Quoted from bumblethru

Ya know, this entire housing mess is out of control. First, the banks are ALLOWED to issue Subprime Mortgages. And the people are ALLOWED  to choose one. I'm sorry, but people have to be pretty stupid to NOT know that the interest rate will, in fact, go up eventually. I have an adjustable mortgage and have for 21 years. I KNEW that the interest rate would fluctuate. It was MY choice.  I know people who have a subprime mortgage and they were told many times by friends and family NOT to do it. But they CHOSE to. Now if we want to blame the government for our stupidity, go right ahead. They will just place more government oversite into our lives.

I like what shadow says....'you can't cure stupid'.

Ya know I am usually the first one to say 'you got what you deserve' and 'you can't cure stupid' but then I keep remembering when my husband and I bought our house.  We were kids and didn't have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of.  We ended up with a mortgage through the Farmers Home Admin. (now USRDA) with a 1% interest rate, the balance subsidized thru them.  We understood that as our income increased so would the interest rate.  We did NOT realize if we remortgaged we had to pay back the subsidized portion of the interest.  Think about 1981 rates went to 14 or 15% we remortgaged a few years later and had to pay back thousands in interest.  I have to imagine that even with disclosures etc., there were many who just didn't realize.  Those who did and were at their maximum monthly spending before any interest rate adjustment but ignored it then yeah, they got what they deserved.

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I like what shadow says....'you can't cure stupid'.

Yeah like the cell phone kid.......

We were kids too when we bought....but, we just laughed at the folks.....if it sounds too good to be true and that there are honest truth-tellers telling you the whole picture---then yup.....it is a farce.....

unless you have your own cash---dont use/take something that belongs to someone else otherwise they own ya......keep the leverage on your side....my parents taught me this.......even then there are theives,, just lurking......

Nah...after the liberal government sees that picture they will pass a law forbidding any male child under the age of 10 to hold a cell phone. And the parents won't be able to use one in the house where male children reside. Cell phone will come with a warning label on them. And all male children will never be allowed to take their diaper off while in the presence of a deadly cell phone.

I thought Planned Parenthood could use them in their 'counselling' sessions.....with a donated 'holey' condum thrown in......

Quoted from bumblethru

Nah...after the liberal government sees that picture they will pass a law forbidding any male child under the age of 10 to hold a cell phone. And the parents won't be able to use one in the house where male children reside. Cell phone will come with a warning label on them. And all male children will never be allowed to take their diaper off while in the presence of a deadly cell phone.

But then what do you do about the "diaper-free" kids?

I yet amazes me that these mortage problems exist today. Supposedly, we are a smarter generation. We have knowlege (man's knowlege) at our finger tips. Litterally the World Wide Web! We don't have to take the advice of just one person or idea any longer. There is a vast amount of information today. I agree Rene, that perhaps a few years ago, things weren't so readily available. But my God, we have 24/7 news on about a gazillion tv channels, satelite radio, Barnes and Noble in every municipality, free seminars at your local hotel, talk radio...it is endless. And yet we continue to blame everything and everyone else for our misfortunes. Don't get me wrong, there are clearly deceitful folks out there, but we know that too...so there should be no exscuse.

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Fed chief assures public
Bernanke, Bush promise action but no bailouts
BY JEANNINE AVERSA The Associated Press

