What's the best solution to the foreclosure crisis?

Tammy, the resort is expensive, yes, but the problem is more one of Secret Service and prior administrations. Residences need vetted for security. Vetting takes money- often quite a bit more than the savings you'd get going somewhere else, so you stay in places that have already been cleared and are already familiar with the Secret Service... places used by prior administrations (given how new Obama's is)

Then Obama shouldn't even be at any resort. For goodness sakes, my tax money is being used already to maintain a fantastic residence (The White House.)

Isn't that good enough for any President? Why can't Obama vacation at Camp David? Why can't Obama NOT take a vacation for 4 years and work over the weekend (like millions of Americans.)

Obama isn't going to walk the talk is he? NO, he's just like every other president, spending my tax money like water!

I thought Obama was all about change. Nothing has changed. NOTHING.

I did not vote for Obama, for he was trained by the best - his roommates in college were of Middle Eastern decent and he has been groomed year after year after year to do exactly what he is doing ----turning our country into a Socialist country. Are you really surprised or did you not do your homework? In the past week, he has flown to Florida, Colorado and Arizona. Don't they have cameras in DC to do his press conferences? Don't they have pens in DC so he can sign the biggest give away program with over $500 Billion in pork products. So glad ya'all voted him in to spend millions in Los Angeles to protect a specific mouse. You are such upstanding, learned citizens. Shame! Shame! Shame! Obama warned you he was about change and you did nothing about it. Now we all pay the price.

And the trip on Air Force One to Il for Valentines? Sure they've all done it but it needs to stop with the one who promised change don't you think? Unless of course he paid the fuel bill.

Give me a break, and get off your high horse.... Come one people.... He is the President of the United States of America, do you really expect him to stay at Motel 6? There are so many reasons that most people can't understand but are quick to point out their perceived flaws... You all act like you wouldn't do the same... Please...

Jeff

Best words used. "Practice what you preach." As far as the foreclosures? I'll post what I posted yesterday.

Banks should take back the mortgage and keep the homeowners in them, and charge them ample rent, until the homeowners get back on their financial footing. Then mortgage them back to the homeowner at a 30 yr fixed rate, at the current market value. If the homeowners pay the rent on time, they get the deal. If they are unable to keep up on the rent, the foreclosure goes through because they can't afford the house in the first place. This is fair to everyone, including the banks and government and wouldn't cost anyone a dime. the bank, collecting rent, has money coming in and it would weed down the foreclosures to what is a normal amount for banks to contend with. It will also prove WHO can handle a mortgage.

Yeah, right, head right on down to your local hotel with high security risks. What a grand (as I spread the sarcasm) idea!

Every since this President has taken office, you people have taken the opportunity to bash him at every turn.  He seems to be trying to correct the mess the Republicans got us into. Some of the so called home owners have lost jobs and can no longer afford their homes.  Everyone is so critical of their fellor Americans on hard times.  Have you or would you in the past ask your president to say at a Holiday Inn, "NO"  He is the President of the United States and should stay some where safe for his protection.  You sound very stupid making such biased comments against your fellow Americans.

I think obama needs to tell michelle and the girls to get a party planned for the whole CREW to come thru!!! PARTY PARTY PARTY

really, I think that sometimes we just need to stop and .......have a get-together :)

i figured that made more sense to say seeing as EVERYTHING IS SO MESSED UP, PEOPLE - GOOD GRIEF!!! i surrender, man

*throws arms up*

You are just stupid

ahahahaha this is great. some people on here are comedy!

OH MR PRESIDENT..... I THOUGHT U'D WALK ON WATER.....WOE IS ME

please. get a clue. the country has done its'self in somewhat, but really, it's all sorts and circles of folks walking around doing their own, selfish, destructive acts to serve some out-of-wack purpose for something

sounds exactly like it is

we must all strive to examine ourselves first and foremost, for what others may or may not be involved in is the least of our concerns (or our business for that matter!) so rather than soliciting UR personal adVICES, kindly put ur own words into action. When u blame others and point ur finger, u have three fingers pointing back at U. food for thought.........eat up!

