Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

I am not liking this plan very much at all either. First I dont like it because once again money is being given to the mortgage companies, which in my opinion will not help the middle class at all. I do not think that the mortgage companies are going to do a very good job with handling the money given to them and I do not think its going to make them cut back very much on foreclosures.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

I don't find his plan perfect, but I am with Ophelia on many points. If nothing is done, then the problem becomes worse for everyone. Let's say you were responsible and took on a mortgage you could afford. But some of your neighbors listened to the banks and took out as much money as possible. Some of your neighbors lost their jobs and can't pay their bills now, eventhough they could pay their mortgage previously. So right now, they would go into foreclosure, and their homes would be sold at a pittance, dragging down the values in your area. Then what happens to you if you want to sell or have to sell? You don't get the value you could have for your home.

If you want to point fingers, the banks are really to blame. When DH and I got our prequalification about two years ago, we were amazed how much money banks were willing to loan us--if we listened to them, we would have had almost no money left with our net income. Why mortgages are based on gross income makes no sense to me either--no landlord I ever rented from looked at my gross to see if I could pay the rent. Always the net. But that's all too late.

I guess instead of criticizing this plan, I would like to hear more suggestions about what else can be done, particularly from members of Congress. I'm open to suggestions, and this plan is far from perfect IMO. But it is a plan. More than GWB ever tried to do.

Message edited 2/20/2009 1:25:29 PM.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Posted by beautyq115

Posted by longford73

I just want to know where is my "reward" for doing my research, understanding the terms of my mortgage and paying on time each month. It just doesn't seem fair sometimes that when you play by the rules you get screwed

You are absolutely right!!!!

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

I did not vote for him but I've been waiting to see if he could really bring about this wonderful change he has been preaching - so far he has been even worst than i expected - most of his plans are basically large scale welfare plans that will do little to fix the current economy AND he is heading in the direction of ruining CIti and BOA and towards nationalization of banks - obviously he didn't learn that its not just the wall street big wigs that suffer when these places fall.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

I am just saying that I think it need to be tweaked more. WHy give these big banks all that $ and then not mandate how they are to use it.

To give banks billions of dollars so that they will refinance existing loans -= IDK, I just think there is something more that can be done with that tremendous amount of money.

To spend hundreds of billions on a plan that will not even help majority of the people seems crazy to me. And even the people it does "help" by lowering their payments, think about it. If someone has 10 yrs left on their mortgage which has a $2000 mo payment, is it REALLY helping them in the long run to throw them into a 40 yr mortgage again, just so the monthly payment is lower right now?

Again, I just think that something more substantial can be thought upt o help the MAJORITY of the people - especially with hundreds of billions of dollars

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

the bottom line is that if you have been living w/ in your means and scrimping and saving and doing what is right, you get scr*wed.

let's all be lazy and not pay our mortgages and then the gov't will take care of us.

this country is turning into a welfare state!

our president is giving incentives to the states to have more people on welfare.



ETA:
the "let's be lazy..." comment was my attempt at sarcasm....
i am very angry about this "stimulus" bill, which does nothing to help the average tax paying person.

Message edited 2/20/2009 3:30:10 PM.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

I don't think that some people who fall into a rut is lazy and doesn't pay their bills. We all can fall in a rut at any given time we don't know what tomorrow brings. Alot of people are hardworking individuals who pay their bills and takes care of their responsibilities bt have fall on hard times.

Of course you have some who are irresponsible but I would not lump everybody in the category. It is very unfair to judge people that way.JMO

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Posted by cjik

Posted by beautyq115

Posted by longford73

I just want to know where is my "reward" for doing my research, understanding the terms of my mortgage and paying on time each month. It just doesn't seem fair sometimes that when you play by the rules you get screwed

You are absolutely right!!!!

How are you getting screwed? You have your house, and you are secure in it now right? That is your reward for doing your research.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Posted by Ophelia

Posted by Shroggie

Posted by freshstuff

Posted by Tilde

I was listening to NPR yesterday and the woman made an excellent point. She did her research and can afford her mortgage - would it make her feel better if the guy down the block was homeless with his three kids as "punishment" for taking on a mortgage he couldnt afford? Probably not. . .

so true.

i agree

of course. that is the problem. how long do we allow people to drown just to "punish" them.

