shAARP Talk: Observations from AARP

Personally, I don't really care if stupid people lose their homes. Perhaps they should have been living in tents. Ignorance is no excuse and I am pretty damn tired of paying my tax dollars for stupid people. I have always made sure that I paid my insurance premiums rather than buying a big screen TV. I have always taken that extra step to insure that my children learned how to study and graduate from grade school, high school and college. Apparently I am in the minority. Too many people suck the system for everything they can get. Personally, I don't really care if they starve anymore. Enough is enough! Perhaps they should move somewhere else if they do not want to contribute to the United States way of life. Free stuff, free stuff is apparently what the Democrat candidate intend to used to get elected. It is just too bad that the union controled school systems have done just a fantastic job in teaching our children how to be ultra-liberal and stupid like their parents.

IMHO, there are lots of homeowners out there who got into their homes with little or no money down, months without interest payments, and all kinds of other incentives. Now they're whining because they can't pay escalating mortgage payments. Not my problem, and not our government's problem. It's time people realize there's no such thing as a free lunch, and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably IS. If legislation is passed to make it easy on these people, where's the incentive for people to make informed, thoughtful financial decisions in the future?

Well ,another Government program to bail out the BANKERS. Get real, this will help the bankers who shoulden't have loaned the money to some of these people in the 1st. place. now since the banks cannot reposess these properties and sell them for what is owed on them they want the Government to bail them out!!I say NO don't pass any law to help these greedy bankers they shoulden't have loaned more than 80% of the value of the properties and never to people who really didn't qualify!!

What happens to the banks that made those loans when they can't recover their full princpal and interest. Dosen't credit get that much harder to find?

I'm sorry for the folks in such debt, and sorry that they got in over their heads. However, I see no reason my tax dollars should be used to bail them out of their poor judgement or the banks, or the mo0rtgage brokers or anyone else associated with this scam.

I am on SS and have managed to make my house payments. I do not
feel I should have to pay for others that chose to buy a new car
(mine is a 1993) big TV's or what ever else they chose to buy. my
couch is over 30 years old. People need to be responsible for the choices they make, even if they were bad choices.

Washington Mutual is the worst - they tried to foreclose on a $30,000 loan I had taken out against a $130,000 home. I needed the $30,000 to help care for my aging mother. After she passed away I listed the house for sale and in the first week Washington Mutual came and went inside the house and changed the locks so my realtor couldn't show it. They turned off the utilities etc. I was 1 month behind in my payment. Luckily my daughter was able to bail me out as she had a job and I didn't. I am on social security and low income. So luckily the house sold in less than a month and a half but I felt rushed because of this foreclosure hanging over my head and took the first offer I got. So therefore, I haven't anything good to say about Washington Mutual.

This proposal will ruin the mortgage market as we know it. No bank will lend money at reasonable rates if foreclosure can be delayed in bankruptcy court. Foreign purchasers of collateralized debt obligations will be unwilling to take the risk of renogotiating with every individual mortgagee. Seems like Democratic political posturing in an election year. Why ruin things for the creditworthy Who make their payments on time.

I don't want to seem cold but in so many instances of which I am personally aware of people having trouble with their mortgage, it is their fault. I own my home outright but since gas prices have risen we have cut way back on our driving by consolidating trips, not taking trips, etc. to compensate. Most of the people I know personally about have not done this but continued driving just as before gas got so high.

I have trouble believing the economy and all is so bad when lines at restaurants are long, all the flights I go on are full to the max, highways are just as crowded, if not more so, as before gas was so high. Personally, in addition to the shady practice of making loans to people that shouldn't have been made, I know there is a lot of money mismanagement and overspending on the part of many Americans and I resent having to pay taxes and bail them out. It is much like the people who buy what they want and cry because they don't have health insurance, don't save for retirement and then whine because they can't retire or live like they want in retirement. Just more of the failure of so many Americans to take responsibility for their actions.

I think it's insane for people to lose their homes, and I think the government ought to help these people. With no job, there is no income. People depend on income to support themselves and their families and to pay their bills. With no income, people get into debt and then the credit companies treat these people like they're bums or creeps. People don't ask to lose their jobs nor their income. Part of this complex problem is that banks merge and companies merge -- to make more money. More money is made but the employees lose all around when they lose their jobs and their income. A lot of the remaining jobs are sent overseas due to trade agreements.

America needs a president who will keep the jobs at home for its citizens, instead of giving those jobs to illegals. Our next president as well as members of Congress need to care about this problem and be willing to stand up for fellow Americans. Americans should come first in America. Illegals in America should come last or better still be sent back to wherever they came from.

Thank you,
ce

We owe our senior citizens more than we can ever repay them.

Most economist's recognize there is a direct correlation between foreclosures, household evictions loss of respect loss of familial structure, divorces, and homelessness,it would seem this scenario is the proverbial "slam-dunk". Surely, holding onto respect and pride and family/Community cohesion and a stronger infrastructure.is a GOAL for any country that spends billions on the welfarte of strangers thousands miles from our shores and communities. Remember, the movie "Sicko".

It is not up to the government to take my tax money to help people that make bad decisions. The government created this problem in the first place by making it easier for people that could not afford it to get loans. Be responsible. Be accountable for your own actions.

There shouldn't be a "Bail-out" for anyone!!

They agreed to it, now live up to it!!

What's to stop EVERYONE from claiming they can't handle the obligation?

You said:
"The Foreclosure Prevention Act wouldn't let people run off without being responsible. Instead, it would help them to try and save their homes by allowing them to go to court to restructure their loans. Right now, people can restructure loans on vacation homes and yachts - this protection should include a person's home."

Not true!
The proposed legislation, by changing bankruptcy law, could force a lender to reduce the outstanding loan to the present market value.

If that's not rewarding people who are irresponsible, what is?

Much of this legislation rewards those who have negligently overextended themselves by living way beyond their means.

Those of us who have been responsible and prudent will bail out those who have been just the opposite.

Am I the only one that can see the value of Hillary’s experience having shared a life with Bill. Do any us not believe they shared with each other their most personal thoughts, ideas, advice, etc.? Aren’t we all the same in this sharing of our most intimate thoughts every day with our significant other? Her having shared living quarters and day to day life with one of the most popular leaders ever in this Country should matter! Yes, he made some bad decisions (only human), but overall he was a great man and president – even proving this true more so now that he is out of office. Who during those eight years would know more about his actual decisions and why they were made, along with the day to day job responsibilities of President than his best friend – his wife? This personal first-hand experience is possibly worth more than her time as a Senator in what we all know is a broken system No doubt Obama is a great guy for consideration, but do we really want to count on someone starting a new job at this point where he may spend most of his first term learning how to do what needs to be done? Is the idea of a woman president so unappealing that we would consider such a less experienced individual to be leader of the free world in these times? Do we have this time too waste? In my mind this personal life experience puts her way ahead for the common sense vote. Isn’t it time for a female to be the leader of the free world? Haven’t men proven their inability with always more wars than peace? Is it not true that women would be more likely to use discussion and diplomacy to resolve world problems and not be so quick to use violence? A “real” change only exists in picking a woman for president, not another man. It doesn’t matter how good he looks and sounds.

