When they give up their IPods and Cell Phones and drink water from the faucet and eat at home and stay out of the casino's and work for a living like those of us that made and still make our payments and they learn to sacrifice and not live on other peoples money then maybe a helping hand but do not ever see that happening in this century as we are on the brink of being and becoming a socialist society period.

Yes! Some should. What about the people on fixed income that,  are still payinig on there home. Every thing keeps going up but , there income doesn't. And there rates have ajusted. Do you know, how many homeless old people there will be? This country better wake up. There are 12 homeless familys with young children. Living in our camppark in town ,in tents, that have to be out, by the 31. They all loss the homes. It is sad to think ,that this Great Country, Think's no more of there owen children , an old people. The old made this Country and the baby's are our Future!

Absolutely not! Where is this going to end?  How about paying off my student loans? my dental work? new roof due to Hurricane Ike? truck loan?etc, etc....

Homeowners that were deceived or experienced some change in their income should be helped.  But homeowners that upgraded to a home they could not afford under the old rules (mortgage should not exceed x% of income; total debt should not exceed y% of income) should not be helped.  That's rewarding bad behavior.

I'm sure you could look at some complicated algorithms for this, but ultimately it comes down to helping those people that need help based on circumstances they couldn't control.   Buying a larger home than you could really afford doesn't qualify.

It depends on what the help is.  I want to know specifics.  I do not want these overextended homeowners to get huge debt relief when people that are paying as agreed  don't.  Most homes have lost value.  So those who are most irresponsbile in our society get to plead ignorance and get a part of the billions doled out, but those of us who are paying as agreed, don't.  The repsonsible get to keep making the same payments on the same homes that have lost value.

Each situtation should be evaluated but it shold not be a bailout for the irresponsible.  There should not be huge equity writeoffs for these borrowers.  Many of these borrowers are not reponsible.  They have used their homes as cash machines, bought homes they could never afford, and now are in a tight spot.  It is not as simple as they got caught in a real estate bubble.  Many of the people in trouble lived way above their means and should have never signed on the dotted line.

The responsible borrowers in our society get a double whammy.  They get no write off of their debt, no lowered interest rate or lowered payments, and on top of that we get the addtional debt loaded onto our balance sheet in the form of higher governement debt, which raises interest rates for all borrowing.

My big fear is that because lenders and borrowers had a major stupid attack that lasted several years, that unless there is severe pain, the same thing will happen again.  Just like people that get debt consolidation loans and then go out and rack up all their credit card debt again.

Debt addicts are like drug addicts.  They don't think they have a problem.  This country has become a debter nation and we go hat in hand to world begging for money.  It's a disgrace.

Absolutely no way.  Millions have a dream to buy, but can't afford to because reckless people snatching  up everything in sight with money they didn't have and couldn't afford to pay back caused prices to escalate beyond any reasonable increase.  Now homes are too expensive, and loans hard to get.

And guess what, those people who cant afford to buy now are footing the tax bill for the fools who bought what they couldn't afford, because those fools, aside from getting federal help for their loans, also get to write off all of their home loan interest payments!!!!  And the rest of us, well we get to pay their tax bill to supplement their stupidity and their recklessness.

And what about the people who bought homes a couple of years ago (same time as the fools), but with fixed mortgages?  They now own a house that isn't worth what they paid for.  And because they were smart enough to do fixed - well we won't help them, why ? - they were too stupid not to fall for the balloon payment gag?!!!  screw 'em.  OUTRAGEOUS!!!!

My 3 children own their homes which were purchased in the last 3 years.  They struggle to make their monthly mortgage payments. The market value is 50% of what they paid for them.  Should I advise them to stop making the payments and jump on the free band wagon?  If a few are given a ride due to their bad judgement, the good suffer.  Is that right?

What a great excuse for everyone to let their mortgages go into default!!!  Let the politicians deal with that!

I read the headline and knew I would read a response like Xtina's since most people like her have no idea what the real problem is nor what is at stake. The mess began before Bush when the democrats tried to bring home ownership to low income families and under served communities. Even St. Obama ( the great and powerful saint of change) sued Citibank because they wouldn't lower their lending standards. As lending standards were lowered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to achieve this noble goal, Wall street jumped on the band wagon offering even easier loans to get with even lower standards. Then Fannie Mae under the guidence of Franklin Raines ( one of Obama's advisors ) and with the blessing of Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts fought off over sight and lowered the standards even more. NOw of course with the rules loosened everyone was able to get in over their heads not just low income families.

