I’m a simple person. Simple solutions make sense to me. Keeping with that thought process, one that the American public can clearly understand and appreciate; I’m laying out this plan in very simple terms. No blame. No politics. Just a no frills idea that might help solve more than one crisis this nation is facing. 1. Banks have all financial information on each and every loan applicant who applied for mortgage or loan money. Because of that, we can use this process to alleviate the housing pressure and or future defaults.
1. Have each bank who has or is ready to foreclose on a loan, pull the borrower’s original application and credit report and determine if, at the time of the original loan, the applicant would have been able
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Otherwise, the homeowner has not shown any responsibility for their poor choices and likely will not do so in the future, expecting someone else to bail them out yet again. Help only those who are trying to help themselves.
2. If yes, bring the owners of the foreclosed house to the table with the bank and reissue a new mortgage on that same house at a rate under 5% utilizing the original balance, no matter if the house is now below the value of the current market or not. Do not charge closing costs, and give the owner to two months of deferred payments with no interest. This may allow the original owner time to recondition an abandoned home. The bank can then reissue a new mortgage with the lower fixed interest rate at the price the house was repossessed at, no matter what the current sales value is. It may give the bank access to equity if the price of the house did not plummet. This idea makes the owner have some skin in the game, as they will have to stay in the house long term to reacquire equity. Have part of the deal be that the bank withdraws from the credit bureau the declaration of bankruptcy so the owner’s credit record is cleared. Everyone understands the impact a poor credit rating has on every future purchase and may be enough to make the deal attractive to the owner. Condition the offer on prompt payments and good care of the reclaimed property. Most owners never wanted to leave their homes. They usually had no
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
An alternative would be for lenders to add a true customer service department which is not based on pay or get out, but is counseling based to keep Americans in the American Dream of home ownership. This would not only keep their customers for future business with new home loans, but would be noticed by neighbors and the community who are appreciative their home values are not decreasing. The lenders would counsel them through the sale by assisting them with getting the most they can for their home. By getting local community organizations involved to help with home repairs and curb appeal. Once the home is market ready and a dollar amount has been reached for these repairs the home owner will have to volunteer time and/or resources to assist another person going through the same situation. This would not only help the homeowner but will keep homes in the area selling at a fair market value and not bring down the values in their neighborhood. The assistance provided by the lenders and assistance from the community will help build their self confidence and make them feel like they are not alone.
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 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
I often used to watch a show called “Extreme Makeover” where a team of builders would come to a neighborhood, build a need worthy family a beautiful new home, and then just give it to them. “Wow! What a lucky family,” I would say. “How fortunate.” However, as time went by, that same family would be in the news again. Why? The house was in foreclosure. The people had gone to the bank and taken out a mortgage against the home, then spent all the money they got for it on other things.
For those who had the unthinkable misfortune to lose their home and go through foreclosure, it isn’t the end. In fact, if they still dream of becoming homeowners again, it can happen. It may take a while, years in fact, but it can be done. The first thing a potential boomerang buyer (previous foreclosure victim in the process of transition to own property again) should do is to be educated on the recovery process after foreclosure. Foreclosure doesn’t necessarily begin the day you pack up, move, and turn over your keys to the bank. Foreclosure could literally take years after that. A foreclosure is listed on your credit report for seven years. It may be listed longer, but it can really only be held against you for that long. However, this doesn’t mean you have to wait seven years or longer after foreclosure to purchase property again. The time you have to wait will largely depend on the lender, the type of loan and your credit.
“Shit happens” is probably what most of these foreclosed homeowners hear after they were forced to leave their comfy home. Even though the economy is unpredictable, not a lot of the victims are satiable by such a vague expression that has caused them to lose their property. It’s a harsh comment, but the economy has turned into something that we have little influence over. One of the worst feelings is having minimal control over the consequences and outcome. Some people are afraid to make the same home-buying decision again as a result, because what’s stopping the economy from taking another shit on them again? The answer is probably nothing, but what are some actions these homeowners can take to ease into settling down in a home again? Foreclosure victims can try to improve their credit score and it could get them that approved private loan in return if needed. Saving money is also a general option for those that tend to spend a lot on luxury retail goods. Another option can be utilizing the rent-to-own option to have that ‘homey’ feeling as soon as possible. Some people can also test their patience and attempt to wait it out until the economy exits the lavatory.
The foreclosure crisis is changing the Real Estate Owned (REO) process. Some banks hold off on following through with foreclosures or letting empty houses sit in limbo, where they deteriorate further, instead of selling them. Cleveland has dealt with these “toxic titles,” as banks like Wells Fargo have refused to
From what I can understand about the foreclosure issue in this country, it is partly due to the fact that many people get trapped in these adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) and when their rates increase, their mortgages will go up, and they are no longer able to afford their homes. Another reason is because of the mere fact that so many people have lost their jobs. Although this crisis may not be solved over night, I do have some ideas as to how this country can cut down the number of foreclosures that occur.
A second thing that could be done in order to reduce foreclosures is to create a system that is similar to “rent to own” (http://home.howstuffworks.com/real-estate/rent-to-own-homes.htm). In this scenario if a homeowner cannot pay a mortgage, he or she has the option to freeze their mortgage and pay a lower “rent” rate in which all rent payments become profit for the bank and not applied directly to the mortgage.
If someone knows they can no longer keep up with their payments then they can have someone come to their house and check out the condition it is in and average in the houses condition plus the amount spent to live in the house. Then give a percentage back to the person so they can afford maybe a cheaper home or an apartment. For example, if a house costs $30,000 and the homeowner has already paid $20,000 but they have become unemployed and can no longer make the necessary payments, instead of their home being foreclosed, someone can do an estimate based on the condition of the house and the $20,000 spent on the house. But if someone’s home is left in a poor condition then the money necessary to repair the house will be deducted from what they are suppose to receive back. This will decrease the percentage of homeless people while decreasing the percentage of foreclosure, also it is a more ethical thing to do rather then just taking someone’s home from them and leaving them to rot.
Homeowners who were hit badly by the economy several of years ago were forced out of their homes. I know, because I was one of them. Ours is a rather long story, but to keep it short, my husband and I were both real estate agents. When the economy hit rock-bottom, we had some land that we could sell until we both acquired better paying jobs, however, three days before we were suppose to close on the land, we found out that the title company five years previously had messed up on the title and we could not sell it now. After fighting using lawyers, and money we didn’t have, to help us with the title company and bank that messed up on the recording, we finally gave up and walked away from our land and then our house, since we didn’t have
Refinancing and / or re-modifying the current mortgage of the buyer in trouble are the obvious solution. The interest rates would have to be fixed rates that would be low enough for the buyers to stay in a favorable situation and not get delinquent. This would also help the homebuyer to make needed improvements or upgrades to their home if needed. Once this solution is in place, someone would have to be able to control the procedure and make sure that everyone is in compliance with what they are suppose to be doing. It would make no since, if this solution would take place and then fall apart because no one was doing the follow up on it. At this point, everyone would suffer because the buyer would still not get
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.
Foreclosed homes have become a menacing commonality in nearly every neighborhood in the United States. These foreclosed properties problems range from unkempt yards, broken doors and windows, as well as becoming dangerous havens for drugs and violent acts of vandalism. In addition, empty foreclosed homes drive down property values of surrounding homes and neighborhoods.