U.S. Considering Mortgage Help for Unemployed

Reuters:

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is mulling new ways to delay foreclosure for jobless homeowners who are unable to keep up with monthly payments, an administration official said on Monday.

The official told Reuters it was reasonable for policymakers to consider options for loan forbearance -- allowing borrowers to delay, defer or skip payments -- that are more effective than those currently available in the private sector.

Read the whole story: Reuters

Comments

[mjtaylor22]

MAKE THE LENDERS TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY PLS, they make u wait a month or more just to say no.
or to not replyu at all.
we need a govt program to buy the mortgages direct restructure them and then they can resell them.
much like fannie, but thye are gonna need to make the loans or subsidize them, i mean we took over over 150 banks via the FDIC insurance....
we can use their lending facilities to process docs etc and get people whole and bk on track

[rubrik r]

The nation is finding it difficult to recover from one of the deepest downturns of the housing market so far. With the rise in unemployment rates and inability of the helpless borrowers to repay the loans, eviction from houses has become very common as the rate of foreclosure is on a constant rise. Late repayments have also been a notable observation as the wages of the employees has been hugely disturbing.

"In a recent letter, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Shaun Donovan, the secretary of housing and urban development, summoned the top 25 mortgage servicers to Washington later this month, apparently for a dressing-down over the lack of progress on modifying bad loans.

Their letter said that preventing avoidable foreclosures is an objective “we all share.” In fact, lenders and mortgage investors have several reasons to prefer foreclosures over modifications. Among them, foreclosures allow a bank to postpone taking a loss until the process is complete, which can take a year or longer.

If the administration really wants to kick-start loan modifications, it should revive efforts to allow bankruptcy judges to modify bad loans. At the least, it should impose costs on laggard banks, like higher charges for debt guarantees or higher deposit-insurance premiums."

Recently read an article on a similar premise.
http://www.housingnewslive.com/new-stimulus-plan-and-housing-market.php

[avchavis]

Don't consider helping homeowners in trouble- JUST DO IT!

[w8aminute]

They should use the $328 Billion leftover from bank bailout and set up a fund like Social Security / Medicare. Start with the unemployed, let them access the fund to payoff their (capped) mortgages but DON'T let the interest be tax deductible. Use simple interest instead of compound interest. Use the payments they collect to feed back into the fund (like SS/Medicare). Have the government pay the banks directly and charge them all sorts of fees like they charge us. They'll get cash and maybe will actually want to lend it out instead of sitting on it for their greedy CEOs. I'm sure some economist out there can figure it out, but what we have now sure isn't working. Let the banks live in a little fear that they'll be useless unless they try to actually earn the public's money instead of just playing God. Let lobbyists feel what it's like to be laidoff. They've been raking in the bucks long enough, I'm sure they'll have no trouble paying their mortgages.

[EvilCartman]

Let the houses forclose. and just live in the house. Giving money to people out of work to pay mortages just subsides the banks. Everyone will be a squatter in the future. Welcome to New Homesteading !

[caryberry]

One of the biggest lies in American consumer history is the pot of gold at the end of the home ownership rainbow. Speculation, easy financing, and over-building has contributed to the mortgage meltdown along with a big dose of brainwashing

Economic masterminds and politicians haven't come to grips with the suggestion that the housing market meltdown along with the change in consumer habits might actually be a long-term, permanent change in how American's CHOOSE to live. An economy based on consumption is fine and dandy until people get full and push back from the table.

Perhaps our appetite for owning things is being replaced by the desire for experiences.

[dnpvd51]

The last thing people losing their jobs need is high housing costs.

The government handouts to homeowners keep housing prices high.

High housing prices hurt people.

[RJII]

Difference between home owners and renters is that homeowners pay property taxes to support local services. In some states property taxes are almost 50% of the monthly mortgage note. In addition, homeowners are responsible for property upkeep through associations and state laws and local trash and sewer fees. Homeowners are contractual held to the mortgage, until the property is sold. Good luck selling in this market.

All that being said, I think anyone unemployed and unable to find work due to this economy should be considered for housing aid. Landlords like myself have tenants struggling with this recession. If they can't pay me, I can't pay the man.

This recession is taking a be.ating on far too many . More and more each day. I would love a second stimulus that goes directly to main street.

[skymuffin]

Are you kidding me?

Let them become renters like the rest of us who can't afford a median-priced home. I was unemployed years ago, yet managed to get an apartment. There are ways. If you can't afford the house, you can't afford the house. Rent.

[wdw505]

well said

[RJII]

some people, without jobs, can't afford a mortgage or rent. In many cases, a rent payments is about the same as a mortgage payment. If someone is not working and has depleted savings, and now has no money coming in, then how are they going to afford either?
But, I'm glad it worked out for you years ago.

[tisfilm]

Obama was in Michigan about Jobless months
President Obama says
"I love those folks who helped get us in this mess, and suddenly they say, "This is Obama's economy." That's fine. Give it to me. My job is to solve problems, not stand on the sidelines and carp and gripe".

[AngieMom57]

It is such a sad, unfortunate situation and I certainly do not see any relief in the near future.

[tompoe]

Obama should have been "mulling" what to do the day he took office. Somehow, to do so now, is ringing hollow.

[mjtaylor22]

the was a housing program that went in effect oct 2007, and we never hear abt that, the Pres put the stimulus in place and everybody screamed stimulus oh 800 billion is too big, why is walking and chewing gum at the same time. oh it si too small, oh it is not enuff, oh he is doing too much.
who knew in Jan that the very corps who forced the bailout woudl lay off all the lower employees paythemselves record bonuses and turn their backs on the Tax Pyers, i did i saw it in my chrystal ball.

[joecoolconservative]

How about some bailout money for mobile home owners that can not pay their lot rent? How about some money for college students that can not afford to live in the dorms? How about some money for store owners who can not pay their lease payments? How about .........

Where does it end?

[dandypuddin]

Renters don't matter.

[Samalabear]

Here's my question: If I lose my job tomorrow will they help me pay my rent? I feel for all the homeowers, but they're not the only ones at risk.

When it somebody going understand that whether you rent or "buy" you don't own. Unless you paid cash for the house upfront you are merely a tenant of the bank. In my case I am a tenant of my landlord who is the tenant of the bank.

Better yet, help me buy the home I live in, which I have not been able to save a down-payment for because of this bubble economy, but have paid all of the taxes and the entire first mortgage faithfully for over 20 years of paying rent (and, yes, up until the refi I was told my rent covered everything) I did not ask my landlord to refinance in 2006 and pull $250,000 out of this house, none of which money was put into badly-needed maintenance. I got so desperate because of the cesspool situation that I replaced that myself. We have proven over and over again that we will do whatever it takes to stay in our home and pay every month. However, if we missed one or two payments we would lose our home immediately. Apparently homeowners can stay in their homes for months and months without paying before they actually lose the home.

[babo74]

Samalabear, I'm in total agreement with you. If we don't pay rent by the 5th, the sheriff can come and throw us out as early as the 12th. Makes no sense. Wonder why I didn't buy a house with no money down, interest only, so I could then not pay the mortgage for 6 months and get help from Bobo. How many people are unemployed or underemployed and renting? No help there. How many renters recently lost their homes? If you cannot pay the mortgage can you pay the rent? We need some job creation here Mr. President. I hope you are getting the message. If you have a large number of renters that cannot pay their rent, then you have homes or large apartment complexes that run the risk of defaulting themselves.