  The problem now is these very same toxic loans threaten to take down the our economy as well as the worlds. The easy response is make the banks that made the loans take responsibility but they can't since those loans were sold off over and over. Pension plans, 401K, and other funds were based on these asetts that were falsely rated as secure. Even Franklin Raines told congress don't worry home values will continue to go up and these loans will never be a problem and our government believed it would be. When has anything had unlimited growth and yet our leaders believed it would happen. Now there loans can end up causing a total collapse, that means jobs, savings, retirement, and our very standard of living. Even you Xtina could end up losing everything even if you don't have a mortgage. Our entire economy depends on us being able to purchase goods to keep people employed these mortgages could put a drain on everything to stop the very fabric of our way of life. Should these people get a free ride no but will the government have to stop the slide yes. They allowed it to happen, they made the rules that created it and fought off regulation. The Democrats are responsible for creating it and the Republicans for not stopping it. Wall Street needs to be regulated better by the SEC. But no matter what as long as there are morons out their that tale a not my problem attitiude but at least our government finally woke up and has realized it is everyones problem and is trying to do something. And no my mortgage is not a problem loan but if I lose my job because of the economy it could well become.

So my small business is failing due to all these foreclosures! My hair salon is at a stand still- no one can afford services. Can't pay all the bills. But I am on the hook personally for rent, loans to build, etc. Who is going to help me because I have no customers now??? There has to be a more fair solution.............

NOOOOO!  It is not FAIR for people who play by the rules.

I can't believe that this is even being discussed.  How is it that those of us that have worked hard, put away money, paid our bills, and have mortgages with interests rates that were negotiated by "the market" are now being told that our tax money is going to be used by those that haven't managed their own finances properly?!?  Why are these people being rewarded for poor choices and why are the people that got us in is mess in the first place being allowed to decide what the “fix” is?

If the government is going to use this money for the guaranteeing of loans, then they should be giving them to those of us that have worked HARD to maintain their credit.  Then we can get the new lower rates on our mortgages and use the extra cash on other things responsibly since we have already proven we can manage our finances properly.  It sickens me that the same bunch of idiots that were irresponsibly loaning people money who couldn’t afford to pay it back are now telling us that our tax dollars are going to be spent on propping up these bad mortgages. 

Why is it that 99% of the responses on this blog basically echo what I am saying but 99% of all the so called public discussion by “experts” are suggesting that the only way to solve this crisis is to hand out more good money after bad?  It makes me ill. 

Everyone is talking like there are huge number of unemployed people out there in lines at the soup kitchens, selling themselves on the streets, etc.  But the reality is that unemployment is at 6% which is lower than the average from the 70’s through the mid 90’s!  In 1985 nobody was talking about the devastating unemployment in the country, but unemployment was over 7.2% at the time.  Of course, the country had recently seen 10% unemployment in 1982, so 7.2% looked just fine.

Get a grip, things may not be great but they are hardly as bad as most of our pathetic leaders are willing to discuss because it is election time. 

I just hope that none of these ridiculous bail out plans gets enacted before the next president is chosen.  It seems like the only way we will get a rational discussion going is to wait until after the election.  Then we can what action is actually needed, if any.

I'm fortunate to be current on my mortgage payments, but a rate reduction sure would still be nice!  So, maybe all I need to do is miss 2 or 3 payments, cry for help, get the lower rate and then catch up on the payments.  Hmmm. sounds like a plan!

OBAMA SAVES! A Hysterical History Lessin....  And from the New Jerk Times  none the less.

September 3, 1999

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To  Aid Mortgage Lending

OBAMA SAVES!  Everybody shout Jalapeño

 Enter the Waaaaaaaaaaay back New Jerk Time Machine.  Read and dispel the myth of George Bush v Obama the Messiah.

September 3, 1999

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending

By STEVEN A, HOLMES

ln a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit, is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Admonition to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain grown in profits

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates --anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

"Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements," said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. "Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market."

Demographic information on these borrowers is sketchy. But at least one study indicates that l8 percent of the loans in the subprime market went to black borrowers, compared to 5 per cent of loans in the conventional loan market. 

 In moving, even tentatively into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times but the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.

 "From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us," said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. "If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry."

Under Fannie Mae's pilot program, consumers who qualify can secure a mortgage with an interest rate one percentage point above that of a conventional, 30-year fixed rate mortgage of less than $240,000 -- a rate that currently averages about 7 .76 per cent. If the borrower makes his or her monthly payments on time for two years, the one percentage point premium is dropped.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, does not lend money directly to consumers. Instead, it purchases loans that banks make on what is called the secondary market. By expanding the type of loans that it will buy, Fannie Mae is hoping to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings.

Fannie Mae officials stress that the new mortgages will be extended to all potential borrowers who can qualify, for a mortgage. But they add that the move is intended in part to increase the number of minority and low income home (owners who tend to have worse credit ratings than non-Hispanic whites.

Home ownership has, in fact, exploded among minorities during the economic boom of the 1990's. The number of mortgages extended to Hispanic applicants jumped by 57.2 per cent from 1993 to 1998, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. During that same period the number of African Americans who got mortgages to buy a home increased by 71.9 per cent and the number of Asian Americans by 46.3 per cent.

In contrast, the number of non-Hispanic whites who received loans for homes increased by 31.2 per cent.

