More Than Housing: A Double-Ended Approach to the Foreclosure Problem in America

Too many Americans have fallen victim to the crisis that has become the norm for our citizens these days. Lenders no longer want to work with individuals who have gone through the foreclosure process and for many it is not only their homes they lose. Some have lost their jobs and/or families, others fall into a deep depression and worst of all some have taken their own lives.

There is by no means a simple solution to solving the home foreclosure epidemic but there are many changes that can be made to help Americans across the globe. The first, I believe starts

The housing crisis of the late 2000s rocked the economy and changed the landscape of the real estate business for years to come. Decades of people purchasing houses unfordable houses and properties with lenient loans policies led to a collective housing bubble. When the banking system faltered and the economy wilted, interest rates were raised, mortgages increased, and people lost their jobs amidst the chaos. This all culminated in tens of thousands of American losing their houses to foreclosures and short sales, as they could no longer afford the mortgage payments on their homes. The United States entered a recession and homeownership no longer appeared to be a feasible goal as many questioned whether the country could continue to support a middle-class. Former home owners became renters and in some cases homeless as the American Dream was delayed with no foreseeable return. While the future of the economy looked bleak, conditions gradually improved. American citizens regained their jobs, the United States government bailed out the banking industry, and regulations were put in place to deter such events as the mortgage crash from ever taking place again. The path to homeowner ship has been forever altered, as loans in general are now more difficult to acquire and can be accompanied by a substantial down payment.

“Most of the homes being abandoned and foreclosed will produce losses for the mortgage lender, which could add up to trillions of dollars and break the financial system before it is half repaired” (Zuckerman, 2008). These are the major reasons why the government should be thinking of a bailout for homeowners. If the government will not take action, then these losses will go past any bailout efforts of the government and it will be too late. By preventing foreclosures, it could bring a double benefit to the US economy and society. It would let families to stay in their homes and at the same time keep the housing market from getting out of control.

Foreclosure in America has been a rising and prominent problem recently, and has destroyed many Americans hopes and dreams. Over 2.3 million homes were foreclosed in 2008, and an estimated four million homes will be foreclosed by the end of this year. Despite the efforts of many banks and lending companies, over half of homes will foreclose that have received their help. I believe that we have only started in the right direction in solving the foreclosure crisis. Giving money and lowering mortgage rates will help, but I believe we should find out why Americans are in this situation in the first place. We are being too stereotypical when we think the only reason someone is foreclosing is because of irresponsible payments or buying a home

The foreclosure crisis that took over the United States a few years ago left many people facing economic hardships. This crisis happened because there was a huge housing bubble that was unsupported by actual home values. The bubble began bursting in spring of 2008 and the crisis culminated in mid-2009. Many lenders went out of business and many home owners began losing their homes. When the government became aware of this problem and began to implement new programs, it was already too late for many homeowners. Those homeowners are not at a point where they might be considering buying a new home. The housing crisis has created new rules, regulations governing the mortgage industry, and has also created a new agency dedicated to consumer protection. This consumer protection agency is called the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. These dramatic changes have helped to create more responsible lending. The improving market conditions such as low housing costs and competitive interest rates are allowing those affected by a foreclosure to become homeowners again. Prospective buyers have a multitude of programs available to them, so even those with less than clean slate have several options.

For the last several years, the one issue that has been bringing the United States into a state of trouble that it has not been seen since the great depression has been the monstrous Foreclosure problem. Thousands of people have lost their houses. Thousands of people have faced the dangers of debt and chaos. Thousands of people lives have been ruined because of the mistakes that Americans have done in this nation. In order to solve the problem, one must take a look at how it started and how this depression began. Around eight-nine years ago, the market in housing caused many people to chase after it. This caused a mistake of creating a domino affect that has hurt banks from lending out the high amount of money to people and finding out

