Just Pay off the Mortgages (loans, percentage, millionaires, real estate)

[goldengrain]

If the actual outstanding mortgages in the country amount to less than $200 billion, why can't we just pay them off?

What else is this bailout paying for?

Why did they not come to us, the public, hat in hand and explain what they did wrong and how there is something tagged on to this bill which will prevent it from ever happening again?

How about the guys who made these bad decisions saying 'we are sorry'?

These people are so damned brazen. I would not give them a dime.

I am suspicious.
Originally the GM $26 billion handout was supposed to be included in the bill, but somehow they got that money without taxpayer approval, and outside of the bailout money?

They just cannot come clean. But this entire thing smells fishy.

[scuba steve]

Ooooooooo.... Shouldn't have said that. Now I'm going to sit around and dream up all the stuff that I could do if the house were paid off. I'm making lots of early payments but it would be cool to jump ahead to where it's done.

[jimmyP]

The actual amount of mortgages is nearly $14 trillion. Fannie and Freddie alone had over $6 trillion. The $700 billion would cover 5% of all mortgages. The delinquency rate is currently approx 8%. Many of the 8% could be worked out by reducing adjustable rates and converting to fixed. Some are completely lost, particularly California, Florida, and areas like Detroit where real estate values have dropped so dramatically. Florida and Cali were also the area with the most speculators and highest percentage of people in foreclosure on multiple properties. We all know Michigans problem

[jimj]

Besides, they're too busy funding wooden arrows and the Exxon Valdez people from the '80s...

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by jimj

Besides, they're too busy funding wooden arrows and the Exxon Valdez people from the '80s...

I heard about the wooden arrows last night. What a freaking joke our elected officials are.

[Norm Barnes]

Agree with much you say. Mortgages outstanding US is in excess of 11 trilllion. I also wish they would come clean. Its like you know it'll hurt but you don't know how much. What is amazing it seems though the clouds are gathering now for its final storm we did this damage in a relatively short period of time. Perhaps the Banking system is the gun that has to be regulated in the US.

[goldengrain]

From an article in the Wall Street Journal:

The chief economist at Moody’s Economy endorsed proposals that a public agency be set up to purchase defaulted mortgages. The cost, he said, would be up to $250 billion, but probably lower.

Real Time Economics : Zandi: A Mortgage Bailout Would Cost up to $250 Billion

I was misleading and did not mean ALL mortgages in the country.

[goodbyehollywood]

Converting to fixed rate will help few people in CA and other high-risk markets. A lot of them are on Option ARMS, making the no interest payment each month and negatively amortizing the difference. Percentage-wise, they are paying less each month on a growing balance, and you can't refi them, because they can't qualify for a fixed rate. They took the Option ARMS with low teaser rates of about 1 or 2% for a couple of years and are barely hanging on paying just the monthly principal. They can't afford their houses, they shouldn't have bought their houses, so why is anybody pretending we can or should keep them in their houses? A small percentage of borrowers can actually be helped, but the majority of people with Option ARMS simply need to be divested of properties they never should have had and their loans written off as bad debt. No one should buy, guarantee or insure these loser loans-- certainly not the taxpayers.

[RjRobb2]

I wouldnt pay off my mortgage even if I had the money to write a check for it tomorrow.

Their is a reason that most millionaires still have mortgages even if they could afford to pay them off.

Mortgages are an asset if used properly.

[bxlefty23]

Originally Posted by jimmyP

The actual amount of mortgages is nearly $14 trillion. Fannie and Freddie alone had over $6 trillion. The $700 billion would cover 5% of all mortgages. The delinquency rate is currently approx 8%. Many of the 8% could be worked out by reducing adjustable rates and converting to fixed. Some are completely lost, particularly California, Florida, and areas like Detroit where real estate values have dropped so dramatically. Florida and Cali were also the area with the most speculators and highest percentage of people in foreclosure on multiple properties. We all know Michigans problem

exactly
i love people like the op pulling numbers directly out of their ass