Tammie B?

You must be married David Duke.   I'm afraid it's true - girl.

My taxes are going up to pay for the bail out of people who shouldn't have gotten loans in the first place, but did thanks to Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

so what happens when I can no longer afford my home because Obama has taxed away all of my income, my retirement and my childrens' futures? China ain't buying any more debt from us.

You SUCK Obama!

What china is going to buy is....all of the real estate at below market value......Where will this leave Americans? Buying (or leasing) it back at outrageous prices later.

China already has scheduled group tours to do exactly that....buy cheap (foreclosed) real estate. doesn't anyone realize that this will give them!?

captain marvelous is right...what happens when i am taxed so much that i cant meet my financial obligations....please stop holding the government responsible(that only raises our taxes to pay for their "bailout". I would love to keep my families lifestyle or even better it....not pay for the average american idiots bailouts

begins from the top down and the man reflected not only in the mirror but to those he leads

Eight wonderful years of W?

Ya'll folks get any further to the right your going to be living in Europe!

My taxes are going up to pay for the bail out of people who shouldn't have gotten loans in the first place, but did thanks to Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

And you would suggest more for the rich? tax breaks for Oil?

Why do you call yourself Captain Marvelous?

It seems to be everyones elses fault but yours, Captain.................(?).

Maybe, Captain Bush?

Nobody's tax dollars are going to this, or any other, bailout in the near future. This is all deficit spending. People who buy treasury bonds are paying for this.

The funniest thing is the discussion was started with somebody complaining about the hotel the President is staying in. How remarkably ADHD do you have to be to focus on that rather than the SEVERE economic crisis we find ourselves in? Obviously, those worried about his hotel aren't being effected by the economic downturn.

Thanks for the sane response to an absurd posting, chas-894621. It is apparently so much easier for posters like Tammy B. to rant about the irrelevant and make sophomoric accusations than to understand the mess that Bush put this country into and understand how badly he broke it so we can start to fix it.

The posters failure to acknowledge you speak to the deeper issue - a profound partisan divide fueled by the Rupert Murdoch stranglehold on 40% of this country's media outlets.

And Murdoch is happy for Americans to "get used to a lower standard of living" as he called it over a year ago, since it lowers our wages to more closely match the global market and he gets even richer.

Get a clue, kids. We can't force adjustments in interest rates because no one knows who holds half of these mortgages now. They are bundled up into hundreds of thousands of financial instruments. The courts have already refused to take it on, anyway. We have to get the bad debt out of the market somehow.

You don't want to pay for it? Well, guess what. You already ARE paying for it! How much of your 401K did you lose? How far has the value of your home dropped?

And you can't put a blanket blame over the homeowners...how many were duped into buying ARMs because they were promised they would be able to refinance once they bought the house? How many can't pay now because they lost their jobs? How many can't sell because of the market? The deadbeats are in the small minority - I still rent, and I can deal with it. So, suck it up!

In addition to this mess, we are dealing with a national deficit that has doubled since 2001, increases to that deficit of $1 trillion a year from now on, the imminent collapse of our health care system, Bush-Cheney administration raids on the Social Security trust fund ($1 trillion!) that wiped it out and the potential for the US to default on its debt - the financial equivalent of a meteor hitting the planet. Don't take my word for it, read the US Treasury Financial Management Services report (12/13/2008) and look at some of their ten year charts.

For those of you who want to demonize Obama and make this his fault - wake t fu up! He has been in office a month. He is the only person on the planet who can possibly change what is starting to look like an inevitable global slide into anarchy. If you can't get behind him and support him, then get out of the way, because no matter what Fox News and Rupert Murdoch have to say about it, we are NOT going back to the ways that got us into this mess to begin with.

And no, it is not happening because of Clinton and the GSEs. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac worked fine for 40 years until the Republican Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act repealed the regulations in the Glass-Steagall Act that separated banking and investment institutions and protected us from irresponsible capitalist greed.

