So I guess the 2.5 million who lost their homes last year are out in the cold

[BadDog40]

Seems to me these are the people who need help the most, and how fair is it someone that lost their house a few months ago gets to watch people in the same position keep their house?

I think something should have been included to give those people a few thousand dollars, or a way to get those people back into a house. I know to many people living with relatives, friends, etc who recently lost their homes and they must really feel like shit right now.

[valerief]

1. If our govt cared about us, they wouldn't let shit securites be rated AAA.

But they don't care.

[ecstatic]

2. unfortunately, a careless rethuglican was president for 8 years

And yes, there are consequences that are being felt all throughout this nation.

[vaberella]

3. Obama has a Housing Plan.

This is separate from the stimulus bill. Here's the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7897428.stm

If you want to blame people, blame the Republicans who hates spending money on people, education, and health care. Also blame people like Republican Governor Jindal who might not take the stimulus money to prove a point. So being a Republican means more than taking care of his constituents...a good number of which can't even go back to their home since Katrina.

[snowbear]

5. Who's Obam?

.
.




-

[vaberella]

7. Thanks...shall edit. n/t

[stray cat]

4. Those of us who didn't buy houses don't get a bail out for renting either

because all we could afford is a risky loan without 20% down. Also, people who bought a house and are making payments but the house is worth less than the loan won't get bailed out either.

[vaberella]

6. Ain't that the truth. I'm one of them. In NYC there's a good 3-4 million of us. n/t

[Still Sensible]

13. That's absolutely not true

The part about renters is true, as far as what the President announced today.

But "...people who bought a house and are making payments but the house is worth less than the loan won't get bailed out either" is patently false. Perhaps the biggest target of the initiative announced today is in fact those people who are "under water," that is, people who are making payments, but find their home is no longer worth as much as the loan they are paying for it.

The CEO of Morgan Chase told CNBC this afternoon that his company alone will be rewriting a million loans that are in that condition.

[gcomeau]

8. Yes, they are.

Yes, it's crappy that help came this late. Yes, it would have been nice if Obama had been in office a year or two earlier so he could have done this before those people lost their homes. Yes, it would be better if we had a bottomless piggy bank to give everyone who got hammered the help they need and do it right this minute so we could stop further foreclosures from sinking the housing market even more AND give massive amounts of financial aid to the people who have already been foreclosed on AND fund the stimulus AND bailout the financial sector AND do it without crippling ourselves with debt while we're at it.

But welcome to reality.

[PretzelWarrior]

9. Only helping people with AIDS?? Hey, what about the people with heart disease?

Why isn't your charity helping them too?

That's what it sounds like. You've got government actually trying to stem the tide of foreclosures, but all you can do is say, "Hey, where were you last year?"

[KittyWampus]

10. at this point, it's triage

[Thrill]

11. Blame Bush. He could have done something. But didn't

Not sure what Obama can do now, unless what the HUD secretary said today applies to you.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan used it when discussing plans for borrowers who owe so much money they can’t be helped by the mortgage relief Obama offered today.

“One of the things that we do with our plan is to provide incentives for those families to be able to transition out of homeownership in a way that doesn't hurt them and doesn’t hurt communities around them,” Donovan said.

[azmouse]

12. Cleaning up the boosh mess has to start somewhere.

I feel bad for those who lost homes already but the bleeding has to stop NOW.
We only now have a President who cares about Americans and will do something to help.

[FrenchieCat]

14. Obama never said he was perfect in this....

That's almost like saying that if your unemployment benefits ran out in the middle of 2008, the provisions that extends current unemployment for an additional time should be paid out to you as well. Ratroactive legislation is not what Obama is proposing, and we all have to act like grown ups, and not attempt to make the perfect the enemy of the good.

He is doing what he can do....and one of the things that he can't do is go out and bring people back from the dead, or buy everyone a house, including those who had the misfortune of losing their home while we had another President in office. He is not a magician, just someone trying to make a difference if he can in order not to sink us further into an abyss that we cannot collectively climb our way out of.....which would affect everyone single one of us, including renters, and those now living with their parents.

[jody]

15. IMO some of those home owners gambled by going into debt they could not afford. I have no sympathy

for them.

[BadDog40]

17. Thats the BS republicans have been spewing for the past few years

I don't know anyone who 'bought a house they couldnt afford', do you? I know 4 people who have lost their homes and they all owned them from anywhere from 5 years to 15 years. They either lost jobs or got sick.

If someone buys a house they can't afford, how long would they live there? 6 months?

[jody]

19. I know several couples that purchased houses they could not afford. n/t

[WhoDoYouTrust]

38. .

.

[philk17088]

41. Not so

I know quite a few that over bought.they are hanging on by the skin of their teeth.
Buying a 400,000 house with a combined income of 70 grand? Simple math tells you that it is un-affordable.