   JACKSON, Wyo. — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke vowed Friday to do all that is necessary to protect the national economy from the ill effects of a global credit crunch — but not to bail out investors and lenders “from the consequences of their financial decisions.”
   President Bush confidently predicted the country would safely weather the financial storm.
   Friday’s comments, made in separate appearances by Bernanke here and the president in Washington, sought to send a reassuring but tough message: Fed policymakers and the Bush administration are on top of the situation that has unnerved investors on Wall Street and around the world and raised anxiety on Main Street, but they’ll act in the best interests of the economy.
   While Bush announced steps Friday to help home- owners struggling to make their mortgage payments, he made it clear that he has no interest in bailing out lenders, some of whom got cocky, took on too much risk and ended up with bad loans.
   “The government’s got a role to play, but it is limited,” Bush said at the White House. “A federal bailout of lenders would only encourage a recurrence of the problem.”
   In anxiously awaited remarks, Bernanke suggested that the Fed’s next move will be driven by economic considerations, not only in response to troubles of investors and lenders.
   “It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve — nor would it be appropriate — to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions,” Bernanke said. “But developments in financial markets can have broad economic effects felt by many outside the markets, and the Federal Reserve must take those effects into account when determining policy.”
   Still, many believe the odds are growing that the Fed will cut its most important interest rate, now at 5.25 percent, by at least a quarter of a percentage point on or before Sept. 18, its next regularly scheduled meeting. The Fed hasn’t lowered this rate in four years.
   The Fed “will act as needed to limit the adverse effects on the broader economy that may arise from the disruptions in financial markets,” Bernanke told an economics conference here.
   On Wall Street, stocks rose after Bernanke’s remarks. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 119 points Friday.
   The fear is that if credit continues to become harder for people and businesses to get, spending and investment will be crimped. That could hurt overall economic growth. In a worst-case scenario, the country could slide into a recession.
   Credit is the economy’s life blood. It enables people to finance big-ticket purchases such as homes and cars and can help businesses bankroll expansions and other things that can boost hiring.
   Bush predicted that the economy would get through the financial crisis and urged patience.
   “The markets are in a period of transition as participants reassess and re-price risk,” the president said. “This process has been unfolding for some time, and it’s going to take more time to fully play out. As it does, America’s overall economy will remain strong enough to weather any turbulence.”
   Before the financial crisis erupted, the economy had a full head of steam, growing at a robust pace of 4 percent in the April-to-June quarter. But growth is expected to slow to half that pace in the current quarter and lose more speed in the final quarter of this year.
   The unemployment rate, now at 4.6 percent, is expected to creep up to around 5 percent by the end of this year.

This problem IMHO is that Americans demand instant gratification.  Gone are the days when we would save for a future purchase.  I am guilty of this as are most who have a credit card in their wallet.  We are a materialistic culture who spend beyond our means.  Then, when we encounter financial difficulty, we look to blame others or we walk away from our commitment to pay.

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While Bush announced steps Friday to help home- owners struggling to make their mortgage payments, he made it clear that he has no interest in bailing out lenders, some of whom got cocky, took on too much risk and ended up with bad loans.

I am opposed to the federal government covering bad loans from private lenders.  I am also against the federal government "helping" homeowners to make their mortgage payments as proposed yesterday by our President.  I question whether he is truly a fiscal conservative when he proposes programs such as this.  Further, during his 6 years in office, government spending has grown beyond the rate of inflation.  He has not used his power of veto to control the runaway spending of Congress.

The proposal made by the president may be "compassionate" but it is not "conservative".  The taxpayer will again be handed the bill.

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Bush offers steps to ease foreclosures
BY MARTIN CRUTSINGER The Associated Press

   WASHINGTON — President Bush on Friday announced a set of modest proposals to deal with an alarming rise in mortgage defaults that have contributed to turbulent financial markets over recent weeks.
   Housing analysts said it was highly likely the limited steps Bush outlined will be expanded in coming weeks by a Democratic-controlled Congress intent on responding to growing voter anxiety as up to 2 million homeowners worry about losing their homes.
   Officials in the troubled housing industry said the important thing was that the administration had finally offered a proposal, a step they said should help calm global financial markets that have been on a rollercoaster ride in recent weeks as investors worried about a serious credit crunch.
   “This is not a cure-all, but it is good to see something coming out of the White House,” said David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. “It is good for markets, both domestically and internationally, to see that the White House is facing the problem head on and at least starting to do something about it.”
   Bush’s comments came the same day that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged to do everything necessary to protect the economy from the market turmoil. His comments to a Fed conference in Wyoming were seen as a strong signal that the central bank was moving closer to cutting a key interest rate, possibly as soon as its next meeting Sept. 18.
   “Bernanke basically said that if problems in the financial market are hurting the economy, then the Fed will have to respond,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “All the conditions are in place for the Fed to begin cutting interest rates.”
   The comments from Bernanke and Bush bolstered spirits on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average finished another erratic week with a gain of 119.01 points on Friday, to close at 13,357.74.
   Both Bernanke and Bush emphasized that their actions were not aimed at bailing out investors who had made bad decisions.
   “It’s not the government’s job to bail out speculators or those who made the decision to buy a home they knew they could never afford,” Bush said in the Rose Garden. “Yet there are many American homeowners who could get through this difficult time with a little flexibility from their lenders or a little help from their government.”
   With Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at his side, Bush insisted the economy was strong and could weather market turbulence. But he did not repeat his forecast of Aug. 8, that the economy was headed for a “soft landing.” The next day, fi nancial markets went into a significant swoon, sparked by the announcement by France’s largest bank that it was halting redemptions in three large investment funds.
   That disclosure sent shock waves through the global financial system because it indicated problems from rising defaults on subprime mortgages in the United States — mortgages packaged and sold to investors worldwide — were more far-reaching than realized.
   Bush’s proposals unveiled Friday are designed to help combat those defaults. They would make it easier for borrowers now holding adjustable rate mortgages that are resetting to higher monthly payments to refinance those loans using the resources of the Federal Housing Administration. The FHA is a Depression-era agency created to help low and moderate-income Americans afford homes.
   Under the Bush proposal, which FHA officials said would take effect immediately, an estimated 60,000 homeowners who have fallen behind on payments because their mortgages have reset would be able to refinance with FHA-insured loans. That marks a signifi - cant change because FHA does not now insure refinanced loans from borrowers who are currently delinquent.
   “This means that many families who are struggling now will be able to refinance their loans, meet their monthly payments and keep their homes,” Bush said.
   To qualify for the new program, being called FHA Secure, a borrower will have to prove the original loan was being repaid until it reset to a higher rate and they must have 3 percent equity in the home.
   The FHA does not supply the mortgage loan but it guarantees loans extended by banks and other lenders.
   Currently, the maximum loan the FHA can guarantee in most states is $202,000 although that can rise to $362,000 in high-cost states such as California and New York. The administration is supporting FHA overhaul legislation to lift those limits.
   FHA officials said another 20,000 people would be helped by a new type of risk-based pricing for its loan guarantees that will let lower income mortgage holders qualify by paying slightly higher premiums.
   This change, which will require the FHA to change its rules, is expected to take effect early next year after a public comment period.
   The 80,000 additional people who would qualify for FHA loan guarantees under the proposed changes Bush announced would still be a tiny portion of an estimated 2 million homeowners whose adjustable rate mortgages are scheduled to reset at higher rates by the end of 2008.
   Of those 2 million loans that will reset, FHA estimates that 500,000 could go into foreclosure.

