Selling Poinciana One Property at a Time.

Reserved Parking For "The Lovely Wife"...TLW...ROAR!

Hun...

I think this is a good topic for discussion. We all have a different take on things :)

TLW...ROAR!

Bryant,

NO!

Leave con-games to con-men!

Bill

Bryant, I really hope this works. Your area expecially could use some relief!!

These schemes all have to many requirements which eliminate many deserving folks. 

Who is deserving???  Anyone whose property value has declined in the past 5 years.  We are all victims of the perfidy of the Wall Street gangs.

There are a LOT more restrictions on home owners who need help than there were on the banks that got $Billions.

Answer --> It depends - LOL

I think sometimes the loan MOD will fit and help the borrower save their homes and in other instances it is nothing more than a waste of money because the borrower will end up in foreclosure eventually anyway!

:)

The Las Vegas market is similar to yours in Poinciana. I can't walk my dog anywhere in the valley without going past a couple of homes that are 20, 30, 40% or more upside down on their mortgages. How ironic that in the desert so many homes can be underwater!

I work with a short sale negotiator who is also a mortage broker. We invested in real estate together when the market was good. Whenever I get a call from a homeowner in foreclosure I refer them to my Dan first to see if there is a way that they can stay in their home.  If there isn't I get them back as a short sale listing... and then he performs the short sale for me anyway. Then half the work is done then anyway because the work for qualifying for a loan mod is almost identical to a short sale... minus the buyer.

There are laws in Illinois against performing loan mods for homeowners in default, and I backed away from doing them early last year.  It's more Dan's cup of tea than mine, so I'd rather he handle them whenever they arise.

I really do not think this process will work. I am hopeful it will allow for some to keep their home but as far a helping the housing recovery I really do not see it. 

I suppose something is better than nothing or perhaps not.  They must indeed fix the root cause of the recession which is housing and credit.  However, it would have been better rather than just focusing on homeowners in default that a benefit be applied to all homeowner's whose properties have declined in value....which is...lets face it now...virtually everyone.  How about principal reductions across the board? That would level the playing field.  With all the money thats been spent already they could have already done that.  Call the bill Mark-to-Market for Homeowners....

I am glad they are trying to help home owners but there are many who may not be able to pay the mortgage because they do not have  a job.

I spoke to a owner who owns a loan modification company in CA at the KW Family Reunion. He was honest and told me rare to get a loan modified in MI.

(((sigh))) but maybe it will change.

I think it gives us another tool in our tool box.  If our state doesn't allow it due to licensing or respa doesn't like it we need to use the many affiliate companies to refer to.  We can still get paid a fee but it needs to be at coe not up front.  That's how we become con men/women.  I have mixed emotions but feel recommending short sales because it is all we know isn't correct either.

I have been doing Modifications for over a year, average 20 a month with a 50% success rate and this is actually going up. This month and last I have had a 75% success rate. There is a science to it and is not for everyone. I charge $450, $250 upfront for an attorney I work with and the other $250 if I get the deal through and only then. I will make 75 calls minium per file, Not a lot of money but I care about the folks losing their home. I do list them if I cannot get them through and the folks know that I have done my best.

It will get easier with Obama's plan only because there will be no alternative becaus eI look for Congress to all but shut down foreclosures. After all the bailout money is blown and wasted, Congress will take a stand because the folks will demand it and the election will be here. It will go like this

Banks we have given you enough to modify and then some and no we didn't waste it America they did. But we the Congress will save you so as of (that time) mostl foreclosures will be reworked by the banks with the new and improved bailout of 3 trillion dollars. God Dang America not God Bless America.

Great post, Bryant.  I believe for those who qualify, we should do everything we can to help.

Gita- this is absolutely the truth... employment must recover before any of these programs and plans will help significantly. 

WARNING - CONTROVERSY

Bryant,

You and I see eye to eye on a lot of things.  I hope you have a lot of success and can save some of your folks down there in FLA.  I really do.

