Take the Money and Run?

From KCRA (hat tip paperboy):

On Friday, the FBI and IRS arrested *****, a loan officer with First Liberty Financial in Sacramento. He was arrested while boarding a flight at Sacramento International Airport. Agents said at the time, he had thousands of dollars in cash and believe he was trying to flee the state...**** is a former employee of VFM Investment Group.

From the Sacramento Bee:

Sacramento-based Comstock Mortgage announced its second local merger in five months, adding ATM Mortgage of Sacramento to its home loan operation...As numerous wholesale mortgage lenders close amid the nation's housing slump, it's become harder for small mortgage brokerages, said [ATM's owner Jeff] Tarbell.

From the Wall Street Journal:

As America's mortgage markets began unraveling this year, economists seeking explanations pointed to "subprime" mortgages issued to low-income, minority and urban borrowers. But an analysis of more than 130 million home loans made over the past decade reveals that risky mortgages were made in nearly every corner of the nation, from small towns in the middle of nowhere to inner cities to affluent suburbs.
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To examine the surge in subprime lending, the Journal analyzed more than 250 million records on mortgage applications and originations filed by lenders under the federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Subprime mortgages were initially aimed at lower-income consumers with spotty credit. But the data contradict the conventional wisdom that subprime borrowers are overwhelmingly low-income residents of inner cities. Although the concentration of high-rate loans is higher in poorer communities, the numbers show that high-rate lending also rose sharply in middle-class and wealthier communities.
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The Journal compared the fastest-growing high-rate loan markets to the rankings compiled by foreclosure-listing providers RealtyTrac Inc. and ForeclosureS.com. In Stockton, Calif., for example, high-rate loans accounted for 33% of total home-loan volume last year, up from 13% in 2004.

Subprime Tidal Wave Interactive Map

From the Modesto Bee:

It's a title no one wants, but counties in the Northern San Joaquin Valley keep passing around the undesirable honor of having the nation's highest home foreclosure rate. Merced County is the latest to get that title, pushing Stanislaus County into the No. 2 spot and San Joaquin County into No. 3...The three Northern San Joaquin Valley counties have been at or near the top of the dreaded foreclosure ranking every month for about a year.
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Home values in the valley have declined an estimated 15 percent to 30 percent since the 2005 housing market peak, and about half as many homes have sold this year compared with last year.
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RealtyTrac said lenders repossessed 921 homes last month in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties. In September 2006, by comparison, 14 homes were taken back by lenders.

From CNN Money (hat tip J):

California claimed six cities among the top 10 metro areas for the number of filings. Merced topped the list with one of every 68 households, followed by Modesto, Stockton, Riverside-San Bernardino, Vallejo-Fairfield, and Sacramento.

From the Stockton Record:

Susan Dell'Osso thought she would be overseeing the building of luxury riverside homes by now. But with area home prices dropping, Dell'Osso, the perennial face behind the controversial, superlevee-reinforced River Islands development, announced this week it will be another year before model homes rise out of the Delta soil.
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"We're all ready to go. Our levees are certified, our sewer is on standby, but the market's just not there," Dell'Osso said....If home prices go up by April, River Islands will have models up by the end of 2008, Dell'Osso said.
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The dipping housing market caused the projected flow of builder fees to be the biggest revenue reduction in the city's most recent annual budget, according to Mayor Kristy Sayles...The city has cut back on the funds it will spend on improvements to Valverde Park and the construction of the new Lathrop teen center, in addition to leaving some staff positions vacant instead of hiring new employees, she said.
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In 2005, Lathrop approved 921 building permits for residential units. So far in 2007, there have been 197 permits, according to numbers from the Construction Industry Research Board, which tracks the California building industry.

From the Stockton Record:

Few areas are more vulnerable than new Lathrop neighborhoods west of Interstate 5 that are protected by a levee known as RD17...Speculation is that RD17 won't be certified, forcing property owners to pay more for insurance and Lathrop officials to work with builders in upgrading the levee.
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Like San Joaquin County and California, the housing market in Lathrop and areas of southwest Stockton has been slowed by the home-mortgage and foreclosure crisis. Suddenly imposing additional flood insurance costs could force more homeowners out of the market. Where would they go?