By: Las Vegas Now Staff
Home prices may be off nearly 30-percent in Las Vegas, prompting many to predict the worst of the housing crisis may be over. But some Realtors know another round of foreclosures may happen in the next few months, flooding the valley with vacant homes. And people have two things to blame: liars and ninjas.
They may be new terms for a lot of us, but liar loans and ninja loans helped push the housing market to the brink of collapse. Now the rates are changing again in September and the scars from those liars and ninjas run deep.
Many consider them the villains in the housing crisis, and Realtor Cynthia Glickman says their reputation has been tarnished, “Oh yeah, look at these people, you know. They're liars. They're getting what they deserve.”
The term liar loan comes from a lending practice allowing potential homebuyers to fib on their yearly income. Tell a white lie based on your green and you get a bigger house and avoid banking scrutiny.
“Okay, I'll pay the extra half-a-percent interest rate so that I don't have to provide you with mountains of paperwork,” said Glickman.
It's the same situation for the stealthy ninja loans. Ninja means No Income, No Job, No Assets — essentially handing out loans to people who had no right, or money, to afford a home.
“They assumed the values of the homes were going to go up. So they figured, what's the worst that could happen?” said Glickman.
The lenders were caught up partly in greed, partly in speculation, hoping the sky-high housing market would keep rising.
“It's a win-win situation. We either get the interest on the loan or we get the property and we get the money,” said Glickman.
Now the market seems headed for recovery, but Glickman warns the liars and ninjas have one last sneak attack. Adjustable rates are changing next month. That means monthly payments are going up and no doubt more foreclosures are on their way.
“There's going to be another wave of people for probably another good three years,” said Glickman.
Those scars of speculation could set the market back at a vulnerable time. The liars and ninjas get the last villainous laugh while Las Vegas slowly bounces back.
Realtors like Glickman hope prices won't continue to plunge. The worry is that more foreclosures mean more supply, and the price could slide once again.
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