Foreclosed: Mortgage Servicing and the Hidden Architecture of Homeownership in America

by Christopher Odinet

In Foreclosed, Christopher K. Odinet gives voice to the stories of homeowners that have been neglected, particularly those facing foreclosure and deep financial distress. The book reveals the powerful and often invisible mortgage servicing industry, the tremendous discretionary power it wields over the housing lives of most Americans, and the servicing problems that still persist today. In doing so, it unveils a quiet and dangerous market shift in mortgage servicing - namely, an ongoing move toward a shadow banking sector where regulation is weak - that threatens the stability of our housing finance system. Ultimately, the book demonstrates how the law does not afford homeowners the protection most think and how regulation of these mortgage middlemen remains weak. Foreclosed should be read by anyone concerned with the state of housing and home ownership in the United States.

300 pages, Hardcover

Published February 7, 2019

Reviews

[David Dayen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am the complete wrong audience for a book about mortgage servicing, as I've been so immersed in it for years that it's hard to present me with new information. That said, there were some revelations in here, particularly that the standard mortgage contract allows a servicer's agent to enter your home for inspection. That said I thought there could have been more discussion of the servicing platform, the ways in which fee pyramiding is accomplished, and other abuses. In general I think that punches are pulled here regarding these middlemen who played an enormous role in the foreclosure crisis, and who continue to flout the law.