We evaluate the effects of the lending institution and soft information on mortgage loan performance for low-income homebuyers. We find that even after controlling for bank selection, those who receive a loan from a local bank are significantly less likely to become delinquent or default than...

We evaluate the effects of the lending institution and soft information on mortgage loan performance for low income homebuyers. We find that even after controlling for the propensity of a borrower to get a loan from a local bank based on observable characteristics, those who receive a loan from...

The substantial costs of foreclosures to individuals and society motivated nearly $40 billion in government subsidies to homeowners during the Great Recession. Most of these subsidies were in the form of permanent loan modifications with mixed evidence of effectiveness. This paper estimates the...

We examine the evolution of mortgage modification terms obtained by distressed subprime borrowers during the recent housing crisis and the effect of the various types of modifications on the subsequent loan performance. Using the CoreLogic Loan Performance dataset that contains detailed loan...

We examine the evolution of mortgage modification terms obtained by distressed subprime borrowers during the recent housing crisis, and the effect of the various types of modifications on the subsequent loan performance. Using the CoreLogic LoanPerformance dataset that contains detailed loan...

If mortgage borrowers default strategically, their future house price expectations should affect their present mortgage default decisions. Merging the Freddie Mac loan performance dataset with the Michigan Survey of Consumers data containing households' subjective expectations, this paper...