After we invaded Iraq, Osama bin Laden released a tape announcing that all al Qaeda had to do was sit back and watch the US implode. If you can't get behind our President, then you might as well get used to the fact that al Qaeda has completely succeeded in their quest to see this country destroyed.

Every word you just said is true.  I agree wholeheartedly.

GoneButNotForgotten: You make more sense than most folks in here. This should be mandatory reading for all!

I worked hard to make sure my credit was good enough to get a fixed 5.75% mortgage. Reset the mortgages to 4% for those of us with good payment history & equity, and 6-7% for those who are in bad loans.

I agree!  The honest people are getting the shaft while the low lifes get the gold mine.   Where's my mortgage relief?  Give the responsible hard working and retired people a new loan at a low government interest rate.

All,

Have any of you considered the person who has owned homes for ove 40 years and has negver been unemployed for more than 2 months in 40 years AND has NEVER MISSED a single mortgage payment? A person that was making good money (more than enough to afford his current residence)? A person, who through no fault of his own, was laid-off (from a 20 year job) and is over 56 and black, in this economy? And cannot even get a single interview in 6 months? I have even tried to get lesser jobs - no good - the employers feel (and rightly so), that I am not a "keeper". I am a career software developer. Who is going to hire a "Quintessential Job Seeker"?

My savings (over 6 months of living expenses) - gone.
My 401K is next.
Followed by credit cards - then what?

Luis

I am a homeowner and played by all the rules. I am a small business owner and played by all the rules. Now, I being told by this goverment, that to help out all the iresponsible dopes we all have to pay!!! And in the same breath we get slammed with bailing out GM and Chrysler. I never owned a Chrysler or a GM vehicle and never will as they are crap. GM and Chrysler made some real bad business decisions regarding the UAW and cannot be competitive in today's market. Let the market forces do what they do best and let things right themselves.

The money used to bail out AIG should have been given to the taxpayers and AIG allowed to go belly-up. That cash infusion to the public would have already got this economy humming!!

The banks knew better and should not have given most of the sub-prime loans in the first place. While the borrower does shoulder responsibility for getting themselves into this mess, they went to the "experts" who told them they could afford way more than reasonable. Likewise, because the banks messed up, they should be held liable as well as the homeowners.

It's a complex situation that seems to be over simplified much too often. If the borrower can afford the house with a reasonable interest rate, IMO the bank should be forced to renegotiate their mortgage for a lower rate. For those that bought way more house than they could afford, another solution, such as a short sale or foreclosure may be the only option. I also feel that banks should be forced to allow homeowners who have fallen behind catch up over time, instead of them not accepting any additional payments until the entire late amount is presented.

However, the greedy banks screwed over their stockholders as well as their customers. I found it interesting that lawmakers did nothing about this mess until the stockholders were loosing money. Had they put a stop to this when the customers were being misled, it never would've gotten this far. Which makes me wonder if this is now a class issue.

I totally agree. When you are distressed, you tighten your belt to get through it.. If the belt is tightened and you are unable to tighten it any more, you never will be able to afford the mortgage payment, even after help from the government. The biggest problem, I see, is the system they are putting in place is much like food stamps, welfare and the unemployment systems. They all want money, but the problem isn't they NEED more money. The problem is the systems have serious fraudulent leaks in them and need fixed. Pumping water into a pipe, with a leak, just loses the water and doesn't solve the problem.

This relief is LIMITED, folks. Here's the way to look at this--read about it first and then post. It's much more intelligent that way.

What about people who were responsible, but through no fault of their own have lost their jobs? There is only so much belt tightening you can do. Have a heart, people. You could be next.

What happens to those individuals who again default on this modified mortgage? (Not those who lost their job - that's an entirely different issue and my sympathy to those enduring that stress). But it's a never-ending cycle of rewarding bad behavior.......Welcome to America......