John Adrian,
Colorado Springs

Great organization!
Thanks for the opportunity!

The increase in property taxes along with insurance is effecting people as much as interest rates. With the drop in property value governments are not willing to lower their assesments and are keeping property taxes high, this IS something the government can do give us property tax relief!

I am tired of bailing out greedy businesses and people. What were they thinking when lenders gave them loans at rates below cost with little or no down payments and then they borrowed every cent of equity to buy cars, etc. Everyone wants something for nothing. So they lose their home... tough!

I have no problems helping sincere individuals.
However, free spending individuals and couples should not receive preferential treatment.
Should the lending process change? Yes
Should anyone be given a free pass? No
Make me king for the day and I will "fix the system".

Home foreclosures are up 138% in Miami-Dade FL over one year ago and the Median Home value has dropped from $397K to $336K from Jan 2007 to Jan 2008. Now you know why we need to pass the foreclosure legislation.

So, here we go again bailing out the banks and financial institutions that got us into this fine mass.
I’m sorry that some will lose their homes, but no one in this country knows how to save they just know how to manipulate the system and qualify for a loan. When we were young, like most of us starting out, we lived on a very tight budget and saved for a house. Well that day came years, read years, later and today it’s paid for. This was something we wanted and were willing to SAVE for it.
I just get tried of bailing out the very ones who put us into this. And don’t depend on the Congress to do anything to them because they are part of the problem. Remember those that represent us also relay heavily on the banks etc. etc. for handouts, which they (we) repay with money for projects that help the same institutions more. I know there will be people out there who will think I don’t have a heart, but let’s get real. We as a country can’t keep subsidizing everyone or everything.

It still comes down to the root problem, easy credit, biting off more home than the income will support and just trying to keep up with the Joneses. The Banks are not blameless, they made it too easy, interest only loans, ARM's, so many people can't discipline themselves financially. I've seen too many friends get into trouble, too much credit card debt, too much house for the salary etc- just a lack of financial discipline. Thank you Bill Lafferty

"Thanks to years of reckless and abusive lending practices, foreclosure rates around the country are skyrocketing."

So there is no more personal responsibility for people who took out these loans knowing that their payments were eventually going up?

This isn't the first speculative bubble to burst and it won't be the last. Getting to the bottom of the current so called mortgage crisis will take a lot of work and time. There are a number of "guilty" parties: greedy or unscrupulous borrowers, blatant speculators, aggressive or misleading lenders, and even more blatant and misleading resellers of mortgage backed so called "securities". There's enough guilt to go around for almost everyone involved.

I have no problem with a limited duration "freeze" (say 6 months to a maximum of 2 years) on both foreclosures and ARM resets that would allow a bankruptcy court or other quasi judicial authority to review each individual case.

The review should determine a number of things:

1) If the borrower knew (or should have known, i.e., was properly informed and understood) the risks associated with the loan, including the future impact of adjustable rate resets.

2) If the borrower knowingly misstated income and assets to obtain the loan?

3) If the lending institution deliberately misstated the borrower's income and assets?

4) If the lending institution misled the borrower on such terms as rates, resets, and fully disclosed the risks?

5) If the lending institution conducted a full and proper review of the borrower's credit history and then current employment and determined an adequate ability to repay the loan?

6) Or if some third party misled or misstated the pertinent facts on the loan documents?

Once those facts are determined on a case by case basis, then and only then, can a decision be made.

My personal opinions are:

IF the borrower knew what they were doing and got in over their head, gambling on rising house values or rising incomes to bail them out ... sorry, tough luck, you lost.

IF the lending institution can't prove they acted responsibly in making the loan ... the lending institution is stuck holding the loan at the original "teaser" rate ... and if they resold it, they have to made the third party buyer (who depended on the lending institution's judgment) whole ... that doesn't mean the bank or whatever has to buy back the mortgage, just that they are responsible on a month to month basis to make up the difference in interest earned / paid.

If there is proof of a third party who mislead both sides, make the third party responsible for payment ... realistically, this is the toughest side to resolve because an individual third party most likely won't have sufficient assets to make the borrower and the lending institution whole ... in this case the Fed may have to step in and refinance the mortgage using public monies and everyone will have to take a partial loss ... the borrower in terms of a higher interest rate, the mortgage holder in terms of early return of their principal without an prepayment penalties, and the third party should pay until their assets are exhausted.

If you find everyone associated with a given mortgage played fast and loose with the facts and rules, apportion responsibility between the parties and make everyone take loss on that deal ... set a compromise fixed interest rate between the teaser and the reset rate and the lending institution would be responsible for making up the difference to the third party purchaser of the note.

The above proposals aren't perfect but they would at least attempt to make the "guilty" party(s) pay for their mistakes. Yes, some people would lose they homes ... that would have happened anyway ... some people do get in over their heads. Yes, some banks (and by default investors in those banks) would lose some of their investment... again, that happens in the normal course of business anyway. Yes, there would be some taxpayer federal bailout (but the fed helped the whole mess along with easy money also). But making the guilty parties hurt in the pocket book would possibly prevent the same thing from happening in the future.

I think that the people should be able to stay intheir homes. But the only power I would give the judge is the power to extend the term of the loan from 30 years to 45 years lowering the monthly payments but no authority to lower the interest rates on the loan or increases on the interest rates due to increased risk of the longer term or increases due to the adjustable nature of the original agreement. The longer term should reduce the monthly payments due and enable the people to stay in their homes.

This is not an AARP issue! It smacks of far left wing class warfare and sounds more like Hugo Chavez then anything else. Shame on AARP !

AS A PROFESSIONAL BOND TRADER I AM ACUTELY AWARE OF THE MORTGAGE MARKET AND ITS RAMIFICATIONS EVERY DAY. HOWEVER, THIS WELL INTENTIONED SENATE BILL, LIKE ETHANOL, WILL SERIOUSLY DAMAGE THE ECONOMY AND MAKE OBTAINING A FUTURE MORTGAGE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE EXCEPT FOR THE BEST CREDITS. FIRSTLY, ANYONE WHO DOESN'T FEEL A MORAL RESPONSIBILITY TO REPAY OR WORKOUT THEIR MORTGAGE WILL FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY HOPING TO GET OFF THE HOOK. THUS A BAD INVESTMENT DECISION WILL BE REWARDED BY THE GOVERNMENT. THIS WILL RESULT IN HUGE LOSSES TO LENDERS, AND LIKE CREDIT CARDS, THEY WILL BEGIN TO SCREEN APPLICANTS FOR LIKELY TENDENCIES TO REPAY OR NOT. THE RESULT WILL BE SHARPLY HIGHER INTEREST RATES FOR MOST BORROWERS AS LENDERS RE-RATE THEIR CREDIT WORTHINESS, AND NO CREDIT FOR THE USERS OF ALT-A OR SUBPRIME MORTGAGES. MINORITIES IN PARTICULAR WILL FIND CREDIT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET. THIS WILL RESULT IN A CONTRACTION OF THE ECONOMY, WHEREAS JUST CLEANSING THE SLATE AND ALLOWING CAPITAL TO BE RE-ALLOCATED TO ITS BEST USE WILL RE-JUVENATE THE ECONOMY MUCH FASTER WITHOUT THE DISTORTIONS OF GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE. REMEMBER, YOUR FRIENDLY SENATORS BROUGHT US ETHANOL. GAS IS STILL $3.5 AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY BREAD. THE ANALOGY OF WHAT A MORTGAGE WOULD COST IS APPROPRIATE.

