Are you a chump?

I think it is imperative that troubled borrowers get some help. Otherwise, our economy will tank and every one of us will suffer. However, helping these borrowers by giving them a better deal than the rest is unfair. Why not give them an EXTRA LONG TERM fixed rate mortgage at a moderately higher rate than a borrower with good credit would receive in today’s market?

If you want to punish the lending institutions that pushed this risky loans on MORE THAN WILLING BUYERS; than dont let them adjust the terms. By doing this they are taking full advantage of the system. They made huge profits on the rise of the bubble (the bubble which the helped create) and now they can adjust their bad loans to keep from having to write them off as bad debt.

Punish the lenders by making them default on these loans. Then houses will go back on the market and the market will adjust to demand and price.

Its a total scam!

We were warned but who listened? Country FRIED, BSOFA, CitiBROKE and others telling of huge losses now. Thomas Jefferson warned America & said;
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802)
3rd president of US (1743 – 1826)

What our founding fathers would think now?

Is that all it takes. Then why should I wait. I want a “teaser” rate loan, party like it’s “1999″, skip payments, cry foul, and wait for the government to bail me out. LAUGHABLE!!! Is what that is.

This country is resilient. We survived the Great Depression, the Eighties (aerospace closures), the dot-com fiasco, etc.

We’ll survived this, too. Keep this in mind, there are plenty of us, left on the sidelines (building our credit, jobs, and saving money) waiting for sanity to enter the market. (It makes no sense for a house to double in price in less than 5 years.)

Let Free Enterprise work! Finally! we have something to celebrate. We’re giddy. Except, for this talk of bailouts and prices are still too high, though. Holdouts. Greedy, to the end.

Excuse Me!!!!! I am sick of hearing the phrase “Predatory Lender”. Is that the new “bogey man” or is it a cover-up for wreckless behavior that blames others instead of personal responsibility.

However, I remember the celebrations, glee and I was not invited.

Where are my toys- the house, remodels, swimming pools, trips, cars, “flip” investments, etc.? These people were in a drunken stupor.

Now, that the party is over, we’re to “foot the bill”! That’s insane! Yes, there is a party going on, right now. It is called a Pity Party.

I decline.

Geri, shame on you for not accepting responsibility for your actions. No one “forced” you to take a loan. There were no threats, weapons, and you were not held prisoner. If so, you need to contact the police and file charges.

If not, then therefore you had Free Will. “Walk Away” that’s all you had to do. You “chose” otherwise.

Well, I look at this on two sides. There are some people (poor and low income people) who did not have too much choice in that, they were hoodwinked by savvy mortgage companies who took advantage of an already disadvantaged borrower. (mainly Minorities)

On the other hand, some of the troubled borrowers knew very well what they were doing and pretty much played the wrong card thus ending up in the situation they are in right now.

My summation is, some people really do deserve the help but others should not. How do you distinguish the two? How do you separate the good from the bad in order to help them?

Actually I recognize that lenders are making a smart move. It is far better to have an occupant who lives and takes care of a property than an empty one. It’s not a case of being a chump. It’s a smart move on the part of the lenders.

People with higher fix-rate mortgage from Countrywide should start a class action against the company for unfair business practice.

The reason for this tragic situation is greed. I would say that wanting to own a home is not being greedy. Those that sold the notes and made obscene commissions are the true source of this anguish. The lenders will want to point the finger at the stupid borrowers and say “Don’t blame us for stupid borrowers! We didn’t force them to sign!” It’s like a huge pyramid scam, but with trusted corporate banks running it! Anyhow, my TRUSTED bank of 30 years tried to push a refi on me but I did not believe the hype. Thank God!

The reason I am so angry with these predators is that my young son and his wife with a child on the way bought into one of these snake-oil mortgages. They were so proud and could not wait to show my wife and I their new home. He called me and asked me about the best type of loan to get and I told him to go fixed, but ultimately ended up with a cheap monthly payment for 1 year with a sharp reset and prepay penalty after 3 years. He actually thought he did well on this! I asked him why and he stated the same line of so many of these predators: “There is absolutely no down side! I can refi in 3 or sell the place at a huge profit based on the historical prices the mortgage agent showed me!” I am the one bailing him out now.