It's really easy to lump everyone into the "loser" category. But, from everything that is coming to light lately, it appears that a large portion of the bad loans are a result of predatory lending practices, as well. Those individuals who borrowed to the hilt to "flip" a property and got caught, then I'm sorry but that was always the risk. You knew it when you walked into it.

But, really, some folks aren't real bright (just read some of the posts here on Newsvine and you know what I mean) and they might not be able to smell a rat. The lending market went unchecked for several years passing out loans that didn't even require an income check. That alone should have been against the law. I'm a homeowner myself and seriously considered a refi that seemed to be too good to be true and I walked away. Too many people I know wouldn't have done so. It ain't illegal to be stupid, but it is illegal for the intelligent bankers to take advantage of them.

This used to be for opinions, sounds like a bunch of people venting! 8)

david:

Most people don't understand what's going on well enough to actually form reasonable opinions. I blame our media for that, but also our President. It is his responsibility to be educator-in-chief. The speeches on this would be spectacularly boring, but people need to understand the severity of the situation.

Odds are he's going to have to at least partially nationalize the banks at some point to force them to lend. We must avoid the very real possibility of massive risk taken by the public and any profit enjoyed solely by the corporations. The easiest way to get that to happen is temporary and (hopefully) partial nationalization. He better get the public educated on this possibility ASAP because if he doesn't, we are talking about a political firestorm that will benefit nobody.

OK, so some people borrowed more than they could afford, but what about good people that make their payments on time and have a 6.75% mortgage that was a good rate at the time they purchased? Now, they can't refinance to a better rate because their house won't appraise for enough due to the declining market. Why can't they be allowed to refinance WITHOUT an appraisal? If they are making their payments in a timely fashion, why can't THEY get a bail out that doesn't cost anyone anything? They already owe more than the house is worth, so what is the harm in giving them a better rate and allowing THEM to take advantage of the better interest rates? Gee, more money in the pockets of responsible people? Wonder what would happen to the economy? This isn't rocket science here folks!

cube3u, EXCELLENT advice!!! Too bad most of the people on the board and in the country won't take it.

I am with you brother. The folks who have shown responsibility and maintained a lifestyle consistent with their means are the ones getting screwed in this deal.

I agree -- my husband and I are 5 months shy of paying off our mortgage -- trying to save for retirement and with this market it doesn't look good. Instead of mortgage relief for irresponsible individuals, where is my "retirement" relief. Can I get the same help that people get on their mortgages but apply it to our retirement.

What happened to home ownership in the Great Depression -- did those homeowners get bailed out -- not according to my 84 year old mother! Their family lost everything and they didn't get any handouts.

If you can't afford the mortgage start renting.

I agree with you. Someone needs to tell Obama that the United States is not Disneyworld. Not all dreams come true. Just because a person dreams of owning a home does not mean that the rest of the country should be required to finance it. This is just another slap in the faces of those of us who work and pay our bills on time.

We don't always like where our tax dollars go. I don't like paying a trillion dollars for an unnecessary war, but I am.

Its so easy to point the finger of blame and say "its their fault." And yes, in some cases it is. But not all cases. There are many, many people who have been caught in the downward economic spiral through no fault of their own. I see nothing wrong with helping them, because as other posters here have pointed out, when there are a lot of foreclosures housing values fall. And yes, that could mean YOUR house.

Barbara, then lets help those people with extended unemployment benefits. But as a Southern California renter where home prices are still grossly overinflated (about 40% looking at the Case-Shiller indices), I find it a crime to use my hard earned tax dollars to subsidize a primary mortgage reduction for a greedy person, or ignorant person, who bought a home at a price they can't responsibly afford.

Not only are they using my money to give those "irresponsible" mortgage holders a retro-active discount on their homes (where is the $100k-$200k discount for me), but they are using my money to freeze me out of the housing market by propping up the overinflated prices and not allowing the free market to work and correct the 300% bubble.