First let me say I am a home owner and have been for almost 40 years. And yes, I went through a foreclosure in the late 1980's, but it wasn't because of the "reckless and abusive" lending practices of any mortgage companies, it was a product of my own making for taking a loan that I just marginally could afford. I recovered and learned a great lesson from the experience.

When are we going to expect people to accept the responsibility for their actions, instead of running to the government every time someone needs a bailout? As stated above, I remember the 80's, and I don't recall anyone wanting to help me out. I believe the only reason we're seeing this much todo about this issue is because it is an election year. Our government cannot afford to continue to spend money like drunken sailors (no offense intended to our fine US Navy personnel).

This country has become a society of people that give little to no thought to what their future might hold. The only thing I believe our current generations care about is how large a home they can buy and, and how many adult toys they can buy on credit to fill their garages.

Folks, use some common sense and quit blaming everything and everyone for your own poor decisions.

I do not think our country should bail out financial institutuions who make loans to people who only qualify by realxing standards or to people who borrow more than they should. To me that is the problem with this country. We do not need more government assistance or more government help for adults that should be responsible for thier own actions. We need some very big pain to turn this country around and the sooner we start it the sooner we can get over it.

This act would help me out and alot of other people in this country but some have said it would damage other homeowners by making them paying extra fees on their mortgage.

We both hope this Foreclosure Prevention Act will become law and very soon. It would be what millions of families need to keep their homes and would also help our country.

The Republicans, being true to form, voted to stop cloture!

Banks and lending insitutions had no business lending money to those who they new could never could repay the loans.
Let the banks suffer not the people the loans were given too.
Every bank that allowed this pratice should be accountable and pay the fine whatever it might be. People that allowed this pratice should be held accountable and brought to justice.

I wish Congress would also look at people who are at risk of losing their homes, due to sending jobs out of our country. Trickle down economics has come back to haunt us. If you lay off enough of our own workers; then they don't have the money to pay their bills, or to buy items they once could. Makes sense to me.

I lost my home of 30 years, because the mortgage company wouldn't work with me. I sent a payment and they refused it because it wasn't all the back payment. The sheriff sale was Feb 13,2007. I had less than 30 days to move. 30 years of my life and family pass down from my parents were all thrown out. So I know personal what hell these people are going thur. In July my property was sold for 3 times less than I was paying. So I know first hand all the pain and all of losing your home and my future is like very personally. I still cry . Mpe

I wish Congress would also look at people who are at risk of losing their homes, due to sending jobs out of our country. Trickle down economics has come back to haunt us. If you lay off enough of our own workers; then they don't have the money to pay their bills, or to buy items they once could. Makes sense to me.

Banks and lending insitutions had no business lending money to those who they knew could never could repay the loans.
Let the banks suffer not the people the loans were given too.
Every bank that allowed this pratice should be accountable and pay the fine whatever it might be. People that allowed this pratice should be held accountable and brought to justice.

Question: Does the proposed legislation include any money to bail out investors or banks?

Do this mean, if passed, that if I cannot make my semi-annual payments on a ranch I purchased, the government is going to help me out. In other words, If I make a bad decision, it's not my fault, and the government will bail me out.

I definitely am in agreement with this solution as opposed to the 80's and 90's real estate debacle.

It seems we now live in a society where everone that makes a bad decision is a victum of something or someone. Enough is enough, You make a bad choice don't make ME pay for it. I am a taxpayer.
E

A resounding NO!!! These swine are catering to the new moneyed few. Well, I got no money, and damned small chance of retirement before I have slaved my life away supportimg the "nouveau riche". Well, I'm not responsible for their poor judgement, neither will I EVER pay for their welfare. Most of these "people" have never done an honest day's work in their lives or created anything tangible other than debt.
Bail their asses out? HELL NO, THESE SWINE MADE THEIR BEDS, LET THEM LIE IN IT!!!
As I write this, I'm 56 years old and I do things to survive that younger men won't do; just to continue my miserable existance and provide for my children..
As far as I'm concerned, responsibility is a "learned" concept, and I see damned little of it in our "progeny". Looks like the "silver spoon" they were born with isn't enough, but I'm damned if I'll pay for a gold one.

Please pass the "Foreclosure Prevention Act", and if the present Administration vetoes it, override it overwhelmingly by voting against this Administration! It is time for partisan politics to end and constructive coalitions that thrive on cooperative policies, not ideologies. Send a positive message to those less fortunate caught in the housing squeeze our nation seems to want to just ignore.

We need to do more to keep the mortgage fraud from happening again. This is one of the many reasons that people have homes that are going into foreclosure. As a real estate agent myself, I have bought and sold many homes, but this last home I purchased was the result of misinformation and a very complex loan. We always have relied on the honesty of the lenders in this business and never thought any of them would "srew" a realtor for fear of backlash. This loan on my current home was so complex and so full of legal eaze, it was impossible to understand and I trusted the mtg lender to explain it to me. This lender got me the best loan for her, the one she made the most commission on, (over $9,000) not the best loan for me.

I would be very interested in new legislation to make loans less complicated and something that the general public can understand.

Diane DeMeria

I'm for the govenment making the lenders restucture the loans. I am not for me and other fixed income retirees having to pay more taxes etc to make up for this.

Part of the problem with the mortgage crisis is borrowers not reading their documents and getting in over their heads. Trying an adjustable and not reading what they are signing. I do not feel the other tax payers should bail out people who do not take responsibility for their decisions.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked efforts to give bankruptcy courts more power to stave off home foreclosures, a move the chamber’s Democratic leader called “a big mistake.”"The people on Wall Street are high-fiving. They just won again,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after the 48-46 vote. “The big banks just won again. The mortgage bankers won again.”

The banking industry and President Bush opposed the bill, and Bush’s GOP allies filibustered the measure. The bill would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of home mortgages for people facing foreclosures and reduce a filer’s mortgage debt to the home’s current market value.