I don't know that the big ta do is about this...really. So there are foreclosures. The bank just takes them back and resells or autions them off. So the banks loose nothing!

As far as the homeowners...and I know I  may get hammered big time for saying this....but deal with it. This is life. Ya know what the government says when they warn us about scams, 'If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.' Well, if that mortgage agreement seemed too good to be true...it clearly was.

This just makes for more government oversite, and more government programs. How refreshing it would be to have people who actually were responsible and accountable for their decisions/behaviors AND to have a government that reinforced such an idiology.

The BIG sad part is that the practice of selling mortgages to other countries' banks is pulling the rug out from under the American homeowner/consumer....it used to be that mortgages were held LOCALLY...local banks/investors----they new the job market in their area, the debt/income ratio average etc etc.....now selling loans/mortgages is like selling a BigMac on the $1 menu in the drive thru------------------------whitewater

No freakin' bail out......

we thought China/india/madagascar etc only took our industrial industries---they have also taken a piece of the American pie and put blackbirds inside in place of the good stuffs.....greed let them.......

dont think for a minute that the 'legislators' dont have a piece of this in their portfolios....they pay folks to gather them wealth......well,,,, moth and rust have begun their work........

The help that Bush is proposing is clearly not a bail out or hand out for these homeowners. He clearly states that there is help available IF you have a good credit rating and IF you didn't over invest and IF you weren't just buying to 'flip this house' and IF your mortagage contract was in fact lacking full disclosure which would then hold the mortgage institution responsible.

I think that all of the above is fair.

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Subprime mortgage blood has lured more sharks into the water

   Every day, we are seeing articles about subprime mortgages and rising foreclosure rates. Many people were deceived by what looked like “easy money” for homeownership. It is unfortunate that lenders took advantage of the desire of so many who wanted to achieve the American Dream.
   Even more unfortunate, though, is that now there are new opportunities for these very same people to be taken advantage of in the foreclosure process.
   At Better Neighborhoods Inc., a nonprofit, HUD-certified housing agency, we provide counseling to help people navigate the confusing process of default and foreclosure. Trained counselors negotiate with lenders for loan modifications, payment plans, short sales and other solutions that best meet the needs of the homeowner. These services are provided at no cost to the homeowner. Similar services are available from HUD-certified counseling agencies throughout the Capital Region and New York, all at no cost.
   Yet, in the wake of the foreclosure crisis, for-profit “foreclosure consultants” have emerged who offer the same type of services for a fee, or offer to buy your house now so you can avoid foreclosure, with enticing promises that you can buy it back in a year.
   Sound too good to be true? It often is, and vulnerable homeowners are being duped into selling their homes and losing their equity to boot. If you have been contacted by one of these agencies, or are tempted to call the number on the telephone pole proclaiming “We buy homes!”, here are some questions you should ask to avoid being taken advantage of:
   Will I be paid fair market value for my home based on an independent appraisal, or do they determine the price? How much will the new loan be on the home? If it is more than the current loan, who is getting the extra money? How much will I have to pay to buy back my home? What are the terms of the lease agreement? How much will my monthly rent be, what will that cover, and how long am I entitled to remain in the home? Will the new owner sell my house to someone else while I am working on strengthening my finances in order to repurchase it? What do they charge in fees? Do they get a portion of the equity in my home? How many houses has the agency bought, and how many folks were able to actually purchase their homes back?
   What does the paperwork say? Is it consistent with what is being told to me?
   New York’s Home Equity Theft Prevention Act, enacted last year to protect homeowners in these transactions, mandates that written contracts must be given including notice to the homeowner that they have five days to cancel the transaction. Government agencies must monitor these companies to make sure they are in compliance with the law and that advertisements are not misleading.
   If you are in foreclosure and need assistance, or have further questions regarding foreclosure consultants, go to www.hud gov to find a HUD-certified counseling agency near you.
   ELLIE PEPPER
   Schenectady
The writer is assistant director of BNI.  