Now that I am done blowing smoke up your ass, I need to tell you what I really think.

The new administrations financial policies, to date, are fudd up.  I voted for him.  My mistake.  I'm owning up.  How about everyone else in America?

If you can't make your payments AND you owe more than 105% of market value, then tough tooties.  You bought wrong or maybe refinanced to the gills at the top.  Bad decision, bad luck, whatever.  Most of my position relates to the fact that you can't make the payments.

I do not even want to hear a story about the lender lying.  Of course they lied to you.  So did that dude on the horse who sold you the smokes.  Don't get me going! 

What about the standup guy who owes more than 105% of market value but grinds it out every day to make the payment?  Where is the incentive for that poor bastard?  He's walking to work in the snow, uphill both ways without boots and eating PPJ for lunch, but his kids have a roof over their heads. 

Lost a job?  People have been loosing their jobs and moving from houses to apartments since the beginning of time.  **it happens.  Find the nearest McDonalds and offer to work the night shift on Sunday.

Not to get too far off on a rant, but when was the last time anyone saw a news clip of the lowly drywall installer who can barely speak English complaining?  You didn't.  That guy has 4 jobs and gets crapped on every single day.  He doesn't care.  It's not about him.  It's not about entitlement.  It's about his wife and kids.  Their well being.  Their education.  A roof over their heads.

I need to stop because I am about say some stuff that would make Rush Limbaugh blush.

Good luck with your loan mods, B.

R

Bryant - Thanks for breaking this down ! I like the part about short sales too !

Every little bit helps.  One thing I heard that I liked. Banks MUST do these; if they take 1 penny from the federal government.

Wow!!!! Great comments.

Rich the guy that owes more than 105% can probably qualify to have his loan modified even if he is making payments. If he does qualify he can get his monthly payment PITI down to 31% of his income. That's a HUGE benefit for the person that is way upside down and is doing everything they can to keep their home. They do NOT have to miss payments. The hardship is the struggle. Not all people that are struggling bought wrong.

I have a seller right now who is in her early 70s and disabled. She bought a house in 2006 for $175,000 and put $100,000(every penny she had) down. The payment was just right. Then taxes and insurance went up and she had some medical issues that caused her to get behind. You'd think that after putting 60% down not quite 3 years ago that she'd have equity and be able to sell. WRONG!!! Her house is worth about $50,000 today. She MAY be able to get a loan mod so she can stay in her house.

By the way I do NOT do loan mods.

Charles, That's excellent that you are helping folks in your community like that. It's commendable that you are working for peanuts. Are you getting short sale listings from your efforts? I believe short sales are also going to get much easier. I've already noticed a huge difference.

Bill, Why do you feel doing loan mods is a con? Aren't they helping folks? Is it the amount of the fee?

Several have mentioned doing what we can to keep people in their homes. I agree this should always be our goal.  Short Sales should be a last resort. In my market most of my short sale listings are flips that flopped or homes where the folks have already moved on. They have no need for refinancing or loan mods.

I think we should help every homeowner that we can that is need of help.  The matter of the fact is that the mortgage bankers, and wall street were making money. They offered it to the consumer, they made it possible for it be lier loans, everyone in the neighborhood wanted it.. so we are all quilty while we made our monies as well.

We that have been in the business for along time knew that the bubble was going to burst and that all the evidence you needed was that the consumer was breathing, the realtor was only doing what the market was demanding, everyone wanted that house so bids went up, loan officers was competing against the brother, sister, friend and or co-worker that got that beautiful house with no down payment and no income vereifed that barely had credit scores to qualify to get that loan. Appraiser were being pushed by all sides to push that value...so yeah we are all guilty, rather a consume, realtor, loan officer, appraiser, bank or mortgage banker and especially wall street. 

Now is the time to get down and dirty and help those who really need help..  sad for those who have struggle to make their mortgage payment just to keep the roof over their head knowing their home is underwater. I hope to see some solutions or else we will be seeing alot of homeless people..

God Bless America...

