Of every issue facing the American people today, including our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, our floundering economy, and our troubling health care system, none may be considered quite so frightening as the state of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. While matters in the Middle East and Washington often seem irrelevant and far away, the beast that has evolved out of low interest rates and plummeting housing costs is currently breathing down the necks of Americans in every state, city, and neighborhood. According to Realty Trac, the leading online database on foreclosure statistics, 3.4 million homes will fall into foreclosure before the end of 2009. Foreclosure and bankruptcy, often caused by unemployment or medical catastrophe, affect not …show more content…
Through analysis by several informed sources, this problem can be explained using tangible examples as well as theoretical implications. Research has also been done on what is standing in the way of allowing mortgage loan modification and how to best resolve them. Foreclosure has infected the American people with fear for the past three years, and it has severely affected both our economy and our communities. It is time a solution was solidly agreed upon, and mortgage loan modification has the merit to achieve results.
In the article “Mortgage Market Sensitivity to Bankruptcy Modification”, Adam J. Levitin of Georgetown University and Joshua Goodman of Columbia University argue a tangible solution to the sub-prime mortgage crisis:
Permitting modification of all mortgages in bankruptcy would create a low-cost, effective, and immediately available method for resolving much of the current foreclosure crisis without imposing costs. Ideally mortgage servicers would modify the terms of unexpectedly unaffordable mortgages to help homeowners stay in the properties and to mitigate the loss to lenders. (6)
Essentially, this plan involves extending Chapter 13 of filing bankruptcy to include loan modifications. Currently, when an individual files Chapter 13, their debt can be examined and the loan extended so the debt can be paid in full. If legislation was introduced that included
Seeing other people reactions towards foreclosure helps me to develop a meaningful value of life and how to appreciate it everyday of my life. As I see what is going on around me I came up with three plans that can be executed to help all people who are dealing with foreclosure issues. This can become a major factor for the economy. One is called Own A Home , Financially Fit, and Bills To Kill. These are guaranteed plans that will help any individual that feels that they are not financially secured to become a homeowner. The Own A Home program is designed for aspiring homeowner in which they
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
There are many interesting proposals to help homeowners who are in the process of foreclosure. Just recently, before the election, Senator John McCain proposed to the Treasury to spend $300 billion to purchase troubled mortgages at face value and then the “Federal Housing Administration would issue a new, federally guaranteed 30-year fixed-rate loan, based on the property's present value, at a "manageable" interest rate” (McKinnon, 2008). Under McCain's plan, the government would pay for the loans and take the whole loss rather than putting the responsibility on the lenders. His plan carries large benefits for the homeowners, but it will decrease
Foreclosure is a dangerous issue that has swept our nation in the last few years. Americans are losing their homes due to jobs being lost, home values falling, and banks lending out more money than homeowners can afford. Despite the multitude of issues that arise out of foreclosure, the main problem at hand can be almost solely traced to the economy. The recession has put many people out of work, made taking out loans more difficult, and has caused a nationwide panic. Therefore, to completely solve the foreclosure problem, it is necessary to trace the issue back to its roots, being the economy. This would take fifty pages to discuss, so this paper seeks to solve one aspect of foreclosure. Refinancing is an option that has become
The financial crisis emerged because of an excessive deregulation of business operation of financial institutions and of abusing the securitization mechanism in the absence of clearly defined rules to regulate this area in the American mortgage market (Krstić, Jemović, & Radojičić, 2013). Deregulation gives larger banks the opportunity to loosen underwriting lender guidelines and generate increase opportunity for homeownership (Kroszner & Strahan, 2013). After deregulation, banks utilized many versions of mortgage loans. Mortgage loans such as subprime and Alternative-A paper loans became available for borrowers challenged to find mortgage lenders before deregulation (Elbarouki, 2016; Palmer, 2015). The housing market has been severely affected by fluctuating interest rates and the requirement of large down payment (Follain, & Giertz, 2013). The subprime lending crisis has taken a toll on the nation’s economy since 2007. Individuals who lacked sufficient credit ratings or down payments resorted to subprime mortgages to finance their homes Defaults on subprime and other mortgages precipitated the foreclosure crisis, which contributed to the recent recession and national financial crisis (Odetunde, 2015). Subprime mortgages were appropriate for borrowers with substandard credit and Alternate-A paper loans were