  
  
  

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Fewer buyers mean home sellers must be patient On the Money
BY EILEEN ALT POWELL The Associated Press

   NEW YORK — Joe Morse has bought a 40-foot motor home that he plans to drive across America over the next several years, visiting the state capitals and the national parks he wasn’t able to get to before he retired.
   But Morse hasn’t been able to take off on his grand tour because he hasn’t been able to sell his house in Cerritos, Calif.
   “I had hoped the house would sell almost immediately,” said Morse, 68, who retired in April as a technician for FlightSafety International, an aviation training company. But his open house drew few visitors, and there have been no bids in the two months it has been for sale.
   “Now I may have to take it off the market and wait until spring,” he said. “It’s frustrating, because I’d like to get on the road.”
   Morse is among thousands of Americans who can’t take the next step in their lives because they can’t sell their houses. Some are seniors trying to downsize for retirement, others are young couples trying to move up from their starter condominiums or growing families that need more space.
   “A lot of people are finding it’s taking longer to sell than they expected,” said Stephen Piazza, vice president of Quicken Loans in Livonia, Mich.
   A spike in defaults in mortgages made to people with poor credit has caused lenders to tighten their standards, making it harder for some would-be buyers to qualify for loans. At the same time, many potential buyers are hesitating, hoping that prices soften after the steep run-up in recent years.
   The National Association of Realtors said last week that sales of existing homes dropped for a fifth consecutive month in July and the number of unsold homes shot up to a record 4.59 million.
   That doesn’t mean there are no buyers, Piazza said. Still, an unexpected delay in selling a home — especially following boom housing years that saw multiple bids within hours of a house going on the market — can throw off an individual’s plans.
   Phillip Cook, a certifi ed financial planner in Torrance, Calif., who has worked with Morse, said that anyone developing a financial plan has to consider that there are ups and downs to the economy, including the housing market.
   “Real estate has its cycles just like everything else,” he said. “After the kind of run-up we’ve had … people think it won’t slow down, won’t go down. But it does.”
   That means families need to be flexible and not lock themselves into situations where they must sell at a specific time, potentially incurring losses that undercut their ability to live comfortably in the long run.
   “The question is, if we’re in the down part of the cycle, can we wait to get a reasonable offer?” Cook said. “Maybe we have to hang in there for several years until the market recovers.”
   If someone budgets carefully, he said, that person has options, as in: “What’s the minimum I can take and still make my [financial] plan work. … Maybe I won’t be as comfortable, but I can live with it.”
   For Eileen Griffin, who is 55 and divorced, selling her five-bedroom home in Cheshire, Conn., is key to getting on with her life, especially since her youngest daughter left home for college this fall.
   “I want to downsize, to buy a tiny house somewhere in Connecticut,” said Griffi n, who is a special education teacher. She’s also purchasing a condominium in Myrtle Beach, S.C., which is where daughter Jennifer if going to college and where she hopes to retire in five years.
   Her Connecticut home went on the market in April, and got some lookers but no offers. She relisted it in mid-August and has worked with a professional to “stage” the home to make it more appealing to potential buyers.
   “Despite all that, I’m just not getting calls to see the house,” Griffin said. “And it’s difficult for me — I’m living in a house that is staged for a potential buyer, so I can’t leave anything out on the counters, the laundry basket has to be empty, things have to be in their place.”
   She added: “Two mortgages over a long period of time would kill me. I’m hoping the big house sells.”