Bryant,

For the simple reason that I believe there are going to be a lot more fees collected than mitigation.

Any one can offer this service most will be total incompetents. Once a home owner has been turned down because of incompetent council any hope of further help is nearly Nil.

While I disaprove of the whole entitlement idea I belive as long as it banks are willing everyone should take advantage if they can.

Bill

Bryant- Thanks for all the links.. I agree with Rich.. Sadly, most of those in trouble never should have bought in the first place.  This will be throwing good money after bad.  A lot of these owners are so far in debt they will never get out.  No matter what the gov't does  most of them will still wind up in foreclosure.  

I feel bad about your seller but  she made  some poor choices.  She never should have bought a home that required her to put down her life savings.  Taxes and expenses go up, people get sick. You need to have money set aside to cover those items.  If she didn't have enough money to buy the home and have enough left over for expenses she never should have purchased. 

We can't rescue everyone who makes poor choices and that's what this bill will do.  Consumers need to start owning their own mistakes instead of expecting the tax payer to cover them.  I've been underwater in the value of my home but I paid the payments and never thought it was the government's responsibility to save me. 

I belive it's a step in the right direction.  There is a long way to go but every swing of the axe takes a piece of the mighty oak.  As for loan mods, my main objective daily is to help cleints in need.  If this is the best option for them then I'm glad to have it handy.

Wow...this is way too controversal for me to even pretend I'm an expert or on either side. At any rate, it is certainly informative to read what you've written and then to read all the comments.

As a real estate professor and practitioner, I suppose I should get off the fence, but I still remain torn...who does the real responsibility rest with? I just can't say. What I can say is that whatever it takes to get this market and our economy back in shape, with as little backlash to the innocent, would be a good thing.

Thanks,

TD

Sorry but I have to agree with Rich, I don't think any one held a gun to people to make them buy these houses and pay what they did.  That is how we operate in the Good Ole US of A.  We take chances, we buy / invest and hope we make the right decisions.  I didn't hear all those people trying to donate money when they were doubling their investments in the CA and FL markets before the bubble burst.  So I don't think they should run crying to Uncle Sam now that is has burst.  I've had many customers moving back from CA talking how great they did and how much money they made on their one or two year investment.  It didn't take a rocket scientist to see the market was climbing faster and getting out of hand. They also mentioned a study on Fox News how all this trouble is basically limited to just five states, so are the other 45 states suppose to suffer when we were watching our p's and q's and not enjoying the hi-life?

I have been doing them successfully since Nov. 07 in Western CT. These are working families with children for primary residences only, not speculators, and it has nothing to do with being upside down or not. It's one possible solution to an income problem. At best it's a temporary band aid that will help for a few years, usually 5, to make it through an income reduction while there is no work for the contractors, plumbers, etc. If their income takes longer than that to come back another solution will have to be found such as a short sale.

The few that I have time to do have worked out, and I believe it will get easier now.

Bryant - I don't know if I would specifically want to do loan mods myself, but I applaud any effort to help homeowners keep their homes.  Three of my best friends (one in Austin, two in other markets) lost their homes in 2008.

Bryant- You know I can be pesky! I am not shy at all in saying that the so called Obama loan mod program is not going to help the people that need help, I mean, really need help. This is all a smokescreen to pacify those of us who say the white house has to deal with the housing crisis. They have no intention on helping the housing crisis. They want the housing crisis, it is NOT about helping, it is about POWER. THey are using this crisis to usher in socialism as fast as they can. Keeping our focus on how bad things are, how bad the evil banks are , how bad it all is so they can rush bills in that we don't know about. Divert our attention while congress passes all kinds of pork and worse, attacks on our liberties, all going on right now under our noses.

The loan mods don't help many people in Florida. Lenn and I had this discussion the other day. Over 50% of those that get loan mods, end up in foreclosure 6 months later anyways.105% down here is just not going to do the trick! And most people are so far off the mark on income that even with a write down of principle it will never  be low enough for them to afford their home. They never should have had that home in the first place. But they did, so now they have to deal with the consequences.

