anti forclosure plan

[stingray152003]

WASHINGTON - A plan to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners avoid foreclosure is drawing bipartisan support in the Senate, setting the stage for high-stakes negotiations among congressional Democrats.
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The far-reaching housing plan faces a Senate test-vote Tuesday, when it could also come to a final vote. The disputes among Democrats over key details, however, as well as a veto threat from the White House will almost certainly push any final agreement into July.

Conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats are concerned about how to pay for the measure, while members of the Congressional Black Caucus — most of them liberal — call it "unacceptable," arguing it doesn't do enough to address the needs of African Americans.

The centerpiece of the package is a foreclosure rescue program in which the Federal Housing Administration would provide $300 billion in new, cheaper mortgages for distressed homeowners who otherwise would be considered too financially risky to qualify for government-insured, fixed-rate loans.

Borrowers would be eligible if their mortgage holders were willing to take a substantial loss and allow them to refinance, and would ultimately have to share with the government a portion of any profits they made from selling or refinancing their properties.

The bill would tighten controls and create a new regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which provide huge amounts of cash flow to the mortgage market by buying home loans from banks.

It also would provide a $14.5 billion array of tax breaks, including a credit of up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers who buy a home in the next year and boosts in low-income tax credits and mortgage revenue bonds.

In a letter to Democratic leaders last week, the 42 House members of the Black Caucus said the bill is plagued with "glaring omissions," including affordable housing funds for states affected by Hurricane Katrina and grants for states and localities to buy and fix up foreclosed properties.

im sorry maybe i dont fully understand this but i think this is a bad idea for a million reasons.

[RumRunner]

I think it's a bad idea for about 300 billion reasons. Let me get this straight. You have bad credit and don't pay your bills so we are going to reward you? That is absolutely fantastic. In the mean time 98% of homeowners pay their bills on time and will get nothing. Not to mention I would be willing to bet most of these "distressed homeowners" pay $0 or very little in taxes. Gotta love congress.

[skipSC]

It's crap and this is what will happen if Obama get's in office. I've worked since 1973 and have paid my home off by getting up every morning at 0500hrs and now They want to take my money.... And give it to people that make bad decisions. This country needs a good Captain at the helm and it's not the ones running for president now.

[ecpChris]

Yeah thats BS I bought my home and am paying for it the old fashioned way... by working hard. I would be completely pissed if they gave rewards to people who don't make their payments. They should be rewarding the people that do make their payments every month on time and maybe it will give incentive to those who don't

[MVR 155]

This is a good and bad idea all at once..... Im in the Real Estate business on the sales side and Im also an appraiser. I have seen people pressured into new construction at 100% because some crafty salesperson at the sales center offered creative finance or someone refinanced at 100% on a arm and didnt know the facts because their L.O. pushed them into the loan....... I have seen tons of examples and alot of first time buyers and uneducated people got royally screwed so helping those people to me does not sound like a bad idea. NOW..... you have the other people who knew damn well what they were doing and just overextended trying to keep up with the Jone's relying on the value of their home to increase every year to cash out and pay of credit cards etc..... these people in my opinion dont deserve any help. Its just like public aid, welfare, unemployment etc....... there are people who need it and dare I say deserve it and then you have the lazy bastards who abuse it. Basically your damned if you do and damned if you dont.

[skipSC]

Of course it would benifit you, but not me- just higher taxes, no social security and I'll have to work the rest of my life supporting the box of rocks in this country.

[MVR 155]

It may benefit me in generating a bit more work but believe me as a business owner I feel the hard crack come tax time, I am strongly against democrats in office with the whole bleeding heart "for the people" mentality. We have a serious economical crisis on our hands due to the extremely high rate of forclosures..... the crazy jump in gas prices really puts a squeeze on things too. I cant stand giving handouts to lazy people while others work hard, I too pay my bills on time and think everyone should. My thinking is that the banks that have people with Arms that are starting to jump to rates that make them un-affordable to the point where people start to be late/miss payments should just keep the people at a rate they can afford vs. forclosure or short sale...... this measure alone would cut the forclosure rate significantly while keeping loss rates much lower with the banks as well as keeping payment amounts in check so the homeowner can continue to afford the property and stay out of forclosure. Something needs to be done but its such a complicated issue that no matter what is proposed and then decided is not gonna please everyone.

[stingray152003]

this measure alone would cut the forclosure rate significantly while keeping loss rates much lower with the banks as well as keeping payment amounts in check so the homeowner can continue to afford the property and stay out of forclosure. Something needs to be done but its such a complicated issue that no matter what is proposed and then decided is not gonna please everyone.

i think the best thing to do is to leave it alone and let it work its self out. every time the government gets involved to fix something they seem to make it worse or take away something from us.

this is how capitalism works. when these people lose there houses and they flood the market the value of houses will go down then other will buy the houses up when they come down to a value they can afford. so in the end it will work its self out.

[axgrider73]

i think the best thing to do is to leave it alone and let it work its self out. every time the government gets involved to fix something they seem to make it worse or take away something from us.

this is how capitalism works. when these people lose there houses and they flood the market the value of houses will go down then other will buy the houses up when they come down to a value they can afford. so in the end it will work its self out.

I agree! The people that benifit most from this deal is the crooks that made the shady loans to begin with.

It would be the same thing as a store owner giving everybody $1000 worth of credit at the online store and then wanting the goverment to step in and help his customers pay him back. BS!!

Let the banks that sold the loans (or the ones dumb enough to buy them from the issuing bank) foot the bill.

[willyandrew]

According to the tax man, stupidity is not a legal excuse. I believe the same should apply here. What I would tell the people and the banks pushing this learn your lesson and next time buy something you can afford, sell something you will get paid for. anything that is adjustable can increase, same with credit cards. I have no pity for these people, I work 2 jobs to live the life I want.