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 mortgage crisis we are experiencing in the United States today is already ranking as among the most serious economic events since the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Hardly a day goes by without a story in the newspaper or on the cable news stations reporting about the increase in the number of foreclosures across the United States. The effects of this crisis have spread across all financial markets, where in the end all of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis. When the housing market collapsed, so did the availability of credit which our economy depends upon. The home mortgage crisis, the financial crisis and overall economic crisis all need to address by the
The foreclosure crisis in America has impacted everyone- even those who don’t own homes. Our nation is currently struggling with high unemployment, a relatively illiquid credit market, and a deficit that raises serious concerns about the value of the US Dollar in the not too distant future. With interest rates already at historic lows and the government pursuing an unprecedented policy of quantitative monetary easing, options for government intervention are limited. While there is no simple solution to this problem, I think that we must look at the reasons the housing market went into crisis, and based on that develop a regulatory system that will allow us to avoid another situation like this in the future. If Americans believe
Within the past three to four years, the United States has seen the dramatic collapse of the housing market. The housing bubble spurred by ill-advised loans to individuals who could not afford a mortgage, complicated contracts which had interest rates and payments changing without reason, and the mass purchasing of bad loans by lending superpowers, had popped. The rapid increase in the value of homes across the country for the previous decade, had been a falsity, in which billions of dollars funded by investments and home purchases were lost within a few months (Wikipedia.org: United States housing bubble). Millions of home owners were found to be unable to pay their mortgages, leading to hundreds of thousands of foreclosures. These
In order to fix the foreclosure crisis, the supply of homes on the market will need to be sold. My plan creates a team approach to achieving this goal. The team would consist of a realtor, an appraiser, a mortgage broker, and a homeowner. The realtor will complete a market analysis for the homeowner, and the appraiser will do an appraisal for the mortgage company. The mortgage broker will assess the homeowner’s financial situation to determine what they can now afford. The realtor will help the homeowners find a new home at a price they can afford. The mortgage broker will set up a new mortgage with new strict guidelines designed to help the homeowner succeed. The homeowner
As the economy drops and foreclosures are on the rise, millions of Americans who were financially stable several years ago are asking the same question, “How could this happen to me?” The crisis has occupied the minds of politicians, who are trying desperately to solve this problem, but the tragedy continues as more and more Americans are foreclosed on with no alternatives. The foreclosure crisis will not be solved by simply lowering interest rates, firing loan brokers, or other short-term, ineffective solutions. The long term solution to the housing crisis has nothing to do with housing. The government has lost its way and needs to redirect the way the whole economy is run.
The foreclosure crisis in Cleveland has imposed significant financial burdens upon taxpayers and area residents who have been forced to shoulder burdens that are rightfully the responsibility of borrowers, mortgage lenders and others that are direct parties to the mortgage transaction. Indeed, “the failure of borrowers and lenders
The best solution to the mortgage crisis America is facing today is both easy . . . and difficult to execute. The solution is two-pronged: change the American philosophy on consumerism and debt while also making concrete changes in the way the lending industry works. Both demand taking a long-term view in order to be successful.
Brooklyn, NY – December 30, 2009 Foreclosures continue to rise drastically across the United States due to the recession, and have effected, and continue to affect thousands of families and individuals every day. One aspect we must take into consideration is that most people are not informed of what foreclosure means, or the process, even those who are homeowners. I believe that one step to preventing foreclosure is to educate first-time homebuyers. In addition, first-time homebuyer programs should not only assist potential buyers with financially preparing them to buy a home, but to keep the home once
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.