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This is a summary of Obama's speech on distressed homeowners - WSJ
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The deep contraction in the economy and in the housing market has created devastating consequences for homeowners and communities throughout the country.
· Millions of responsible families who make their monthly payments and fulfill their obligations have seen their property values fall, and are now unable to refinance at lower mortgage rates.
· Millions of workers have lost their jobs or had their hours cut back, are now struggling to stay current on their mortgage payments – with nearly 6 million households facing possible foreclosure.
· Neighborhoods are struggling, as each foreclosed home reduces nearby property values by as much as 9 percent.
1. Refinancing for Up to 4 to 5 Million Responsible Homeowners to Make Their Mortgages More Affortdable.
2. A $75 Billion Homeowner Stability Initiative to Reach Up to 3 to 4 Million At-Risk Homeowners.
3. Supporting Low Mortgage Rages by Strengthening Confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan is part of the President’s broad, comprehensive strategy to get the economy back on track. The plan will help up to 7 to 9 million families restructure or refinance their mortgages to avoid foreclosure. In doing so, the plan not only helps responsible homeowners on the verge of defaulting, but prevents neighborhoods and communities from being pulled over the edge too, as defaults and foreclosures contribute to falling home values, failing local businesses, and lost jobs....continue
It still feels like the people who were doing everything right are getting screwed. I should have messed up and asked the rest of you taxpayers to bail me out.
I agree w/u. I put 20% down (the hard work of 15 years) when I bought my property and I've played by the rules all my life. However, problem is - if preventive measures are not quickly adopted to stop, or at least slow the tsunami rate of foreclosure, long-term ratios of home prices to rental prices and incomes may never find a bottom. And that's catastrophic. At that point we will have to beg the chinese to buy our debt. Realistically speaking u just can't have functioning economy that way. but, i totally get your point....It's all about high up connections, being a crook, irresponsibility and ponzi schemes.
Yep, while I was living under my means, accumulating savings and getting snide comments on why I was still living in my "oh so 2001 house", many of my peers were leveraging to the hilt on new house purchases, sometimes more than one. Now my tax dollars will go to assist them in their need. Welcome to the new Obama Collective.
I have been highly distressed over this last 5 months watching our once great capitalistic system take a hard left turn to socializm. Do you think there might still be an undiscovered continent out there we could sail off to and start over?
...However, problem is - if preventive measures are not quickly adopted to stop, or at least slow the tsunami rate of foreclosure, long-term ratios of home prices to rental prices and incomes may never find a bottom. And that's catastrophic. At that point we will have to beg the chinese to buy our debt. Realistically speaking u just can't have functioning economy that way. but, i totally get your point....It's all about high up connections, being a crook, irresponsibility and ponzi schemes.
I'm right on board with you. I know realistically that the bleeding must be stopped...but I'm just feeling like I should have cheated along the way. Had I...and it's NOT my nature to...I might actually feel like I was getting something for nothing, rather than paying double for my place, so the guy/gal next door could live in a newer/nicer/bigger house at half price!
The socialist policies are a scary prospect for our long term sustainability and growth as a nation. However, in the near term, doing nothing versus socializing losses is a wash. If we are to do nothing and let the system flush out the losers, the majority of the country will go down with the rotten apples that caused the mess. Doing nothing is bad for your home value and thus your ability to get a loan is destroyed because your neighbors were deadbeats and got foreclosed upon. Doing nothing is also going to see major bankruptcies that take down major components of major stock indexes, thus wiping out your retirement. On the other hand, socializing the mortgage mess causes your taxes to go up and your money to become worthless due to inflation. Socializing the bad banks also wipes them out and takes down your stock portfolio anyways.
So we're hosed either way and in the short term it probably makes no difference. There's just a theory that government intervention dulls the pain and makes it not as sudden and catastrophic as it might otherwise be. No one will know whether it worked or was better than taking a sudden collapse, not until it's too late.
In the long run, I have no doubt that socializing the economy is a disaster for the future of the nation, freedom and property rights in general, and our economy. But maybe we won't be around to deal with the results, that's for your kids to worry about.
It's sort of like going to the casino, playing by the rules, and walking out exactly even...then, just as I am leaving, an announcement comes over the PA system that all losers...and ONLY the losers...can now head up to the cage and get double back of what they lost.
I live here in Las Vegas, I own a couple of homes. I never used any of them like a cash register. I am and always was responsible with my credit. I don't live in the most expensive area of town, or in the most expensive home I COULD barely afford. I rarely use a credit card for anything.
I wouldn't go that route. I was and am, too responsible.
But the message I AM getting now is that I SHOULD have done what others did (especially here in Las Vegas).
Go out and buy a home I couldn't afford or take out loans against the ones I got and then cry "I can't pay my mortgage because my foo-foo ARM re-adjusted..." And now it seems as though the Feds are "helping out the poor homeowners facing foreclosure."
What I did get was that all my properties' values decreased so I ask the question..."What's in the stimulus plan for me?"
How ridiculous...
I'm with you on this jfk, dana and software person
Great thread. Welcome to OBAMANOMICS. It is indeed scary.
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