators said. The largest previous U.S. banking failure was Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust, which had $40 billion of assets when it collapsed in 1984.  Customers of WaMu withdrew $16.7 billion from accounts since Sept. 16, leaving the Seattle-based bank ``unsound,'' the Office of Thrift Supervision

JP Morgan Chase has Become the Biggest U.S. Banks by Deposits

JPMorgan will add branches in California, Washington and Florida, among other states, and will have 5,400 offices with about $900 billion in deposits, the most of any U.S. bank. The branches and credit cards will carry the Chase brand and will be integrated by 2010, JPMorgan said.

JPMorgan is taking on $176 billion in mortgage-related assets and writing down the value of it and other portfolios by about $31 billion, the company said. The bank will make a one- time payment of $1.9 billion to the FDIC as part of the deal.

Reports of How Washington Mutual Treated it's Borrowers

A recent article highlighted many concerns of how WaMu treated it's borrowers, but rewarded their top executives. 

"I find Washington Mutual the most difficult when I try to negotiate forbearance agreements which are the last hope for people who are about to lose their homes," says Michael Sichenzia of Dynamic Consulting Enterprises, a Deerfield Beach, Fla., company that offers homeowners help in avoiding foreclosure. "I would love to have them recognize that we have available candidates for workouts and forbearance, but they just aren't doing it."

Washington Mutual spokesman Derek Aney responds: "We have been among the leaders in trying to keep people in their homes. We lose and the homeowner loses when the foreclosure occurs. I do not believe that characterizing us in that way is fair."

Ironically, CEO Kerry Killinger and other top executives missed all or a big part of their bonus pay last year and WaMu took steps to make sure it did not happen again by making easier to satisfy rules:

• Bonuses are now linked to achievements like growth in retail banking fees. That hardly seems a strenuous hurdle given the way ATM and other bank fees are rising.
  

• Executive bonuses will be doled out for squishy achievements such as improvements in customer loyalty.
  

• When the bank does use traditional metrics like profitability, it won't count the impact of mortgage losses and foreclosure costs.

Just a huge example of how the top brass benefits throughout all economic times regardless of what is really needed.

Identified Washington Mutual Properties

There are many identified WaMu properties within the Charlotte and surrounding area and many more pending foreclosure.  If you would like information on how you can purchase one of these foreclosures, please register today or call us at (704) 559-5988.

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