If you walk into a casino and everyone is hitting the jackpot, 90% of you would through your hat in the ring too. Homes were selling around him and netting the owners huge profits. There were several programs on TV about flipping homes and it seemed you just could not loose! He gambled and we all lost. The problem was that he did not think that it was a gamble! I mean, how could all these buyers and loan companies be wrong? If this had not happened to my son, I would be on the same bandwagon as you, pointing the finger in the wrong direction, rope in hand and looking for a tree.

He is going through a painful lesson now but these predator mortgage companies need to be held accountable for knowingly writing and selling notes that fly in the face of common sense.

In summary, this is just a sign of the times. We are a credit based society on a binge that is now coming to an abrupt halt. The trade deficit is so bad know that many nations are selling dollars and loading up on other foreign currency. If it did not start with the housing market, it surely would have started elsewhere with just as much devastation.

Not one red cent of my already high taxes should go to bailing out the banks, loan companies, and irresponsible individuals. I purchased my home (which I still live in) back in the early/mid 80’s, and the rate was in the TEENS; but it was a small house, less that 25% of income, which I could AFFORD 9and later refinanced twice). Banks, lenders, and financial institutions need to take their medicine, and people would do well to get back to a very simple path to economic freedom, which seems to have evaporated in our current “want everything now” whining society, don’t buy sh** one cant afford (especially **it that one does not NEED (4000 square foot houses, granite countertops, etc etc ). The Fed also created this crap with the unrealistic low rates (that for some reason people thought would be sustained forever) for too long. Again, I remember rates in the TEENS, there is nothing unhealty or unreasonable about 5-8% rates. Also, I do NOT mind my home equity decreasing to a reasonable amount, such that others might purchase homes at affordable prices.
NO BAILOUTS!!

Fact: If you build it, they will come: Mortgage lenders made this mess possible. Now that the hens have come home to roost , the sad fact is that if the foreclosures continue at this rate, there will be far reaching implications for the economy. The bottom line is there will still be a significant amount of borrowers that will not be able to make the payments even after a refinance. In these cases the home must foreclose. There are 8 homes on my block that are in foreclosure or already owned by the bank while last year there was only 1.

Smack the borrower for being stupid, but don’t let the enabler off the hook that knew exactly what would happen. Many of these fly-by-night mortgage lenders wrote the paper then resold it. They made their money and now are nowhere to be found, leaving the lending institutions with a bunch of bad paper. If we are going to call the borrower stupid, what does that make the lender that bought the worthless note? These are professionals that should know better. Obviously, they will be bailed out of their folly leaving the rest of us with the bag. No doc loan? What kind of dope are these lenders smoking? Tell me again why the lenders that wrote or bought these notes are not the cause of all of this in the first place!

There are tons of stories of the young couples that have been solicited by predatory mortgage companies and only told of the up side. Salesmen on fat commissions to write these loans will sell there mothers into prostitution, so it is no wonder that they have played fast and loose with the facts and with a little smoke and mirrors, you are now a homeowner.

Over the past 5 years we have all been hit with tons of slick advertising. Some of the most credible talk show hosts on radio have outright promoted these refi’s! For those of you that fell for it, I am truly sorry. I almost did but backed out when I found on the day of signing that not only was it a screwy ARM, it also had a 3 year pre-pay penalty! Needles to say I stuck with my fixed rate loan. After the Savings & Loan bailout, I thought we were over this type of thing. Where is the oversight? For those of us that hate too much government, these predators sure did invite them in.

Can anyone make an intelligent comparison of the subprime market buyouts to the savings and loans buyouts of the 1980s (I think)?

A couple of things are happening under the surface here:

Mortgage holders who make these adjustments get to reclassify those problem loans as good again. Same borrower, same collateral, reduced value, now a good loan. Sounds similar to the derivative products which mixed them all together to reduce the risk in the first place. They then get to reduce their loss reserves, thus increasing their income and boosting their stock price.

(Because of the industry and companies, there are regulators which must be allowing these reclassifications.)

Those holding the loans now have a reduced repayment / income stream, thus decreasing their projected profits and cash flows which should result in restated projections. And if publicly traded, reduced stock prices based on those earning forecasts.

