Some are for the bailout, while others are very critical.
Hopefully there's good news for struggling homeowners fom President Barack Obama's new plan to try to stem the rapidly growing number of home foreclosures in this country. The plan of course does not help every homeowner in need but the plan is a very positive step in the right direction toward attempting to stabilize a rapidly declining real estate market.
There are millions of people all over this country who are losing their homes to the bank because they cannot afford the mortgage. There are over two million Americans whose homes have been foreclosed by lenders.
Earlier this year,
President Barack Obama presented his $275 billion mortgage rescue plan to attempt to help distressed homeowners. Many feel the American dream is being tested by this crisis that threatens the stability of our economy and the stability of families and neighborhoods, indeed the very fabric of this country.
The Presidents' plan could help over 9,000,000 homeowners. One group it will help is made up of homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than the house is currently worth. Another group are homeowners who can no longer afford the monthly mortgage payment due to ARM adjustments.
This year, approximately 1 in every 466 houses was already in some stage of distress. When bank owned foreclosures go on sale, they flood an already overly supplied real estate market. We need to reduce the number of homes reaching the market from bank foreclosures to help bring stabilization to home prices.
Among other things, there are eligibility limits to the new Presidents' plan, unfortunately, not every homeowner in trouble will be helped. There are still going to be millions of distressed homeowners that will foreclose. The fact that distressed homeowners facing foreclosure cannot go to court to declare bankruptcy and then change the terms of their mortgages is a topic that Congress is addressing and is actually considering rewriting the law so that the judicial system would have authority to work out a settlement with the bank to help homeowners stay in their homes.
Mortgage bankers nationwide oppose these changes stating that changes in the bankruptcy law could have expensive consequences. They feel investors might not be willing to buy US mortgages for fear that a judge may change the terms on them.
They feel giving judges the ability to change the value of home mortgages will force investers to require a higher price for mortgages going forward, or in a worse scenario, they will not make loans any longer.
Mortgages are often sold and resold to international investors, who will be unwilling to change the terms of a mortgage even when it's in everyones interests.
The Presidents new plan is limited to Americans who owner occupy their homes. 2nd homes, or investment properties are not covered by the new plan.
Many feel that some people will still be unable to pay their home mortgages, even after the terms are changed. They point out thaT OVER 20% of the people who had their mortgages modified last year were still behind in their payments.
Experts predict more than eight million foreclosures are expected in the years to come.