The lady you are helping, I feel bad for her. But there were people like her in the 80's recession. They lost their homes too. There was no one there to bail them out. Why is this time any different than any other recession? I feel bad for those who are really down on their luck, but for them, a loan mod is not going to help.

Those are the people who go to United Way, churches and other charities to get help, not the taxpayers, not the government. But now that the white house wants to tax more of our charity donations, well, again, it is all about power. THey say they know better how to help people than charities do.

For those that lose their jobs or get sick and can't pay their bills, our church welfare program will provide them with food and pay their bills. They will not give them money. You bring in your electric bill and the bill gets paid directly to the fpl. The same with your house payment or rent. Of course, this is only temporary. We contribute to the welfare program so that there will be money there in times of need. This is the true nature of charity.

I agree with Rich in most of what he says. He is right. You know, down here, the spanish speaking people rarely lose their homes, all the family members will move in and pool the money together and get the loan mod but they will stay in their homes. They will work 5 jobs if they have to. They will scrub floors if they have to. They deserve to stay. Studies show that the lowest rate of foreclosures in the country are Asians.

On the other hand we drive up to many a home around here with SUV's in the driveways, flat screen tvs, all kinds of toys, and find out they used that home as an ATM machine. They showed they were not good stewards over their home and do not deserve to keep it.We even know people who took a million dollars out on a refi on their house, and quit their jobs, and lived on their million dollars until it ran out. Then they stopped making their payments.

Maryanne- The banks made is possible for consumers to get those loans, yes, but the consumer can learn to do math. I had to get a stated income loan for my house because I am in real estate and it is my only income and I am self employed. But I bought a house I could afford in good and bad times.  When you make 35K you know in your heart of hearts you don't buy a home that is 1 million dollars! People need to stop blaming others for their decisions. Live within your means and don't go after the Jones. We are taught at our church to pay your house off, don't go into debt on credit cards and cars, etc,  and live within your means. Wise and sage advice that has been with us for over 2000 years. Katerina

I wonder if you need a mortgage broker license or attorney license to do mortgage modifications in Florida?  If you don't need one of those licenses and it isn't too much work for the pay, I say go for it.  One more tool in the toolbox is a good thing.

Hi Broker Bryant...

Thanks so much for putting this out there.  In our area it will definitely help.  NY has had a lot of unemployment.  Many are underemployed.  Quite a few are going to be in trouble through no fault of their own. This will DEFINITELY help people like this.   In the long haul, that's who we should be helping.   We are luckier than some other areas in that not too many people are going to be more tha 105% over their loan amount. Don't get me wrong, it exists, but not the extent that Florida has hit. In areas where values have been crushed, that caveat may make this program less effective.

I would like to see how they will evaluate loan mods for clients whose credit ratings have gone in the toilet because they made the choice to pay their mortgage and use a debt relief agency to settle their credit cards for less than they owed. These people's credit ratings are in the can now and couldn't qualify for anything on a traditional formule - reduced rates or no...

Where to start....I'd like to thank everyone who's contributed to this blog, I've enjoyed reading all the comments.

1st: I'd like to see some numbers on how many of the loan mod's done in the past 12 months are back in foreclosure.  I've heard the numbers are bad...(something to the effect of 60% fail in the first 60 days)...don't hold me to that number it's hear-say but I'll try and find something published and write again or maybe Charles the loan mod guy can help with some data.

2nd: Bryant, You mentioned in the original post "It's also designed to lower foreclosures and give lenders incentives to do short sales or deeds in lieu of foreclosure. And that's a good thing."  Exactly who is that a good thing for?  It's a good thing for the agent that get's the listing seller or the bank that owns the deed in lieu, if you ask me.  Did you know that lenders/servicing charge back the deficiency balances on short sales deeds in lieu to the seller?  That's not a good thing.  Did you know that credit scoring models and lenders treat this deficiency balance just like a foreclosure, for future lending purposes?  That's not a good thing.  The home's market value is the home's market value, up down good or bad, bank owned or HUD owned.  If you ask me short sells are not a good thing.

