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Many financial institutions and investors profited on the upside of the housing bubble, and on the downside, by investing in "short positions". Last summer, there were announcements in the financial news, discussing a meeting in Switzerland, of Hedge Funds who were going to start investing in distressed properties. Since then banks, hedge funds and other private investors have begun buying distressed properties and mortgages, anticipating the recovery of the housing market. A recent article, discussed that John Paulson, a hedge-fund manager who generated six-fold returns with bets against subprime mortgages, has now started buying debt backed by home loans. This further reveals that the housing market is about to turn upwards.

Another effort to profit by the falling market was the formation of PennyMac, funded by the Blackstone Group, a publicly traded Hedge Find. As the market prepares to change direction, financial institutions are now increasing their efforts to offer "loan modifications". These may sound good, but they actually just provide the financial institution or organization more leverage over the homeowner, in order to expand future profit. The recent news by Secretary Paulson, that the TARP would not be used to buy distressed mortgage assets, (a reversal of the centerpiece of justification for the bailout), further pushes homeowners towards accepting mortgage modifications.

• The number of mortgages in the US: 44 Million (Approximate)
• The estimated number of mortgages at risk: 9% or 4 million, in the United States alone.
• In many states across the United States,the number of properties being sold rose for the second month in a row during October 2008.

Statistics like these are the reason many investors and banks want to offer loan modifications which will likely fail, and purchase distressed properties; it positions them to profit. It is our belief based on our recent research, that property values will steadily increase over the next 2 years. If homeowners can stay in their homes, through bridge funding, they will ride out any negative equity they may now be experiencing, and will be able to refinance their homes at a reasonable rate. Mortgage lenders have been increasing their rates recently in order to increase profits, but this will soon reverse.

We live in an economy based on the generation of markets. Often social and/or cultural efforts which ignore the markets, such as non-profits, do not survive. We hope to make HouseStories self-sustaining and so created a market for objects to serve this project. Physical publishing as we know it will diminish over the next decade. But we believe physical books as visual artifacts, documenting concrete information, will continue to survive. HouseStories hopes to develop and grow a library of the stories behind distressed home ownership during this decade. If the number of participants grows, the size of the library will be indicative of the true conditions facing homeowners.

HouseStories is a project developed by WRLDs, LLC, located in Seattle, WA, and was founded by a former professor and financial consultant, whose interdisciplinary research is focused on the financial markets and their impact on our culture. Please contact us if you have any questions.

HouseStories is a grass-roots effort and needs your support. Please email us if you would like to be added to the list of people who support this project. Also, please consider making a donation, to support HouseStories.