I'm 62 and my wife of 32 yrs is 59. We paid off our 30 mortage 4 yr ago. A little over a year ago we took out a six figure construction loan and had a house built on 35 acres we've had for 30 years. We hope to sell our first place to help with the new house. I haven't been able to work because of health reasons for the last 25 years. We haven't even tried to get any financial help from the gov't. Obama is one of the many that were pushing for house loans to people who had no way to pay for them. Besides people buying houses just to re-sell, many builders went into dept building houses and condiminiums that either were never finished or never sold. Now we have a gov't that is being run by someone who the media, Hollywood, and Opra put in office. It won't be long untill we have to hand over the deed to the United States to it's communist lenders, that our gov't helped industrialize.

Hows you retirement package doing, Bill? Is there any left? Hows your return? You part of the Madoff thing or the scheme in Texas?

Yep, its been a free market, if you work for wall street or the banks.

The one good thing is I have stopped getting the constant calls about refinancing and the pre-approved s**t has all but stopped.

Thanks, righties.

8)

I haven't been able to work because of health reasons for the last 25 years.

And you were able to get a 6 figure loan??

Geezus. Point in question, answered.

8)

yeah, and no "lefties" invested in the greedy market? Just ask Pelosi, Reid, Frank and Obama about their home loan rates that were under market price when they got them. This problem was created by people of ALL political persuasions. When we stop pointing fingers, just maybe then we can get something done to turn this country around! We spend more time complaining about "who" did or didn't what then we do trying to address the problem. Hell, we even spend precious tax dollars and time chasing freaking steriod using athletes!! I mean, come on, the econmy is going down the toilet and we actually care about "boys" playing games unfairly???

I agree that we who continue to make our payments on our debts should not have our taxes used to bail out the stupid idiots who can not read documents or who are so dumbe they don't understand adjustable rates.

Good for you. Now, can we talk about reality? It is limited relief, with many strings attached. Read the proposal first. We have to get the bad debt out of the market and give help to people who no longer have the opportunity to work their a**es off thanks to the corporate greed that ruined our economy. You and I are going to pay one way or the other, either through a continued global financial disaster that will put us in a hole so deep we will never come out, or through this plan and the help that Obama offers.

Not everyone in trouble with their mortgage was greedy. You are lumping everyone into a group unfairly. Many were duped (see yesterday's article about the guy where twice his signature was forged on loan documents), and many are in their situation because they have lost their job(s) or due to sudden medical expenses or all of the above and more legitimate reasons. Not everyone was greedy, but those who were deserve nothing but foreclosure.

My husband and I built our own house in 2007. The bank said they would give us 200,000.00 dollars. I was responsible, did the math, no flippin way! We could not have bought groceries. The bank was wrong, I was smart. We did not borrow more than what we could afford if my husband were to loose his job. BAM, laid off. We struggle but we still have our house. Now I have to help the people who were not smart enough to pull out a calculator, plan for the future and that have a home way nicer than the one I have! Bull#$&*!

Plain Sense. I somewhat disagree with your statement. Then guy who had his signatures forged is not in the category needing money to help. If that is his REAL problem, why is he in a house? And if he is, why does he not get a real estate lawyer to help him instead of the government. That situation has a lot of holes in it. Sorry.

pattyo We aren't talking about President Bush here. We are talking about a President that is preaching one thing and doing another. If you think that is good government, then you simply don't understand.

If.. and really if.. people were duped and some one forged a name on documents or things were done with a mortgage that were shady and people new nothing about it, then maybe i feel sorry for them and something should be done. But.. most are people that get into a home that is way too expensive and now the bills have piled up... doesnt matter how, medical bills, lost jobs, whatever. Should have thought about those things before they purchased their home. My gosh, i think about those things before i buy a car... for a 6 year loan.. much less a home that i may have to pay for for 30 years.

All UAW workers who have big houses they can't afford have truly hit the welfare jackpot. Their pensions are guaranteed (via my tax dollars), their health care is guaranteed (via my tax dollars) and their big houses will be paid for by me (via my tax dollars.)