Despite these gains, home ownership rates for minorities continue to lag behind non-Hispanic whites, in part because blacks and Hispanics in particular tend to have on average worse credit ratings.

In July, the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed that by the year 2001, 50 percent of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolio be made up of loans to low and moderate-income borrowers. Last year, 44 percent of the loans Fannie Mae purchased were from these groups.

The change in policy also comes at the same time that HUD is investigating allegations of racial discrimination in the automated underwriting systems used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to determine the credit-worthiness of credit applicants.

He gonna give all g_ds chillin a new hause and a kar and uh edumacation at Harbored like he did get fo free.  He gonna geve  all us Mo Money dan we never hat befo...

g_d love him.  Das why I sez Obama Saves!  He purdy too!

I is Barak Obama and I sho nuff prooves a dis here message.

Absolutely not! If so then maybe my gambling losses in vegas should get help! Atleast there were some odds of becomeing a winner! I am not a financial guru, but, I knew 4-5 years ago when this mortgage blow out started that somewhere down the line someone would eat dirt on this. Hard for me to believe there were that many stupid people or shoould I say greedy. Math has not changed much in the last 1000 years or at least not in my life? You did not need to be a brain surgeon to figure this out! Why should the folks who sayed put because, they knew this was all smoke and mirrors anyway suffer for the stupidity? We should take the money and build new schools for adults with greed disorders! Get real! You took a very big chance, and it bit you in the integrety hole!

"NO because it is unfair to help the idiots who agreed to these loans yet not help the smart buyers who now owe more on their house than it is worth. We purchased a house in June of 2007 with a 30 year fixed at the inflated price, now it is worth about half what we paid for it. Because we were smart enough to not fall for a “sub prime” mortgage deal we don’t get any help. We have negative equity and could possibly never recover the equity we lost. If they are going to lend a hand to the idiots by re-adjusting the mortgage amount, they should extend it to the smart buyers as well. Why do we have to pay for their mistakes?"

I couldn't have said it better myself

FORGET BAILING OUT the CEOs and stupid homeowners!  Give every citizen 100K cash and lets SPEND!

The Recession should be over within a month

And who was it that really profited on the misery of the dumb bunnys who were sold a bill of goods starting with Mista Jimmuh Cartier?

The answer is to rework the loans without reducing the amount, buy time for home values to stop the decline and begin to appreciate again at that time these loans can be refinanced into conventional loans hopefully. Any profit from the sale must be factored into the banks investment and the banks should be allowed to reap any profit. Remember many of these loans were written under Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac guidlines so the banks were being told these loans were safe.

The unfortunate facts are 1) the money is already lost  - it went to people who sold their homes and to world wide securities (funny name) investors, and 2) the only way I can sell my house someday is if someone else wants to and is able to buy it.

So we need to help the victims recover some of their losses.  I just want two things:

1. see some more people go to jail or get fined to pay for this cheating,

2. please stop using the phrase "their homes" as in "helping people keep their homes".  If you can't or don't intend to pay for the house, it's *not* yours.   Let's instead say "help people make their payments who were cheated on their loans".

Absolutely not! If so then maybe my gambling losses in vegas should get help! Atleast there were some odds of becomeing a winner! I am not a financial guru, but, I knew 4-5 years ago when this mortgage blow out started that somewhere down the line someone would eat dirt on this. Hard for me to believe there were that many stupid people or shoould I say greedy. Math has not changed much in the last 1000 years or at least not in my life? You did not need to be a brain surgeon to figure this out! Why should the folks who sayed put because, they knew this was all smoke and mirrors anyway suffer for the stupidity? We should take the money and build new schools for adults with greed disorders! Get real! You took a very big chance, and it bit you in the integrety hole!

Vowel_movement it seems people are too ignorant or stupid or just refuse to escept it that it was the democrats that created to laws that created the problem. If they actually read more and educated themselves they would realize that it wasn't Bush but then again praise Obama he will solve everything since it was his party and some of his own doing that got us into this problem. But lay of the Sho nuff stuff it takes away from your argument

I was in the mortgage business for close to ten years, sat in hundreds of closings, processed a ton of loans.  I never saw anyone hold a gun to a borrower's head in a closing forcing them to sign.  It's the borrower's responsiblity to understand what they are signing.  And yes, there are some roque lenders out there but know that there are representatives provided for the consumer to answer questions.  Do your homework.  I hate that people just don't take responsibility for themselves anymore and the rest of us suffer for it. 

H-E double hockey sticks NO!  A million excuses for greed and stupidity.  Life isn't fair, especially for those of us who have been responsible, paid our bills, and are now stuck paying for the slugs.  But don't worry, the messiah will rise upon a vapor and lead us to milk and honey. Or is that milk us out of all our honey.

Rick 677207 just go on youtube and look up Obama, Barney Frank, Franklin Raines for starters and there they are in their own words saying this would never happen.