3rd:  For Maryann the Reverse Mortgage Lady that said: "The matter of the fact is that the mortgage bankers, and wall street were making money."  There were probably some realtor and builder commissions made on all those bad "lier loans"(mis-spelled liar) as well.  Not to mention it was good old Bill Clinton that suggested lowering lending restrictions to spark real estate appreciation back in the late 90's.  I remember a certian Wall Street Journal Article - I'll dig this up and post it later too.

I don't think there is an end all be all answer.  There are exceptions and everyone does deserve a chance.  It's the 3rd, 4th, and 5th chances that both me.

PS: Yes God Bless America Maryann - and as American's we should all take a look in the mirror and remember the sacrifices generations of American's have had to make to give us the world we live in (where a lot of stuff is free and even more people take our liberties for granted than ever before).  Then learn to take some responsibility for ourselves! 

PSS:By the way I forgot to mention...Gita and JD are exactly right - the start should be employment!  Nothing works if the people don't have a job.

Love me or hate me...still writing loans, buying and selling houses in Texas and Feb 2009 was our biggest month since Nov 2006 - ROB SPRING

BB - sometimes it's a catch 22 - up until now banks wouldn't talk to owners unless they were behind on their mortgages; now they have to be current. Who do you listen to?

Crams downs (changing the mortgage terms) could result in higher interest rates for all those getting mortgages in the future.

105% loans? Isnt that what got us into this fix?

  I personally think the loan mods should be left to the banks and attorneys...too many things can go wrong, and don't we, as Real Estate Agents have enough liability without adding to it?! 

I am old school - loan modifications are the next great scam.  If you bought the house for $200,00 or $800,000 and qualified for the loan at the time and now you can't afford the payment due to unforseen circumstances, join the club.  If you owe more on your house and now it is worth less than you paid - too bad so sad. Unless you need to sell, why should anyone help you get "out from under"?  I totally don't get it.  This is just a way for mortgage brokers and banks and scammers to make a quick buck, like in the fast market days when brojokers sucked people into 10%+ loans with the promise of - "in 2 years when your crdit is better I'll get you a deal on refinancing.." 

I'm going to have to spend some time learning about loan monds in the next little bit...  I won't be doing them myself, but the question is whether it is something I should tell people to pursue, or if it is a pipe dream...

I had 2 Loss Mit assignments in Jan where the lender strongly encouraged the home owner to move out and sell the home. They offered up to $10,000 to the home owner to cover moving expenses... I was like Holy Cow... and to top it off.. both had already moved.... No $10,000

Hi Bryant

I am a Notary Public in California. I have done some loan modification closings and I'm certain there will be more very soon.

I believe the criterion for actually being approved for a loan modification are rigid. That may not have been the case in the past but with the new Recovery Act and huge Bailout program, the banks are under more scrutiny. Unfortunately, a lot of dishonest people are getting greedy and offering loan mods for huge up-front fees. It's not right to further deplete a person's bank account to "bail" them out unless there is a money-back guarantee.

Luckily, more restrictions on "who" can receive the loan modification should cut out some of the obvious borrowers from getting money for their irresponsible behavior regarding loans.

Bryant,

So, I'll participate with my 2cents...

Sharon makes a good note regarding the cramdowns except that there is opposition to the judges having this power in bankruptcy situations...personally, I think it will pass. 

The part about agents actually doing the loan modifications doesn't feel right...especially if they are doing them just to pick up the fallout listings.  Surely, the hourly wage of making thousands of hours of phone calls in a month for $250 is not much incentive or very interesting. 

Now, the news about the 2nd lien holder portion of the Plan is quite interesting and could be the best part of all.  Could the "buy-in" (aka bailout) plan which includes incentives to extinguish second liens in order to reduce homeowner payments to less than 38% of gross income be for real???  Hmmm...they said no nationalization.