[joeglow3]

47. I know a LOT of people who bought houses they could not afford

I have been out of college 8 years and still live in the same house I bought for $111,000 (which is a standard 30 year old, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, split entry - 1,700 square feet). I work with people who are single, straight out of college and making a lot less than me who have bought houses between 200K and 250K (my house is valued at about 130K now). They can make their payments and get by, but if they lose their job, they will be out of their house in a couple months. On the other hand, I have saved everything I can and can live in my house for 2-3 years if I lose my job. THESE are the people I have zero sympathy for.

[we can do it]

48. Yeah I Do- A Rethug Lawyer Who Thought Last Year He Start His Own Thing

They lived in the house for a year without making a payment after it was built, wife too lazy to take the dog out to poop, left the house to the bank - the neighbors are livid, its still empoty....

[vaberella]

18. Countrywide is a well known mortgage predator

and they went bankrupt with faulty loans. A lot of these people were suckered in by people they thought they could trust...ie the real estate agent they bought from. I think a lot of people are putting blame on a set of people who were unintentionally involved. Sure you could say they were to blame, but I have to agree with the poster above me...how long would they live there if they couldn't pay? Within a year if not 6 months they would be in over their heads. So it's definitely more than just that.

[jody]

20. I stand by my statement re no sympathy for those who gambled in the house market. n/t

[Fire1]

21. I'm really getting tired of 'blame the consumer.' These lenders

came up with lending practices that were unheard of and didn't understand half of what was REALLY going on. Many have loans that have been tossed around so much, they don't even know who holds their mortgage. An elderly woman the other night had a house that was fuckin PAID OFF and the lenders talked her into REFINANCING and HE FUCKIN KNEW BY HER INCOME STATEMENTS she couldn't afford it! Nobody was around apparently to help her. That's why they're called predators.

[jody]

23. You and I disagree on whether it's societies responsibility to pay the losses of gamblers. n/t

[Fire1]

25. But you'll pay the debt of the gamblers on Wall St. Gotcha.

[jody]

26. The OP was about homeowners. n/t

[Fire1]

31. Do some homework before making such a statement. eom

[jody]

32. OP about "2.5 million who lost their homes last year". What part of that don't you understand?` n/t

[prolesunited]

35. How about people like me and my husband

I've been laid off twice in the past 3 1/2 years and he has once and is now underemployed without benefits. We have a small home, drive 10-year-old cars and haven't gone out in ages.

We both have college degrees. We both worked hard all of our lives. We weren't over our heads and even had modest savings which have evaporated with all of the jobs in this economy. So, you tell me what I gambled here? Now we have to decide between health care or our home, which we'll end up losing anyway without health care and multiple health issues.

Tell me what I did wrong and why I deserve to lose everything I've worked for.

[jody]

39. Please reread #15. Your description sounds like you didn't gamble. n/t

[uponit7771]

43. You did nothing wrong, these are the times were looking outside of the city you live in now is going

...to be the norm in regards to finding work.

[grasswire]

16. what about the renters whose landlords are foreclosed?

Families who have been faithfully paying their rent are being evicted because the landlord did not pay the mortgage and lost the property. These families lose their deposits and must uproot through no fault of their own.

This is happening to my family right now. The landlady hasn't paid the mortgage since September, despite owning multiple properties and being well off. The bank will sell the house on the steps of the courthouse.

What are we to do? Where is our relief?

In California, this rent skimming by landlords is a felony. That law should be nationwide. There's no incentive for a landlord to keep the property, after having skimmed the rent and the equity.

[rvablue]

22. Tell them to blame Bush. He was President last year and didn't do a damn thing to help them. n/t

[phleshdef]

24. Oh for fuck's sake, our resources ARE finite, if you expect a "end all problems" solution then you..

...need a serious reality check.

What is being done in and of itself is pretty massive. You need to accept the fact that we are all ready putting the nation deeper in debt to do everything that is being done by the stimulus and the various "bail outs". Its going to take a lot of actual work to clean up Bush's economical mess. At this point, complaining isn't just simple dissent, its childish bitchiness that has no merit and is not grounded in reality.

[The Brethren]

27. $75 Billion from govt. to current homes owners/renters.

"Obama Throws $75 Billion Lifeline To Homeowners" http://cbs4denver.com/national/obama.foreclosure.prevention.2.937631.html

And you're right, it appears to only apply to current owners about to lose their homes and current renters. I haven't finished all of the final version of the stimulus bill as yet....huge bill in size, but part of it has to do with housing. You may want to check it over and see if any of it will help you in your situation. And if not, if you want, you can start putting pressure on your legislators for help.