Could someone just tell me why UAW workers are so special? Just curious.

Good grief people............give this president a break. Is he supposed to stay in a 6 Motel and fly commercial? Where were you people when Bush was commutting to his Texas ranch on a regular basis. This man is trying to solve a boat load of problems he inherited from the last administration. Either we all stand behind him or we will all go down the tubes. He is trying to help us.

Security, security, security. Duh. That plane is secure and ALL presidents, current and former who are living still, require the best security we can provide. Even so, in spite of our best efforts in the past we still have managed to lose a few to assassins. Not providing for the security of the President is just not acceptable. Period.

And, as for flying around the country to do his job, I like that he's showing us he's not all about Washington. Past presidents (and other public officials) seem to have lost themselves, and lost touch with the reality of their constituency, by confining themselves to that scene. I say, keep moving around the country and know who and what you are governing!

JohnRiley: How can you even compare the two? Obama, like it or not, is President. He benefits from AirForceOne just like all Presidents before him. On the other hand, the Big3 CEO's flew to Washington, in those luxuriously appointed private jets, with their fat greedy hands out for Taxpayer money since they mishandled what they had. They have been making money hand over fist on car sales for years. Competition is fierce with all the foreign cars on the market. Maybe they should learn to get lean and mean.

you people are really shortsighted and don't know how the economy works if you can't see how allowing all of these houses to go into foreclosure will impact the economy including housing values (yes, your house) and the availability of credit.

Barbara, all of these houses AREN"T going into foreclosure. And so what if they do? I can buy one at a good price!

Whenever there is a problem, the best way to fix it is to go back to the root of the problem. When President Clinton told Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac they needed to start approving mortgages for people with lower incomes and lower credit scores, why didn't the CEO tell President Clinton it was a very bad idea and it would damage the economy in years to come? Every CEO that deals with the President can say NO. There is no such thing as "NO Prison" The problem lies in the fact that the CEO gained something for what he did. saying "Yes Mr President." He was appointed to President Clinton's Cabinet. So, What I am saying, Go back to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and let them pay for the mistake. If they are unable to correct their mistake, do away with them. After all, when you make a mistake, who pays?

Leave it to a Repub to keep this crap flowing. Banks were redlining neighborhoods. Some banks in the south wouldn't approve a black family that wanted (AND could afford) to move into a white neighborhood. FHA loans were introduced for people who could afford payments, but couldn't come up with the 20%. I have an FHA, so I do know. I STILL had to prove income, I had to prove that I could afford the monthly payments. I only put 5% down. FIND the specific statute that demanded that loans were made to people with no income or illegals. It doesn't exist. There was no provision for people that couldn't afford the payments. The law was introduced to provide for anyone that COULD afford it wouldn't be turned away. Try reading something other then Rush or Fox for a change.

Thank God that we are not dependent on on whiners like PKLINKE to help us out of this mess. Where, in all your ranting, is your suggested solution to the problem. You say "The only thing I've seen is an unquenchable arrogance and hypocrisy to match". Please throw your redneck tantrums in the privacy of your own asylum.

You seem to ignore the fact that this problem started during the republicans tour of duty. Paulson, who used to be part of Wall Street, and the Bush administration are the ones who pumped fear into everyone. The bailouts and rescue packages started before Obama and have not been handled very well and have not been successful. Stop with the republican penchant for blaming democrats for problems created by republicans. The republican congressional and senate representativesare that have suddenly discovered the word no are at the root of our current problems.

In 2001 Bush was handed a 5.6 trillion budget surplus. At the end of 2008 over 6 trillion dollars were added to the national debt with deficits and some of the bailout money already appropriated. Any additional bailout money will be because of the policies of republicans.

And the last point is, stop wining about your hard earned dollars being spent on bailouts. Your money is not being spent, it's future generations money being spent. we are not even paying for Iraq with our money.