I mean, the short answer is simple....if we do nothing and help no one, everyone's home value will suffer when foreclosures go through the roof (no pun intended) when the homeless population explodes, when the applications for medicaid and medicare increase exponentially.

these things are already happening. this plan is far from perfect...but how do you helps millions of people on a direct level?

we all pay for each others missteps in a myriad of ways...from car insurance to health insurance to social security to anything else that involves the individual effecting the whole.

I am so sick of the holier-than-thou I did the "right" thing bit. it is the WORST problem solving idea under the sun.

most people did what they thought was right and good at the time. most people trust institutions like banks, and people with authority. this has been proven with psychological testing up the wazoo.

I just pray that people's lives will be changed for the better b/c of this.

and am ever more grateful that thus far, our life decisions had left us on secure ground. that doesn't make us better than anyone else, it just makes us lucky.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Posted by snowbunny

Posted by Ophelia

Posted by Shroggie

Posted by freshstuff

Posted by Tilde

I was listening to NPR yesterday and the woman made an excellent point. She did her research and can afford her mortgage - would it make her feel better if the guy down the block was homeless with his three kids as "punishment" for taking on a mortgage he couldnt afford? Probably not. . .

so true.

i agree

of course. that is the problem. how long do we allow people to drown just to "punish" them.

I mean, the short answer is simple....if we do nothing and help no one, everyone's home value will suffer when foreclosures go through the roof (no pun intended) when the homeless population explodes, when the applications for medicaid and medicare increase exponentially.

these things are already happening. this plan is far from perfect...but how do you helps millions of people on a direct level?

we all pay for each others missteps in a myriad of ways...from car insurance to health insurance to social security to anything else that involves the individual effecting the whole.

I am so sick of the holier-than-thou I did the "right" thing bit. it is the WORST problem solving idea under the sun.

most people did what they thought was right and good at the time. most people trust institutions like banks, and people with authority. this has been proven with psychological testing up the wazoo.

I just pray that people's lives will be changed for the better b/c of this.

and am ever more grateful that thus far, our life decisions had left us on secure ground. that doesn't make us better than anyone else, it just makes us lucky.

Doing your research and making reasonable decisions is part of being a responsible adult.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Ladies and gents:

I made this post so we can have an educated discussion on the propsed plan and voice our opinions and concerns about the plan. PLEASE lets refrain from calling people lazy, morons, irresponsibe, etc.... As this can be the case with some, it is not the case with all, and God bless if the economy hasent effected you terribly, but keep in mind there are others out there who have lost their businesses due to the economy, and in turn are now struggling with their mortgages and other bills.

I understand some of the "harsher" feelings out there, and am sure we would all love to hear everyones opinions, but please just lets keep the aforementioned in mind and keep it "clean"

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Posted by 1stimemom

Ladies and gents:

I made this post so we can have an educated discussion on the propsed plan and voice our opinions and concerns about the plan. PLEASE lets refrain from calling people lazy, morons, irresponsibe, etc.... As this can be the case with some, it is not the case with all, and God bless if the economy hasent effected you terribly, but keep in mind there are others out there who have lost their businesses due to the economy, and in turn are now struggling with their mortgages and other bills.

I understand some of the "harsher" feelings out there, and am sure we would all love to hear everyones opinions, but please just lets keep the aforementioned in mind and keep it "clean"

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Posted by GaryElla

Posted by snowbunny

Posted by Ophelia

Posted by Shroggie

Posted by freshstuff

Posted by Tilde

I was listening to NPR yesterday and the woman made an excellent point. She did her research and can afford her mortgage - would it make her feel better if the guy down the block was homeless with his three kids as "punishment" for taking on a mortgage he couldnt afford? Probably not. . .

so true.

i agree

of course. that is the problem. how long do we allow people to drown just to "punish" them.

I mean, the short answer is simple....if we do nothing and help no one, everyone's home value will suffer when foreclosures go through the roof (no pun intended) when the homeless population explodes, when the applications for medicaid and medicare increase exponentially.

these things are already happening. this plan is far from perfect...but how do you helps millions of people on a direct level?

we all pay for each others missteps in a myriad of ways...from car insurance to health insurance to social security to anything else that involves the individual effecting the whole.