Know what you're paying for. The Stimulus Plan ("American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009"): Orig. House version -- http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/RecoveryBill01-15-09.pdf , House spreadsheet -- http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pV-c6t5fOVmNorqMpHvnCMw ; Senate version -- http://appropriations.senate.gov/News/2009_02_02_The_American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act_of_2009.pdf ; and Senate compromise -- http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-1 , Text and $$$ details of Senate compromise -- http://appropriations.senate.gov/News/2009_02_08_UPDATED_Appropriations_Provisions_of_American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act.pdf?CFID=4043629&CFTOKEN=40573040 . In addition to -- http://readthestimulus.org/amdth1.pdf , along with -- http://www.readthestimulus.org/ . Final version, Feb. 13th, 1500 pgs. worth -- http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/arra_public_review/ , more details on the final version -- http://www.taxpayer.net/resources.php?category=&type=Project&proj_id=1913&action=Headlines%20By%20TCS , including spending -- http://cbs4denver.com/national/Web.government.accountability.2.937188.html

[firedupdem]

28. I lost my home that I could afford without issue while I had a job.

I had savings, paid my bills on time etc. I'm happy Obama is helping people now. I didn't expect him to go get my house back for me. He isn't magic after all.

Further more, I blame bush and everybody else involved with ensuring our good jobs went out of the country. And anybody that insinuates I bought what I couldn't afford can go to hell. See what the hell you can afford when you and your spouses income gets sent to India, and once you really get lucky and find another job it pays less than half of your old one. You can't sell or refinance because everybody else is in trouble around you.

[prolesunited]

36. I'm sorry that happened to you

It's quite frustrating when you've lost it all because of situations beyond your control and then others insinuate that you are somehow at fault.

I guess that gives them solace, reassurance that it can't happen to them because they are too smart, too disciplined, somehow better than you and it will prevent the same thing from happening to them.

[JayMusgrove]

29. My dear person who risked his life fortune on an unsound mortgage

Get your head out of your rear end.

Learn the fundamentals of managing a budget, the national economy, the rules of finance, don't expect something for nothing.

You really need to stop complaining, if you work and pay your bills, and ask for help when you cannot pay them, ask for new jobs when you are out of work, if you have skills, someone needs you, up until this year, when people who thought they could make fortunes on no money and no real work, crashed our economy!

If you paid your bills every 30 days for the last 10 years, admitted when you could not, or just got into paying bills in the last 10 years, you are ok. Only fudge people and scammers are mad, unless there are people who actually played by the rules since Clinton was elected that got taken by scammers....flim-flammers, etc. Let's get those scammers and flim-flammers into GTMO for 10-20 years.

I have no sympathy for people who want to profit from America's worst economic mess since the Great Depression.. $10 an hour is a fine wage for people in America for the next year......learn to live with it, we are ALL in this together.

[OwnedByFerrets]

44. ....

"$10 an hour is a fine wage for people in America for the next year" Surely you are fucking joking. Or just forgot the sarcasm emo.

[ejpoeta]

30. what are you supposed to do when they have already lost their homes.

someone else oversaw that. obama can only try to help those who haven't fallen over the cliff yet.

[Clio the Leo]

33. This is being called, "'Transition out of homeownership"

This will in large part help those who are going to lose their homes regardless. Make it so they can bounce back easier.

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0209/euphemism_of_the_day_addbedbd-c05c-43d2-a8ac-bdf58a62d483.html

[debbierlus]

34. I think a universal cutting of interest rates should be included to help all homeowners

Everyone is stuggling to pay their mortgages.

That would pump a ton of money into the conomy and it would help all homeowners. I bet it would stem a good amount of foreclosures and boost families who are meeting their payments but still struggling...

which is most of us

I don't know the best course of action for people out of their homes, but their should be a program to place them into foreclosed properties that the bank won't possibly sell, at a highly reduced price.

[shaniqua6392]

37. They should force them all to lower our interest rates

without having to refinance. We would all have more money to spend which would immediately help the economy.

[Dawgs]

40. Obama is doing his best to fix the problems Bush has caused.

He hasn't even been in office for a whole month, and he's already not doing a good enough job.

:eyes:

[LynneSin]

42. I think there should be an opportunity for everyone to save their homes...

even if they have been forclosued. Too many of those houses out there are still abandoned. Why not have the bill setup to allow families to resettle in those houses again.

My friend and I had a debate about this and had one major concern - this has to be done within reason. If someone lost their house thru no fault of their own and can refinance the mortgage so they can move back in - that's a major plus.

But too many people bought houses way over their heads and lost their houses because they bought something they clearly could not afford. If they can't refinance then perhaps they should have some form of assistance of finding a house that is within their means.

[leftofthedial]

45. If you lost your job a couple of years ago

and lost your house,

you no longer count.

[YvonneCa]

46. This is never going to be fair. The decisions of the last...

...eight years are what/who is to blame...not Obama. We...all of us...need to stop looking at everything from a 'me' point of view and start realizing that we rise or fall as a community, a nation. If we continue to only see what's for me and mine...and not what others may need, we'll not get through this.

Obama HAS to look at the overall good of the country...and I think he is trying to do so. That makes ALL of us quite lucky. JMHO.