“That would be unfair to the millions of homeowners who make the hard choices every month to pay their mortgage on time, and it would be unfair to future home buyers,” Bush said at a news conference Thursday morning.

I think so much is being made out of this financial and housing crisis, as far as wanting to allow people to keep there homes.That all may sound well and good but, One must examine the affects that have lead to this. Precisely too much loose lending of too much money to people who were obviously over extended or in poor re-payment conditions in the first place. The majority of these are not your average middle income family type homes. The home Builders, Developers ,Municipalities and Lending Associations all need to cut this extravagant spending and pushing of up scale homes!The rich keep getting richer,at the expense of the middle class, who will seemingly end up being eliminated!Fiscal responsibility needs to be learned at all levels. The federal government as well should be setting examples by passing no deficit spending budgets! And we certainly should not be bailing out those who chose to make bad purchasing decisions.Start building modest communities and people will come, afford, and thrive. If we don't reverse this course we will be building more government housing projects!
ITS TIME TO WAKE UP AMERICA!

I agree with a formula which allows homeowners to stay in their homes and to do a work out through a court or mediator which allows them to remain in their home yet provides for them to meeet an obligation of loan repayment.

I don't believe this same approach should be available to those who purchased property for resale purposes or for flipping purposes. Those were investors who took a knowing risk.

For those who were misrepresented in the home purchase area they clearly should have an option of having the entire lending agreement reviewed by appropriate legal process to insure that the mortgage agreement was in fact legal and proper and financials fully disclosed.

The proposed remedy is fine,but,lets not let these folks off the hook either.

Greetings from a newbie who may become a has-been.

First, I live in Michigan, where the state's housing induced recession is most apparent. I full agree with Jill Greenberg that the pending legislation (or something similar to it) should be passed.

Yet, I have to wonder how much of this crisis is our own doing as a result of financial mismanagement and over spending on life's wants rather than needs. When I talk with folks in the south-east corner of Michigan, many say they can't wait for the spring so they can go up north and open their summer cottages. When I drive around, I see many homes with boats on trailers waiting for the spring and summer as well as cars pulling snow mobiles and four wheelers up North for some winter frolicking. Talking with folks in the mortgage industry, a number of home owners have held onto their homes with double and triple mortgages. Now they are facing foreclosure. Any one of these situations can lead to foreclosure.

I believe these issues should be addressed as well as others in determining how to resolve the financial crisis hitting our nation.

Bottom line: To quote Pogo, "We have met the enemy, and it is us."

Dale

I HAVE BEEN IN THE MORTGAGE INDUSTRY FOR MORE THEN 16 YEARS AND THIS IS A MESS AND THE SOLUTIONS THEY THE GOVERMENT ARE SUGGESTING ARE NOT GOING TO HELP JUST LIKE THE FHA SECURE PROGRAM IS NOT WORKING I HAVE CUSTOMER'S THAT ARE HAVING PROBLEMS AND HAVE ONLY BEEN LATE ONE TIME IN 12 MONTHS AND NOT ONE LENDER OUT THERE WILL REFINANCE HER LOAN.WHAT THEY NEED IS TO ALLOW THE LATES OR MIGHT I SAY ALLOW UP TO TWO LATE PAYMENTS IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS THIS WOULD HELP. WHAT I'M SAYING THAT THE PROGRAMS NEEDS TO BE RESTRUCTURED. THIS IS A MEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!

I feel sorry for the people who have already lost their homes. Will there be any help for them? As for my husband and I we have had to change our supplemental insurance because the dues became too much for us. The health care in our nation is hurting so many people and hopefully our next president will do something about it too.

the prevention act is good but it leaves a hole for others to have to fill. bankrupty is a time payment back and you and i are left to fill the clean up. we all make mistakes and looseing your home for health or a family member death is a total different situation than being stupid and not reading a contract. it's the same as blind leading the blind. aarp should stick to issue per taning to items that directley affect us. stop being a hold my hand nation ,our problems is we forgot to teach math 101 .if you don't remember most of aarp was here when they ship your job to out sourceing mode to other nation that has a real problem speaking english. who in the h--- sit and thinks up way for our social security to be destroyied. baby boomers call your senator and ask what plan they are passing to security to protect your grand children future. mickeys dee is still hiring aapr board. now explain why aarp has not work to find work for their seniors or is it still in the planning stage. why is aarp not going town to town with a program to draw new members. aarp board and president what are you doing we know what we are doing sending our dues for your salaries. thank aarp corgi,billy

1. The total of my monthly income is $1142.68.
2. The monthly mortgage is $1190.95.
3. It is the nagative loan. My bolance will increase.Soon or later I will lose my house.
4. Is there anything I can do to save the house.
5. I am 80 year of age. I can't aford to lose the house.
6. What kind of help I possible have?

I'll say it now and I'll say it forever that mortgage broker Larry K. Ferguson of Port Orange/So. Daytona, Fl. is a crook, a con man, a conniver, a master manipulator and a smart motivated liar.
This is also true of his equally crooked attorney, Lawrence w. Borns, Daytona Beach, Fl.

Congress should stay out of this. I don't have any sympathy for those people. I bought a home about the same time all this was happening. I tried to use good judgement. I bought what I could afford. I didn't sign adjustable rate mortgages with accelerated payments. I had sense enough to know that my income was not going to increase enough to take care of those new payments.
Why should I as a taxpayer have to bail out poor judgement. If we do it this time we will have to do it again because they will come to expect it.

93% of all homeowners with a mortgage are making payments on time. Of the other mere 7%, how many of those were responsible? How many borrowed more than they could afford and "hoped" for the best?

Our government, us, should not bail out people who were not responsible enough to say "No. I can't afford this much house." People, rates are historically low and going lower today.

This plan is merely taking from Peter to pay Paul. It's called stealing when you and I do it. Its called something else when the government does it.

The mortgage crisis is not just one simple problem. Before any serious tax money goes out on an emotional whim, perhaps we need to first examine the problem and its winners and losers under a clear light. Too many people have knowingly purchased homes they could not afford, and too many banks have enabled them to do so. Most of these banks will hold the suspect loan for a few months and then re-sell it, hoping to secure their own profit, leaving the second purchaser and the hapless homeowner holding the bag when the interest begins to rise. Perhaps these adjustable rate loans shouldn't even be out there. The real problem are: 1. Our shrinking economy. Many families have purchased homes in good faith, only to be downsized or outsourced, benign words for the awful fate of our good middle class jobs. 2. Our economy has encouraged speculative homebuying, resulting in quick turnover profit for investors at the expense of families who can no longer afford to buy these homes, making them easy prey for the predatory lenders. 3. The lack of affordable rental housing has pushed many buyers into homeownership who really cannot afford to buy their homes. 4. Finally, Cities and counties now depend upon newer, inflated home values for tax revenues, and have tolerated and even encouraged speculative buying to balance local budgets. So what is the solution? Shelter is the most basic of all human needs. Clean, safe, affordable housing is the right of every human being. Yet, increasingly, more and more individuals and families are priced out of available supplies. Perhaps the Federal Government or even local governments could be offerred first bid on troubled properties at a reduced price, returning earned equity to homeowners displace by foreclosures to begin again with a more affordable investment. The banks would gain a portion of what otherwise would be mostly loss, and the property could be offerred for resale at a reduced price with a government-guaranteed fixed rate loan. As draconian as this might sound, we are facing a major housing crisis in many areas of the country. Maybe it is time to reshuffle, and let families and neighborhoods replace speculators in the demographics of a housing-friendly future.

