The Foreclosure of America: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Countrywide Home Loans, the Mortgage Crisis, and the Default of the American Dream

From Countrywide? former Senior VP of Marketing, the first engrossing inside look at Countrywide Home Loans, how the mortgage crisis started?nd where it may end. In July 2004, Adam Michaelson entered ?he Vault?an underground bunker at Countrywide headquarters?or a meeting about a new loan product that would allow borrowers to pay less than their minimum monthly payment. After the ?inance jocks?proudly made their case, Michaelson asked one question: ?re you nuts??Countrywide? decision-makers believed these new exotic loans were ?orth the risk.?The booming housing market would only get bigger, with ever-increasing home values supporting homeowners in a never-ending cycle of borrowing against the virtual value of their homes and refinancing later. They were dead wrong. With both an insider? knowledge and thorough reporting on the ripple effects on American families and the economy, this fascinating, witty, and wide-ranging book not only examines the morality of a career spent marketing mirages and the market forces that destroyed a company, but addresses the question that everyone is asking: can corporations serve the public good and profit at the same time? Most importantly, it offers creative thinking on how to prevent such a meltdown from ever happening again.

Author: Adam Michaelson

Language: English

Edition: 1St Edition

Binding: Hardcover

Pages: 368

Publisher: Berkley Hardcover

Publication Date: 2009-01-06