The same way that President Clinton boosted about 67.5% of all American people could become homeowners in 1995, will be the same amount of people that lose their homes potentially putting children out on the street and increasing the unemployed homeless population taking up residence in tent cities, where is the hope now? Now is the time to act and include benefits to all homeowners that still believe in the America Dream. The Government and the Banks need to provide modification programs to all homeowners to reduce their interest rates to 4.75% regardless of equity or loan to values. If these homeowners who are currently 200% loan to value, care enough to strive to make every payment timely but are in loans that are coming due or ready to adjust, the industry owes these homeowners the right to a loan that they can afford and maintain regardless of the economy. Each homeowner in America is surrounded by foreclosed properties or short sales affecting their value and impeding any ability to successfully sell their properties.

The foreclosure crisis in America can only be resolved by every American citizen working together to build a stronger America by changing the way we make decisions for expenditures in our lives. We must stop overextending ourselves beyond our economic means. The foreclosure crisis of America has been caused by Americans borrowing money to purchase a home that they cannot afford. Lending agencies have allowed Americans to borrow more money to buy a home than they can afford. Each lending agency seemingly used logical reasoning that if they did not lend the funds to the homeowners, another agency would. The foreclosure crisis was caused by homeowners, businesses, banks, and even the government. The economic recovery depends on not

The United States’ foreclosure and housing market problems have been well-documented in recent years. This issue has only been heightened by the 2009 economic downturn. Can the sky-rocketing foreclosure market truly be blamed on the recession, however? Can the issue be pinned down on the masses of people who have lost their occupations? Surely many of the cases can be traced back to these harsh conditions, but many more, most likely, can be attributed to something else. Foreclosures are not a new phenomenon and have been a part of American society for years. So, in order to determine a plan for how best to reduce the number of American families losing their homes, it seems best to look backwards rather than simply at the present.

The foreclosure crisis in our country has implemented a domino effect that may take years before we note any positive changes. As the country begins to heal, an effective process and/or program must be implemented that will reduce or eliminate foreclosures. It is important to remember that purchasing and maintaining a home is a part of the “American Dream,” and when working class families cannot seem to manage without loss of pride and dignity, then the dream begins to fade. The hopelessness and lack of self worth takes a giant step forward and brings with it anger and frustration which only damages families.

The government has given money to the banks to help give the economy a boost. The banks should use a portion of the money to help homeowners keep their houses. The banks should be willing to modify the loans so that the homeowners can stay in the houses and not have to move out. If the banks will set new guidelines that are feasible for the homeowners the crisis can be reduced. The banks need to visit the areas that are foreclosed on and see what conditions the houses are currently in. The banks could work along with the homeowners some type of lease purchase agreement so that the homeowners can continue to stay in the homes but pay lower payments. Once the homeowners are in the houses for a specific time and made the payments in a timely manner, those payments can be applied to the balance on the loans.

Banks now offer programs to help homeowners/homebuyers, but many times, these loans are often hard to obtain. The current programs have more stringent requirements that are unreasonable for distressed homeowners. In my opinion, the only way to rectify the foreclosure issue is to make a substantial change in how potential homebuyers and homeowners obtain loans.

Foreclosure is one over arching problem facing the United States of America today with no one perfect solution. Each person in the US suffering from foreclosure has a unique circumstance and situation that has led them to the economic turmoil they face, and that uniqueness therefore requires any solution to the overall issue of foreclosure to be versatile to a plethora of situations. There is not one faultless way to resolve the crisis, but with a combination of different measures, the foreclosure crisis can be slowed.

The United States economy has been in trouble for the past couple of years. The foreclosure crisis is a condition that began due to the inability of homeowners to pay their mortgages. Foreclosure is a legal proceeding whereby a lender obtains a legal termination of a debtor’s right to redemption. The foreclosure rates have been increasing for a considerable period and certain steps have been put into place to solve the problem. While the government, financial institutions and the general public are highly aware of the crisis, the steps taken to combat the problem are still not sufficient as the foreclosure rates are still increasing.