The taxpayers should have to bail out home buyers/refinancers from making poor investment decisions. If the banks are guilty of fraudulant practices, then affected homeowners should beable to sue for damages. 98% of all mortgages are in good standing (that was a quote from a mortgage industry representative) We weren't refinancing, buying new cars or vacationing with our equity. We watched others enjoying the boom. I don't think we should bail out those who lost. Most of us didn't play the game.

Just thoughts

Hello,
The problem is illegals being giving credit that our own government supported for them to buy houses, free schools, colleges, medical, food stamps, legal system, child welfare, get real this is why we have a credit problem.
Another boondoggle sensors don't work for the virtual border, "Good Job Brwonie" Senior Bush blows it again, the SKULL IS THROWN UNDER THE BUS,as he announced last Friday big success. Project 28 another taxpayer crises.
Special order 40 lets LA County not to arrest illegal gang members that have been deported and broken our laws again by running the border again to commit crimes again in LA County. OUT RAGIOUS
Thank you
Tom

I am about to enter into the line of those in foreclosures. I have 2 1/2 yrs before I could do a reverse mortgage and it would be wonderful if the mortgage company would work with me to save my home so I wouldn't end up loosing it and my equity.

we have three U.S. senators in the race for the presidency. It would be very useful to compare their positions on this issue. Should the free market be left to its own devices> Does the government need to intervene on the side of homeowners> On the side fo the financial industry?

I agree that some kind of loan restructuring is necessary, but it must be limited to primary residences. My question is what happens to all those speculative investments, many made with no money down, motivated strickly by the quest for profit(the "flipper" mortgages). Where did I hear that 8.5 million mortgages are in default or in danger of default?

Congress made the mortgage mess by passing laws that made mortgage lenders do unsound things. Ajustable rate loans should be against the law but they made them legal. Qualifing for a home should not have ever gotten to the point where the buyer could not afford to pay for the mortgage in normal circumstances. Don't make enough money. No loan.

I have a hard time bailing out people that took risks and bought houses at prices way above their means and then went to crative financing to find a way to keep them. The gambled that they would be much better off next year and it just doesn't always happen. I remember the lenders that demonstrated to me how I could afford much more house IF I took out one of these loans that had the ability to mushroom to hazerdous levels. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what they explain! You simply have to set realistic limits on what you can afford and NOT go for instant gratification of your expensive wants and desires. It is a problem with the new generation! Some lessons are very hard to learn!

As a senior citizen, I went through the oil embargo and resession of the 70's while buying a home and rasing two children. No I did not lose my home due to forclosure, I went out and got a second job to keep the lifestyle we had grown to enjoy. I did not have a
government that was going to bail me out because I was living above my means. Everyone also saved money by car pooling to work but today about every vehicle you see has only one person in it. Why does it take two parents working to make it in today's society? The answer, in my opinion, is that the couples today want everything that we worked years to aquire, they want it now and live way above their means and plactic charge cards with minimal payments are the main reason.
Therefore, I am NOT a supporter of the bailout act! Our society has weathered a similar storm before and came out the better for it. The only thing that is needed is for "everyone" to cinch up their belts and take this fuel shortage seriously. Traveling needlessly especially at excessive speeds, 20mph over posted limits, example all interstates, is frivilous and self indulgent. Wake up America!

Whatever happens now, it is too late for me. I lost my home, and now, at age 55, have to live with my mother. I lost a job, and my health care, and am a brittle diabetic, unable to get on disability. I tried and after my unemployment ran out, I still did not have another job, so I created my own. I am able to get "indigent" health care, but it most certainly isn't like having an endocrinologist who cares for my diabetes. Luckily, an investor came in and purchased my home and helped me pay off all my medical bills. I have nothing, but at least I am out of debt...and working full time at a job I built for myself. So, I am not even counted in the statistics.

Some people are in trouble because they bought houses that they cou;d not afford or because they could not get loans because of their bad credit. Not all of the problems are in the housing market are becuase of bad loans. many people bought over inflated housing, and today the values of their are on the decrease and they can get the money they paid for them. There is an old saying buy low sell high. Unfortunately many people bought high.

Are you trying to tell me that if I go to my lender and ask to refinance my ARM to a fixed rate or they can forclose on my home they will say NO. Banks don't want to be in the real-estate they want me to pay back my mortgage. Why is the government getting involved and bailing out people who gambled on interest rates remaining low?

We also need to give thought to Mortgage companies that hold a persons mortgage payment and not tell them, and then foreclose! That happened to me about four years ago, Just prior to my turning 62. The house that was once paid for and was everything in my plan for retirement was saved by Bankruptcy and then another mortgage which ended my plans for retirement! The costs and all to save my home were staggering. My health is failing, so the only thing open for me now is a Reverse Mortgage......I just think that the mortgage company that started this nightmare should have told me that they were holding that payment! No one seems to be able to tell me if it is correct for them to do that!

So, once again, my tax dollars have to bail out people who should have known what they were doing. They just thought they were getting something for nothing, as so many do. Reckless and abusive lending practices is just a small part of the problem. Did they not read what they were signing or did they think that an ARM meant the interest rate would go down? The chances were it would go up and it did. What a shock. I'm tired of our country bailing people out of their own mistakes and stupid decisions.
KB

I'm all for judges dictating to a predatory lender just how and when he will be paid off. I'm also all for not putting people, who are too ignorant to know when they are making a grievous financial error, out on the street. I do not, however, want it to cost ME. If this is the type (the "sinners" pay up) of legislation expected to be drawn and passed, I'm all for it. But the moral hazard here is for government to bail another group of horse-traders and rubes. The ultimate message, already given in plenty by our beloved Federal Reserve (who never saw a bubble that couldn't be "fixed" by easy money) is that you can make a mistake without fear of repercussion.
Somehow, that just seems wrong.

The primary reason for this mess is people wanting to buy houses they can't afford. Everyone in or close to foreclosure was living someplace before this and they were successfully paying their rent or mortgage payment. It is not a defense to claim that they didn't know an adjustable rate mortgage rate could actually adjust.
Why these people or the lenders should be bailed out is a mystery. So, because they bought a house they couldn't afford, they get to stay in the house and because lenders made loans (investments) they shouldn't have they get a do-over. People in the same period were living within their means and they get to pay for all this. And Clinton's plan to freeze mortgage rates for 5 years is economic idiocy.

