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Peggy Merrill of Albany didn’t start out to be an activist. She doesn’t consider herself one now.

Still, she is actively trying to bring attention to what she believes are serious problems connected with banks administering the federal Home Affordable Modification Program. She is hoping people will respond to two days of rallies scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. today, and Saturday at the Capitol building in Salem.

HAMP was started in March 2009 to help people facing foreclosure keep their homes. “I got involved when  friends in Stayton got tangled up in the process,” she said. “They did everything right and out of the blue they were foreclosed on.”

A paralegal, Merrill began researching the HAMP program, specifically the case of her friends, Harry and Judy Stratton, who are helping  organize the rally.

“Home equity will lag because home equity, by its nature, we find lags the underlying prime and the underlying real estate and lags more than most other things,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon explained in an earnings call last week. “We try to account for that in our reserving.”

There’s been plenty of speculation regarding potential costs of the foreclosure crisis for big banks. Potential litigation from state attorneys general, homeowners and investors – along with buyback requests from purchasers of mortgage securities – has left room for optimists to shrug off the potential costs as immaterial pessimists to predict doomsday scenarios.

As more people realize that the fake title transfer aspect of foreclosure fraud is just the tip of the iceberg which runs, via MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems) conduits all the way to the core of the securitization system, and thus $10 trillion in first level debt (and who knows how much in 3rd and 4th level layering of debt on top of this: think CDO-squared and cubed), we expect an increasing number of denials from the enablers in the explosion of securitization over the past ten years. Such as MERS.

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A leading mortgage analyst predicts over 11 million homeowners will default and lose their home if the government fails to take more radical intervention.

Amherst Securities Group LP, one of the most respected names in mortgage research, has trumpeted an ambitious call-to-government arms in its October mortgage report.

“The death spiral of lower home prices, more borrowers underwater, higher transition rates (to default), more distressed sales and lower home prices must be arrested.”

WASHINGTON (TheStreet) — President Obama signed a bill on Monday to provide $42 billion in loan incentives and tax cuts for small-businesses, after months of wrangling with Republican lawmakers.

Ed Haldeman, CEO of the government-controlled mortgage giant, released a statement on Monday outlining popular mortgage scams, Freddie Mac’s response and suggestions for combatting such shysters. In some cases, “foreclosure rescue” companies or other types of “specialists” promise a better solution for distressed borrowers, but never deliver it. In other cases, fraudsters are tricking banks into short-sale fraud by selling properties for lower values than they are worth, then flipping the homes to make a profit.

“Victims lose their savings – and often their homes,” said Haldeman. “Lenders, investors, communities, and taxpayers lose billions of dollars a year. … In other words, mortgage fraud harms everyone.”

Fox Business – We take a look at opportunities in the housing market.

In my previous post, I gave a quick run down of the types of financial aid that I can apply for to help finance my education. Applying for federal aid will be my first step, so I want to start preparing my FAFSA form.

Why do I need to fill out a FAFSA form?

In order to qualify for federal aid for students, you must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the U.S. Department of Education. This form is used to calculate your financial aid eligibility based on the financial and demographic information for you and your family.

Once complete, the Department of Education will forward a record of the application to the school/schools you specify.

What can I do now to prepare my FAFSA?

While the FAFSA needs to be filed with your 2010 tax information (which you won’t get until at least January of next year), it is recommended that you get a head start on gathering the right information now. In fact, most of what you’ll need for the FAFSA can be taken care of now. You

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