I am so sick of the holier-than-thou I did the "right" thing bit. it is the WORST problem solving idea under the sun.

most people did what they thought was right and good at the time. most people trust institutions like banks, and people with authority. this has been proven with psychological testing up the wazoo.

I just pray that people's lives will be changed for the better b/c of this.

and am ever more grateful that thus far, our life decisions had left us on secure ground. that doesn't make us better than anyone else, it just makes us lucky.

Doing your research and making reasonable decisions is part of being a responsible adult.

I am sure some of these people are responsible people who happen to fall on hard times.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

I agree although not everyone that is in trouble now bought houses they couldn't afford a vast majority did....the bottom line is if things were done the conservative way they used to be done...20% down on a home, no more than 30% of your income goes to your mortgage, and a savings account with enough funds to hold you over if something should happen....a guarantee you we would have alot less mess on our hands. But people wanted to jump on the bandwagon...lenders and borrowers. We cannot blind ourselves to the fact that people made stupid decisions. Simple math...if you make $50K a year you cannot afford a $450K house with 0 down...sorry.

Unfortunately now that this mess is unraveling we are all going to pay for it someway or the other. People are losing jobs, we will be taxed even more than we already are and sorry but thats not fair to the people that made the right choices and chose not to keep up with the Joneses.

At this point though something needs to be done to keep the situation from getting worse...although I don't think its fair that we all have to pay.

I hope that people learn from this but I think that the mentatility of so many Americans is want it now get it now even if you can't afford it...

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Posted by 1stimemom

Ladies and gents:

I made this post so we can have an educated discussion on the propsed plan and voice our opinions and concerns about the plan. PLEASE lets refrain from calling people lazy, morons, irresponsibe, etc.... As this can be the case with some, it is not the case with all, and God bless if the economy hasent effected you terribly, but keep in mind there are others out there who have lost their businesses due to the economy, and in turn are now struggling with their mortgages and other bills.

I understand some of the "harsher" feelings out there, and am sure we would all love to hear everyones opinions, but please just lets keep the aforementioned in mind and keep it "clean"

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Posted by snowbunny

Posted by GaryElla

Posted by snowbunny

Posted by Ophelia

Posted by Shroggie

Posted by freshstuff

Posted by Tilde

I was listening to NPR yesterday and the woman made an excellent point. She did her research and can afford her mortgage - would it make her feel better if the guy down the block was homeless with his three kids as "punishment" for taking on a mortgage he couldnt afford? Probably not. . .

so true.

i agree

of course. that is the problem. how long do we allow people to drown just to "punish" them.

I mean, the short answer is simple....if we do nothing and help no one, everyone's home value will suffer when foreclosures go through the roof (no pun intended) when the homeless population explodes, when the applications for medicaid and medicare increase exponentially.

these things are already happening. this plan is far from perfect...but how do you helps millions of people on a direct level?

we all pay for each others missteps in a myriad of ways...from car insurance to health insurance to social security to anything else that involves the individual effecting the whole.

I am so sick of the holier-than-thou I did the "right" thing bit. it is the WORST problem solving idea under the sun.

most people did what they thought was right and good at the time. most people trust institutions like banks, and people with authority. this has been proven with psychological testing up the wazoo.

I just pray that people's lives will be changed for the better b/c of this.

and am ever more grateful that thus far, our life decisions had left us on secure ground. that doesn't make us better than anyone else, it just makes us lucky.

Doing your research and making reasonable decisions is part of being a responsible adult.

I am sure some of these people are responsible people who happen to fall on hard times.

Part of life is being prepared for the hard times. This is why your debt shouldn't exceed a certain % of your income and we have savings accounts.

I bet the majority of the people that need help did something to put themselves in this situation.

My co-worker had to short sell his home and move into an apt, sucks when you use a home as a piggy bank for fancy vacations and a 150k wedding for your daughter.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Posted by snowbunny

Posted by Ophelia

Posted by Shroggie

Posted by freshstuff

Posted by Tilde

I was listening to NPR yesterday and the woman made an excellent point. She did her research and can afford her mortgage - would it make her feel better if the guy down the block was homeless with his three kids as "punishment" for taking on a mortgage he couldnt afford? Probably not. . .

so true.

i agree

of course. that is the problem. how long do we allow people to drown just to "punish" them.