The government getting involved in the banking business is a big mistake.Were are the banks going to get their money if some people don't pay? The banks will get their money from the honest person that is making their payments.

This goes a lot deeper than foreclosures. It was greed on the part of the lenders true, but also on the Builders and the Cities for the tax when the issued building permits on over priced and unneed housing. In my area they converted old factories to condos or tore them down and build town houses or larger Condos. They tore down a Bowling Alley, Lumber Yard and a Taco Bell to put up Town Homes and condos that were not needed. Many of them remain unsold and vacant.
Not only are there foreclosures, but many banks are also in trouble. Builders supply houses sold material to these people and are not able to get paid as the builders can not sell. It will trickle down and companies will go out of business and people will lose jobs.

I would like to see some numbers of how many of these foreclosures was the result of poor personal financial management. Taking on more debt load that one can handle. A job layoff wrecks your way to tight budget.

I was in the mortgage business for a number of years from the savings
loan business to the mortgage broker I am not surprised by the mess wewe would have loans reps in our office just telling us how to get
peple approved who should never have had a loan.

Clearly the only people profiting from our present policies are the banks. We are just so used to the "usury" system, we've become brainwashed. Why should a bank be able to charge such high interest rates and then take it all from us? To me it harks back to the middle ages and the feudal system. So how far have we come? You tell me.

How about the people who bought 4 or 5 houses to flip. Do they get this same deal. Here's how the NAU works. Take our jobs, take our taxes to support illegals and send aid over seas. Took our young men and women away and put them in a war. What was left was to make our homes worthless. I have had my house for 15 yrs. Didn't take the equity and buy 4 or 5 houses like some did. But now it is about worthless anyway. Can't sell it if I wanted to. The lenders who allowed these loans should have had to keep and maintain those foreclosure homes until they sold for what they sold them for to people who couldn't pay. And now they want our guns. What is the next step. Amnesty.

I think that for the last few years that our lending institutions have been taking unfair advantage of people that wish to have the "American Dream". The housing market has been continually inflated out of even common sense, houses that one year would sell at $270,000 then the next year selling for $500,000. Some of us have been sitting back and watching the "bubble" expand, knowing that at some point it had to "bust". We are now at the "bust" stage, and unfortuntally the regular people are going to be the ones to suffer. I believe that the value in the houseing market will at some point bottom out, and begin a more normal increase.

Your e-mail this evening was timely, to say the least. Our President stood up in front of God and everybody today, and stated that we are "NOT in a recession." BULL-PUCKY!

This administration's greed for Middle Eastern oil, as well as other failed "domestic" initiatives, are the sole cause for the pickle we are in today! Gasoline and Heating fuel prices are skyrocketing out of control. The "Big Oil" execs get fatter by the day; while we struggle to maintain our homes and our transportation to and from work to be able to pay for all this.

It ain't gonna get better anytime too soon, either. Oh, yeah. . . We got a Tax Rebate coming. $300 for single filers. My mortgage payment is TWICE that amount! It's simply a "carrot-on-a-stick" to fool us into thinking that "Uncle Sam" really cares for his constituents.

"Uncle Sam" cares about "Uncle Sam." End of story.

The bankruptcy law passed soon after President Bush took office has benefitted the financial institutions instead of enabling people who are having a difficult time financially to have athe chance to restructure their finances so that they can pay at least part of their debts and begin again. Allowing loans on second homes to be restructured but not loans on primary residences is blatantly unfair. Allowing restructuring of these loans would go a long way toward saving people from financial disaster and would also help alleviate the financial mess our nation is now finding itself in.

You should have bought something you could afford, dummie

We don't need another means for people to receive my tax money. If a person gets a mortgage and overextends themselves, bites off more than they can chew, then too bad. Interest rates are already extremely low and if somebody can't get a decent loan now, then something is wrong with them. They only have themselves to blame. If the mortgage company gives a loan to someone that they shouldn't have, then that is their problem also. Let's quit giving free handouts.

LET all of us support this bill to allow those facing financial crises to stay in their homes until they are on more stable ground. It is so true that a positive action will benefit the economy. It also sould prove to be a positive stimulus in the psyche of so many U.S. citizens.

the mtg companies should be responsible for these loas, they did it, they gave them to people with bad credit, even people that had filed bankruptcy

Get out of politics for anything but Retired Persons!! Millions of
Americans buy houses they can afford. Let the idiots with a "champaigne appetite and a beer pocketbook" sink or swim on their own.

We bought an older house that wew could afford and raised seven
children. Why should we now have to pay taxes to bail out a bunch of
idiots? Why?

The pressure to get medical bills paid off is probably the #1 reason for most people to take the high ARM deals when refinancing or getting a home equity loan. I had a discussion with my lender after a long and serious illness about a home equity loan and a home equity line of credit. Too expensive! I decided to let my medical bills be paid out in payments as I could afford. I would rather take the hit at the credit bureau than loose my home.

I feel that we cannot just let everyone be allowed to continue paying on a house to avoid foreclosure just because their payments are too high. I know people that have foolishly risked their homes pulling equity to shop and buy things that they don't need, etc. I think this needs to be looked at carefully and individually. I also know people that came to AZ from CA to speculate in our housing market and are left holding houses that they can't sell. That is not the fault of the government or a bank. People who have had their interest rates raised may have another issue. No one stopped the lending industry from giving loans to people that had no business borrowing money. Maybe if our representatives and senators in Washington would pay more attention to what they were supposed to instead of worrying about who is using steroids in baseball, they might be aware of these predatory lending practices. Or maybe they owe too many debts to too many contributors.

Janice Thompson

I would like to have a chance to read the proposed bill. Quite frankly, on the face of it, it appears to be another bailout of the banks, just like the Savings and Loan fiasco several years ago. People that sign loan contracts should be responsible for their actions and not blame someone else. We are talking some very serious money here.

How is this helping the homeowners? If you purchased a home with no money down then chances are good that the house is worth less than you owe. If you could not afford the house when you purchased it how can you afford it now? If you can not afford a 40 year mortgage what are you going to do? Get a 100 year mortgage? People made mistakes. People saw the housing prices go up and tried to make a fast buck. The mortgage brokers made money and left. Now we the taxpayers are supposed to bail out the people who made these bad loans. It's not the person who purchased the house that the government is trying to bail out but rather the lenders who have mortgages on property that is worth less than they paid for them. I say if you made a bad loan that's your fault and the taxpayers should not have to pay for your mistakes. If the government wanted to help the people they should have done something about the practices of the mortgage industry when they started making these loans. I believe the largest cause of bankrupcy is health problems. Is the government doing something about that? Yes!
If your an illegal alien you healthcare is free! An American? Say goodby to your home!

