Southern California Mortgage Crisis

KVCR-FM created this NPR news spot pertaining to the Southern California mortgage crisis. Listen to the segment here (approximately 5 minutes).

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The Next Wave: Option Adjustable Rate Mortgages Poised to Reset
Anthea Raymond
Steve Ward
August 29th, 2009

KVCR reporter Anthea Raymond speaks with local resident Al Rosales, a homeowner who is worried about his forthcoming option-ARM reset date. Option ARMs are those loans offered in abundance during the housing bubble that allowed borrowers to select one of four payment options, the equivalent of a 30 year fixed rate, the equivalent of a 15 year fixed rate, a payment that covers only the interest, or a minimum payment that is less than the interest. The latter two payments are offered for a limited time, and when the time expires the option “reset” causing the payments to increase significantly. Many borrowers can neither afford the higher payments nor refinance their upside-down mortgages.