My wife and I are both Republicans that voted for President Obama. We can no longer agree with his method of changes he promised. We put a lot of thought in voting for him and the change that was needed, but it appears he is showing his inexperience in spending "True Americans" money. We voted, the way we did, because we are financially secure and no President will alter our lifestyle of living, as the economy won't. We, thought, we were making the right decision at the time. We won't make that mistake again. I was a Democrat when Carter was President and owned a business. My employee quarterly tax jumped from $345 per quarter to over $1400 per quarter with the same number of employees I always had. President Obama is sitting himself up for failure, but I see the media protecting him, but it will be what is called a "media bubble" It will burst as the real estate bubble burst. It can only continue for so long. Inexperience always shows, no matter who it is or what the job is. Everyone knows that, especially the inexperienced person. Sorry to say we voted for him. Too late now. Our stupid mistake.

Then next time don't vots. You people make me sick. You think that America is your America. It is all of ours. This President has been in office for less than 30 days and has tried to make changes to get people on the right track. You are all unappreciative and probably you sorry you lost your savings on the Rebublican watch. Give this man a chance. My predication is that a lot of you will have to pull that foot out of your mouths when relief comes for us all based on the correct decisions the president is trying to make.

markeeta; you are sick , it was a repub pres. with a demo congress. your fever must be clouding your mind,for anyone to think a solution to this could be had in 30 days is insane

Ah, Markeetta...it is easy to see that you are currently, or will be soon, a recipient of the redistribution of wealth that President Obama so eloquently stated was a policy agenda of his. The stimulus plan is filled with redistributing the wealth plans. Send the money to those places supported by his biggest campaign contributors and democratic brothers & sisters. Send the money to cities for Urban renewal, so inner city African American youth can decorate it with beautiful artwork. The foreclosure bailout is another distribution of wealth plan that will assist those who can't afford their homes. It is not for all homeowners with poor mortgages, only those who are financed through Freddie and Fannie...hmm...wasn't the CEO's of these companies big campaign supporters of the President? What about those financed through other companies? Sorry, not much help here, if you were capable of getting a mortgage through another source then you weren't poor, downtroddened, and ignorant and your wealth is needed to complete the redistribution. I am sure that I will be labeled racist, as that is always the comment when the truth is laid out, but the truth is that Obama hates white people and he is redistributioning our wealth to those who were never given their 40 acres and a mule.

I agree 100%.

My husband and myself have also been in the same house for nearly 15 years and have paid our mortgage on time but we now have 2 to 3 homes in the area that are in foreclosure and have brought the value of other homes in the neighborhood down. Our area is no where near as devasted as other parts of the country. I believe that not all the homeowners were greedy, but were taken advantage of by so-called loan originators (salesmen) who were feeding a neverending need for new "mortgages" to package & sell on the open market. Somehow regulation was lax and documentation that was previously required to prove something as simple as income was no longer needed to approve any and all homeowners who were either buying or refinancing. I continue to believe that some but not all the people who are now in trouble were greedy - maybe naive.

we agree with you... What do you think about renting the home you live in , when you can,t afford a mortgage,or having a mortgage company, finding another foreclosure that you can afford,Making one foreclosure,instead of two...Trading one for another....

A year ago the homes in your neighborhood were overpriced. If those houses were purchased prior to the "boom" the owners might actually have some equity. If not, that "equity" was simply a "paper asset" based on speculative valuation.

prices are now matching what they were some 10 years ago. There is very little equity left in many of these homes. The ones bought during the boom are hopelessly negative.

What I am going to do is what a lot of financial secure people do in times likes these. Purchase more properties, because we can afford it, and the market values will go up agian. It's no different than buying gold. You wait for the price to drop then buy. I know you can buy properties for pennies on the dollar right now. We have bids on an apartment complex and 3 other homes right now. This has always been going on and it always will. Out of the new economy landscape forming, there will become some real estate moguls and I hope I am there. After all, We lived the way you were suppose to live. Within your means.

You are sooooo right dc. Congratulations on being smart. I appreciate common sense.