Foreclosures are due to people thinking that the free market would always go their way and not taking into consideration that the market does not always follow our wishes. When signing a document for a new home they go over every thing with you. Ignorance is not an excuse for losing your home. The government has absolutly no business making law regarding this issue. This is a issue of being responsilbe for our selfs.

I feel having struggled to make payments while working to feed a family of five and sending our three children to college, that these people should not be given a free handout. They made the same commitment most AARP members did. We struggled to do what was right and we did. No free money from the government. I do not want my tax money going to pay for something they purchased and suddenly can't afford.

I BELIEVE THAT CONGRESS SHOULD NOT PASS ANY BILL TO SAVE PEOPLE ON THE VERGE OF FORECLOSURE. A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE FORECLOSURES ARE AGAINST PEOPLE WHO COULD NOT REALLY AFFORD THOSE HOMES WITHOUT CREATIVE ACCOUNTING TO BEGIN WITH. WHY SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT STEP IN? THE END RESULT OF THIS TYPE OF LEGISTATION WOULD ONLY BE DEADBEATS LIVING IN HOUSES THAT MORGAGE COMPANIES WILL NEVER SEE ANY REPAYMENT FROM. DO YOU REALLY THINK THE ECONOMY WOULD NOT SUFFER WITH ALL THESE NON PAYING DEADBEATS? LET'S GET REAL HERE. MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE ALWAYS LIVED WITHIN OUR MEANS. WE HAVE GONE WITHOUT SO THAT WE COULD FEED OUR KIDS, KEEP A ROOF OVER OUR HEADS, AND PROTECT OUR FAMILY'S FUTURE. THIS COUNTRY HAS TURNED IT BACK ON SELF RELIANCE AND HAS GRASPED THE CONCEPT OF LIVE FOR TODAY AND SOMEONE ELSE WILL PAY THE BILL TOMORROW. THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE REALLY SUFFERED JOB LOSE OR SLOW DOWN, THE MORGAGE COMPANY ARE RESTRUCTURING THEIR LOANS TO HELP. MY SISTER IS ONE SUCH PERSON. DUE TO A JOB CHANGE PLUS A DEADBEAT EX HUSBAND NO LONGER PAYING CHILD SUPPORT, SHE GOT HELP FROM HER BANK. SO I AM NOT BLIND TO THE PROBLEMS PEOPLE ARE FACING. I JUST DON'T HAVE ANY SYMPATHY FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO BOUGHT A $500K HOUSE,PUT ZERO MONEY DOWN, PAID INTEREST ONLY FOR FIVE YEARS AND NOW CAN NOT PAY ANYTHING ON THE PRINCIPLE. PRINCIPLE!!!!!!!!!!!

This action by the congress is the wrong thing to do. The lending companies and related real estate organization should not be bailed out.
I have written to my congress folks and told them to vote "NO".

My grand parents and my parents. They preached to us kids that you never borrow money against your home. Unless your starving to death.My parents preached to us about trying to build a house or buy a house that will suit you for many ,many years. Through kids and as a empty nest. So I listened to them. I was a machinist and I went through about 5 employeers ,but I never went in over my head. We bought 3 homes. The last two have been paid in full. I am talking I had a 30 year mortage and paid it off in 12 years ,and my interest rate was 9 1/2 % locked in. So even if your interest rate is high ,but locked in you can budget ,because the payment is same year in year out except for small increases for escrow taxes and such. I managed to retire at a youg age. I think people just got over extended. They forgot how to live simple with really much much less worries. It is a good feeling to lay in a bed and know you can afford to lay there for years. It is called home sweet home. You use common sence and remember how life was in the 1950's and try to copy that ,and it works man.

I cannot believe anyone is even considering support for this debate. Do you have any idea what this will do for future mortgage interest rates? When we purchase anything with such a large price tag we should exercise caution and do our due diligence before signing on the dotted line. I have purchased 4 homes in my life and in each instance I was given multiple loan options, including ARM's and Fixed Rate. I even made the mistake of using an ARM but learned within 5 years that was a mistake. I immediately refinanced with a 15 year fixed rate just so I would not be faced with the problem of not being able to pay my mortgage.
Just the same, had I not refinanced and gotten a fixed affordable rate I certainly would never expect the United States Government or the Taxpayers to bail me out. I consider myself accountable for any adult decisions I make.
This sounds like a typical Democrat solution- "Let the taxpayers pay for it and pay higher mortgage interest later". If AARP is endorsing this garbage, it appears I joined the wrong Retired Persons organization and will be looking elsewhere for a more politically centered organization. Am I the only Republican in this organization?

I certainly hope the Senate acts. However, these individuals who may lose their homes must be pretty stipid to sign up for a variable rate mortgage, and not understand that the rate could go up. Then there are those who were looking to make a quick buck - thinking that home prices would keep increasing as they have in recent years.

We also need to give thought to Mortgage companies that hold a persons mortgage payment and not tell them, and then foreclose! That happened to me about four years ago, Just prior to my turning 62. The house that was once paid for and was everything in my plan for retirement was saved by Bankruptcy and then another mortgage which ended my plans for retirement! The costs and all to save my home were staggering. My health is failing, so the only thing open for me now is a Reverse Mortgage......I just think that the mortgage company that started this nightmare should have told me that they were holding that payment! No one seems to be able to tell me if it is correct for them to do that!

Our government has "bailed-out" major corporations when they were in financial trouble, recognizing the potential financial disaster that might occur if they were to fail. The same situation exists now, but spred out, involving many thousands of home owners. Yes they should have known better, but if they loose their homes, the entire country will suffer economically. A way must be found to permit home owners capable of making reasonable monthly payments to stay and pay off their loans.

I am completely against it. So many of these people have gone past their limits. Their annual combined salaries are more than the average American can only envision. Us upper middle class Americans are suffering because of these money hungry/class status people.

I have a serious problem with the expectation of government involvement everytime of an economic crisis in a particular sector of our social structure. With such an expectation the need for personal responsibility is further diminished. We have become an entitlement society expecting salvation regardless of our own reckless behavior. The politicians are quick to fill any void of need since they have but one interest only and that is your VOTE! The money we have elected them to spend wisely has become their largesse to acquire their own personal wealth and power. We the people are just puppets in their shameless greed and are slowly turning into the social slaves they are creating. What happened to JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country?"

Sounds like the same old crap. Folks who cant pay their mortgages will be required to go to court. I'm sure this will require an
attorney. How can someone who can't even pay for the right to stay
in their home, be expected to afford an attorney?

It would indeed be a very generous act on the part of the legislature to help people facing foreclosures especially those who are old and in the sunset of their lives. For who else at this point in time would help if no body else? If no one,they will be forced to live any place else or perhaps will become homeless. Yes, it is about time our senators or congressmen would come up with some kind of emergency, immediately. Fellow countrymen, think of the many who are now in the brink of hell, restore their dignity. give them the privilege once more to recover. for our own good and for the economy.