Bottom line...the new Homeownership Centers should handle the loan modifications.  That's their responsibility and they are already being paid to do this.  All banks will follow the Chase model since they now have run out of options.  The loan modifications and short sales should become quite efficient since the banks are running out of time, not because they want to help.  The shareholders have ruled!

Off topic...at 65% off peak, you are leading the country to the end of the recession!  We'll all be listening for you to call the end of the cycle.

Best wishes!  

Ruthmarie: How is any of the MHA plan going to help the unemployed? If you don't have a job, you can't pay our mortgage, you won't qualify for a refi because you have to financially qualify for it and you can't qualify for the loan mod because you have to be employed.

We have to face the realty that this is a giant mess than can not be fixed shortly.  These are minor fixes that will get a tiny bit a movement.  A tiny bit CAN start a modest movement.  A modest movement is better than no movement.  It would be foolish to put substantially higher percentages, as it would likely be a delayed fixed and homeowner would bail at some point any way.

We are talking about years to get this fixed, not months.  It is what it is and it is our job to tell the reality to our clients, both sellers and buyers.  We saw this in Austin earlier this decade and we go ZERO bailout and we survived.  Those that bought in 2000 still have not recovered their equity.  There is alot of equity that will not come back for many, many years, and very few are realizing the reality of this.  This is survival time and we have to be very firm with our sellers and tell our buyer that this is the greatest time that we may see in our lives to buy.

What does the contract say?  Oh, it does not matter!  It will be changed by the government by Regulation if it does not work.  LOL

This is something that I have mixed feelings on.  It could help certain markets improve but it is allowing a lot of borrowers to get off the hook for a lot of money that they agreed to pay.  I am not upside down but I want the lender to take a cool 80K off of my loan that I agreed pay and from the start I knew that the real estate market changes so there may be some risk involved.  I will make a lot of people take a lot for many things granted.  I would like to see these folks stay in there home I just wish there was a different way.

I doubt I would handle the loan modifications myself.  I hope they help folks in the long run.

  What I'm not getting from some of these comments is the negative attitude towards homeowners that bought their homes, only to watch them lose what they have worked for all of their lives.  True, this has happened in the past.  Honestly, how many of us thought the housing crisis would or could be THIS bad?  I, as many did, felt it would crash in CA, areas of Florida, etc., that had skyrocketing prices.  You know, the so called "Bubble" areas that we have all heard about crashing, for the past few years.   Never did it occur to me that homes in Poinciana Florida would end up in the crapper, let alone many of the other cities that have been hit hard.  I feel for the homeowners that have worked their butts off to buy a home, only to watch it all disappear.  Don't get me wrong.  I have little pity for the speculators that played Russian roulette by buying, flipping, etc. out of pure greed.  That is a completely different story.   This poor woman could be our mother, grandmother, etc.  Let's show some compassion for our fellow man.  I don't have the answers.  I only have compassion and that isn't going to fix a damn thing for this poor woman.  My heart breaks for her.

Thanks for the info Bryant -- I think you summarized it well.

I honestly don't know how to remedy the current real estate climate. I rely on a couple of Rainers to keep me educated. I found Lenn Harley's response pretty interesting. She's one of the bloggers are rely on the most. She really has her finger on the pulse of all things financial.

BB, What a whirlwind of controversy. I have to agree that "it does seem to be geared towards helping people stay in their homes."  The main problem is the lack of credit, close on the heels is the giant problem of unemployment. Prez Obama is trying to stop the downward spiral of dropping house values that have been so impacted by the rapid increase of foreclosures. It's a triple whammy. I hope that the plan works. America needs this. I do not do loan mods. I refer to a mod company that refunds the fee if they are not successful.

To Bryant: I don't get what you wrote. You wrote that short sales will keep people in their homes. Gosh, I thought it was a sale, where the owner has to vacate.