I mean, the short answer is simple....if we do nothing and help no one, everyone's home value will suffer when foreclosures go through the roof (no pun intended) when the homeless population explodes, when the applications for medicaid and medicare increase exponentially.

these things are already happening. this plan is far from perfect...but how do you helps millions of people on a direct level?

we all pay for each others missteps in a myriad of ways...from car insurance to health insurance to social security to anything else that involves the individual effecting the whole.

I am so sick of the holier-than-thou I did the "right" thing bit. it is the WORST problem solving idea under the sun.

most people did what they thought was right and good at the time. most people trust institutions like banks, and people with authority. this has been proven with psychological testing up the wazoo.

I just pray that people's lives will be changed for the better b/c of this.

and am ever more grateful that thus far, our life decisions had left us on secure ground. that doesn't make us better than anyone else, it just makes us lucky.

Luck is finding $10 on the street.

Doing your research and making reasonable decisions is part of being a responsible adult.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

Posted by 1stimemom

Posted by snowbunny

Posted by Ophelia

Posted by Shroggie

Posted by freshstuff

Posted by Tilde

I was listening to NPR yesterday and the woman made an excellent point. She did her research and can afford her mortgage - would it make her feel better if the guy down the block was homeless with his three kids as "punishment" for taking on a mortgage he couldnt afford? Probably not. . .

so true.

i agree

of course. that is the problem. how long do we allow people to drown just to "punish" them.

I mean, the short answer is simple....if we do nothing and help no one, everyone's home value will suffer when foreclosures go through the roof (no pun intended) when the homeless population explodes, when the applications for medicaid and medicare increase exponentially.

these things are already happening. this plan is far from perfect...but how do you helps millions of people on a direct level?

we all pay for each others missteps in a myriad of ways...from car insurance to health insurance to social security to anything else that involves the individual effecting the whole.

I am so sick of the holier-than-thou I did the "right" thing bit. it is the WORST problem solving idea under the sun.

most people did what they thought was right and good at the time. most people trust institutions like banks, and people with authority. this has been proven with psychological testing up the wazoo.

I just pray that people's lives will be changed for the better b/c of this.

and am ever more grateful that thus far, our life decisions had left us on secure ground. that doesn't make us better than anyone else, it just makes us lucky.

Luck is finding $10 on the street.

Doing your research and making reasonable decisions is part of being a responsible adult.

NO - luck is keeping your job when others just as good as you or better are being laid off left and right and are now living off the $ they DID bust their butts to save so they can pay their mortgage.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

The real concern I have (although I have a lot of issues with this package) is that statisically over 50% of those in foreclosure now will re-enter default even with all the help being offered to them, short of removing any mortgage. So what does this really do for them? I think the package is short sighted and doesn't really address some of the fundamentals that will still be there regardless of how much money gets thrown at.

Another issue I have is that some of this package is intended to raise home prices which may be at the levels they should be now - not the inflated levels we have seen in the past years. I'm not so sure home prices aren't were they should be as of now.

Re: Obama's new "forclosure fix" plan

The way I read the plan is that it will help families that are current on their mortgage but there mortgage amount maybe more then what their house is worth right now. It will allow people to refinance. It will also help those behind on their mortgages or who have filed for bankruptcy. There are 4-5 different groups of people that it can help. I think some of the confusion comes from the fact that all teh details of the plan have not been disclosed and will not be disclosed until March 4th.

I think there are alot of fingers to point. There were mistakes made by both borrowers and banks and both sides saw lots of dollar signs. In yesterdays newsday there was a guy who bought a house for 234,000 and a bank appraised his house for over 400,000 in 2006 so he took most of his equity (not saying that was a smart idea) to do renovations and expand his business). Well since then is house has depreciated down to $250,000 and he is WAY upside down and his business has slowed. I think that this will attempt to help the average person and yes it won't help me in anyway but if it helps other in my town or county then in the long run it will help me.