I guess I have mixed emotions. I feel sad for many who are facing the severe consequences of their poor decisions. And, yes, the predatory practices of the mortgage lending industry must shoulder the blame. The executives of the mortgage industry should have to lose their magnificent homes - homes purchased with money sucked from the very customers they lured into contracts they knew (or should have known) were financially unqualified.

But if I understand correctly, Congress is about to reward these culprits for their conduct. Of course, they won't say it that way, but the bottom line is that they will come out smelling like a rose - and they SHOULD be filing their own bankruptcy.

Having chastised the "lendors", let me take on the "lendees". We as a nation have produced a generation of citizens either unwilling or incapable of making the HARD decisions - like saying "no" to the new "toy" they can't afford, whether it be a suit, cellphone, corvette or HOUSE.

The situation we are in is a sad indictment on our society, our schools, our churches and OUR FAMILIES (unfortunately including me with the rest of you senior citizens). We have not passed the torch of responsibility and common sense to our children like it was passed to us. Shame on us!

BUT...here it comes...a government bailout is just one more in a long stream of lessons we are teaching our people - that in America you don't have to face the music when you make a bad decision. The consequences of irresponsibility either don't exist, or are "not that bad". "Don't worry, someone will bail you out."

I guess the problem is bigger than my mind, and I certainly don't pretend to have all the answers...or I would be a candidate for President. But I think (and with this I sit down) that this crisis is a moral and ethical crisis - not just financial and economic. The Congressional vote may solve the financial crisis while adding fuel to the other.

My home went into forclosure. I was able to sell it on short sale. It is not fair, the people who bought the home put very little down and are paying less for a payment than I pay for rent. What is fair about me living in a home for 25 years working and maintaining it the whole time only to lose it. Walk away without anything to show for it and not know what I am going to do. I contacted the mortgage company so many times to try and get help, they would not even talk with me. I was thank ful they at least did a short sale.

I do not mind the goverment helping as long as people have to pay off their loans.
But these "marginal income" homeowners should not have bought homes they could not afford.
The loan companies should also suffer for their reckless loan practices. They made Millions a few years ago now let them have spend some of that profit now to cover the bad loans they made.
It used to be hard to get a home loan for a reason. The bank made sure you could pay for the home.
America has grown too soft. Everybody thinks they can have everything now on credit and pay later. Well later is here now!!!
Americans should learn to do without and save enough money to pay cash for whatever they are buying.

It is sad that so many families were not smart enough to determine what was likely to happen when the initial 'teaser rates' ended and true interest rates were applied to their mortgage. Now, there is a cry to protect those who chose not to protect themselves, at the expense of those who were prudent enough to avoid foreclosure, simply be living within there means. It is not the job of society or government to bail out those who chose to live dangerously.

may you provide the full text of this foreclosure prevention bill? i need to know the detail of this bill to be able to make judgment on its merit as a whole.

on the surface, it sounds reasonable. but i have known that political parties use issues to advance political agenda by highlighting to the public the supposed good of the bill but not informing them of what else are tacked in.

very truly,
grace

I am totally opposed to any government bailout. What's next? Luxury cars? Large boats? Swimming pools? You should never consider your home an investment. It is the place you live. It may turn out to be a great investment but it is essentially where you live and you always need someplace to live. Just because my neighbor bought more house than he can afford is no excuse for him to reach into my pocket expecting me to help pay his mortgage. In case you missed it, that is exactly what a government bailout is.

I notice that CD rates have taken a nosedive in the past few weeks. I would insist that the skyrocketing interest rates on the ARM's be tempered in the restructuring process. This seems, to me at least, to be a major factor in the problem. If the lending institutions are backing off on rates paid to depositors, they should be able to back down on loan interest rates.

I think that the people that got this people to sign up for their mortage needs to pay for their homes.

I suppose helping out with some of these mortgage foreclosures is wonderful for some, but I have three issues. First, the fine print was clear and these companies should not be penalized for entering into legal contracts. Second, many, if not most, of these foreclosures are people who gambled stupidly by allowing their housepayment to represent 50% or more of their monthly income, and mortgage companies let them do it, and third, maybe the foreclosure market will help bring the overall housing market in line with real values.

These homeowners should never have been approved for loans to start with. I'm against any form of government assistance for the owners or the lenders.

I don't think our Government can afford to BAIL THEM OUT, but if they can work out a "pay and stay",I can be for it. Also lending institutions should not have made risky subprime loans. Some of these people didn't even have jobs!!!

I also am against a national health care bill(shame on Hillary and Obama).First it would never get through Congress, we would have massive delays on getting health care, doctors would leave their practice, and we would lose our ability to chose our doctors and hospitals. I have Medicare and an AARP supplement. I have good coverage and many of those that CHOSE to not carry coverage make more than I do! Children can be covered under KIDS FIRST.

Thank you, Mary S. Bernhard, 80 years old!!!

seems like you don't get too many comments posted????

i have just read some comments on the foreclosure prevention bill. more laws, more government. all these will be paid by money from prudent citizens who can and pay taxes.

can't the banks be allowed to find ways to save themselves? for example, can they not choose to just make the defaulting borrower just arrange to just pay "rent" on their houses for a period subject to periodic review? can not the banks take some loss over less payment for a period than total loss? can they not consider the social consequence of affording families a place to stay rather than be displaced? with houses occupied, there will be no houses to rehabilitate, no oversupply of houses in the market, prices will stabilize.

i hear that there are those facing foreclosure because their interest rates will be increased. this is ridiculous of the banks to do in the face of the fed continuing to lower interest rates.

all these do not need laws. banks will be compelled to find ways if they know they will not be bailed out.

i still would want to get a full text of the bill. the internet only supplies news and views.

very truly,
grace
there are foundations who would like to help.

Don't think its our responablity (the people) to bail out these people they bought those homes and while I'm sure there are some who really need help its not the government job. Let the banks etc. make arrangments to try and worked with theses families to get there loans pay by lower payments and give more time. Who has offer to give all of us health insurance, no one. No one is bailing us the seniors out of anything? Yes we should take care of our own but there has to be point..Sorry if I hurt anyones feelings this is just one person view.

We ave managed to live in Lisle, Il, Tulsa Ok, St Louis, North Kingstown RI, Topsham Me, Pittsburgh, Saratoga Springs NY. We did nt receivew any assistance in all of these buy/sales. We had to suck it up.

Now we are fdaced with the "Housing and Motgage crisis!" What a bunch of Sh--t! Greed combinded with the US Congress all out effort to make it poosible for everyone, regardless of ability to repay, get a 'home' has had it's results.

If youy are interested I'll give you chapter and v erse based on personal experieece on an area wqith the highest repo rate in the country, Lee County Fl.

I favor the Foreclosure Prevention Act this will help everyone that house in this situation. This is a opportunity to allow people to get the help that is needed to save their homes. Then allowing them the court hearing to restructure their lo