To Charles: Your batting average is the lowest I have ever seen. 50%? Does that mean all these clients of yours paid a fee and they still lost their homes? No wonder the loan mod business has a bad name.

To others: The only way to be assured of a good service and get a high batting average of successful loan modifications is to have a skilled and seasoned attorney do the forensic loan doc audits, the negotiating, and know how to do the "Where's the note? (which are misplaced or lost more often than not. Lenders must produce the original promissory note).  

I agree with a lot of what Lenn says.  I wish the money that went to the banks could've benefited the consumer directly just a bit more.

I'm not sure this is going to help anything.

BB,

     I am with Lenn on this one.  Where is all the restrictions on the banks?  Oh, they must have missed the part about handing out huge bonuses and spa weekends.

We'll have the loan on our own home modified if possible to allow us to keep making payments.

In my opinion, I would have helped the economy more if every homeowner would have received $200,000 to apply towards their loan. Bring it current, pay it off, whatever. Another $50,000 to stimulate the economy! Buy a new car, fix your old one, make home improvements, whatever!

LENN -

"Who is deserving???  Anyone whose property value has declined in the past 5 years.  We are all victims of the perfidy of the Wall Street gangs."

We are not all victims.  Quit thinking like that.  No one MADE you buy your house.  The bank offered to lend you money to purchase a home, and you agreed to pay it back.  There was no inference that the asset would appreciate.  If you stay there and pay off your loan, you have a paid for house and it's worth something.

People need to quit whining like it's someone else's fault.  It's called accountability, and no one should be exempt from that.

Bryant & All Active Rain Members, None of these programs have worked for my past clients who might be in trouble. What do you recommend for a homeowner who lost his Govt contracting job 9 months ago and down to his last 2months of mortgage payments in savings. He liquidated his 401K and has alredy gone through it. He took a part time job at $7.00 per hr even though he's used to making 70K. He's never missed a payment on anything and has a 792 credit score. All he's asking for is to have 3 to 6 months of his payment put on the back end of the loan. The bank asked him to fill out a Loss mitigation package for review. He was turned down because his income wasn't sufficient for his debts??? Of course his debt to income ratio is high he's working a $7.00 part time job while he looks for a full time job. By the way the only debt he has is his mortgage and a couple of small credit cards. One of the so called mortgage savers companies told him to start missing payments but if he does that he won't be able to get a security clearance which is needed for his line of work. Help!!

Interesting...

We actually know NOTHING about what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to politics. We can't possibly know what lies in the heart of another person. Not to mention being clueless when it comes to their intent. We just presume to know and then call it fact when sharing our opinions. That scares me :)

TLW...ROAR!

BB, thanks for spelling some of the guidelines out. I have heard that if an owners loan rate dropped to 2% some folks still wouldn't be able to afford their home. Well, that means you have to get out. Where is the $1500 supposed to come from for the moving incentive? My wallet is bleeding already so it won't be me.

David - welcome to the real world dude!  We are all in the same boat MOL. As I've said my wallet is bleeding and we're down to the last 1/2 pint.  Not much left as I'm in the intensive care unit now!

NO!!

People like me who are fulfilling our obligations are paying for those who don't. My mortgage is current after a tough refinance- I also drive a nine year old car and watch a twelve year old TV (when I have the time). I would love to buy a nice new boat but don't have the cash right now.

Meanwhile, as a Realtor, I go to list short sales because the owners can't pay their mortgage. All the owners DO have brand new cars, 60" TV's, new boats, RV's and other toys.

This plan, like all of his other plans, is bad news. Once again we reward failure and punish success, thereby increasing failure and ensuring no success.

And President Obama wants me to foot the bill for this. NO!!

I would love to see the banks actually start to work with people to either move or stay in their homes. The foreclosures don't help anyone and most of those homes are destroyed because the owners are so upset by the time the foreclosure finally happens.

BB,

Thanks for providing the information.  Hopefully programs like this will stem the tide of foreclosures.

I know of several homeowners who are just a few hundred dollars a month from affording their homes.

Ray Levy