Again you don’t hear about regulators saying anything about these implications because the government has said loud and clear that it would rather continue to prop up (or bail out) an over inflated housing market than deal with reality. Just like it has done for many years with its own budget and spending.

The biggest difference is that now the problem is from consumers having excessively unrealistic expectations.
They still want a house they can’t really afford, unless somebody changes the rules for them.

yes we are chumps-we believed the hype that spe(w)culators were shouting… why a home should cost what it did in 2005- why homes values were not going to decline, there are too many people needing homes,home is the best investment… BLAH BLAH BLAH-leading to bidding wars on over priced homes!-we knew homes were overpriced(i am in the remodel business)-but were forced to buy when we did because we were in a good financial position THEN-now homes have lost value(not in seattle though) and the folks(institutions) that were pumping up the markets then and making boatloads of money then, are NOW profiting from the markets decline!-getting rich thru special derivitive market’s(which they created-look at the ABX for example created to enable short selling of equity vehicles) short selling of homes and whatever else they conjure up to fleece those that haveany $$$-with that point said,i would MUCH RATHER LET HOMEOWNERS OFF THE HOOK!!! THEN THOSE GREEDY INSTITUTIONS WHO ARE GETTING RICH OFF THE DECLINE OF THE MARKETS THEY CREATED-they own/create the cycles never lose their own money and get bailed out by uncle sam!- NOW IF THE GOVT HELPS OUT THE HOMEOWNER-THOSE INSTITUTIONS LOSE, BECAUSE THEY ARE BETTING ON A RECESSION THEY HAVE CREATED-DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE-THEY OWN THE NEWS AGENCIES TV AND RADIO …MOST MEDIA-THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE PUNISHED BY THESE INSTITUTIONS IF THEY HELP OUT THE SMALL GUY-they are fleecing america,and will plunge us into recession if we let them-to top it off the builders and are renting out the properties the could not sell-but they are still building in many areas-bailout the little guy-screw the big guys-if they help out the little guy he will have more to spend to get the economy going again-LOWER THE PRIME LENDING RATE DOWN TO 1% AGAIN THAT WILL FIX THIS MESS AND KICK THOSE INSTITUTIONS IN THE TEETH AND MAYBE TEACH THEM TO QUIT MESSING AROUND WITH PEOPLES LIVES-bailout the litle guy!!!

to voter La, Ca. Shame on you for being so heartless, all I was looking for was advice on how to fix things before my 7 year fixed rate is up. Do not want anyone’s money to fix my problems and wanted to know if it was legal for my lender to force me borrow 60,000 a when I only wanted 20,000. We all need an place to and I live within my means in my little 625 sq ft house. If you would “ready” with your hot headed opinions you would have ready that I put the extra 40,000 right back on the principal.

I think this bail out is more of a problem for the economy than it is good. I am an Appraiser, one with ethics who doesn’t hit numbers for lenders, who doesn’t have very many clients. These bail out loans are skipping the system, everyone is suffering financially, my business has dropped off substantially. So instead of a bail out, why aren’t there the creation of loan programs for these individuals who got in over thier head on ARMs? Then it would be like normal busniess, a new loan program to fit the needs of consumers. Just like the 125% LTV loans that were popular in the 90’s when housing values were flat.

Folks you only need to read Anonymous and Cerms comments to know what we are dealing with and yes, incl. Tara.

These people do not get it and we get to see their true colors. What kind of talk is “head up their ___”. But yet, they want our money. And I do not think I have it altogether (financially or otherwise), I wish! So, keep your mumbo-jumbos to yourself, Cerm. Dog! I don’t have a dog! Anonymous. I’m trying to take care of my family.

I do not like my job. I work 8 hours/5 days a week and travel time of 2-3 hours a day. It only pays me enough to maintain the status-quo (though it’s above average in pay & duties).

I want more out of life, a home for my family. So, I go without- skimping, saving, building my credit, while trying my best to make wise financial decisions. I am caught in the middle. Our earnings too high for government downpayment assistance programs and too poor to afford the current price of homes… Still, I suck it up and forge ahead with hopes of succeeding.

Therefore, it is very hard for me to fathom giving money to people who made these financial decisions, lenders or borrowers. (It is not fair to all who struggle to make ends meet and go without to build a better future, against all the odds).

I believed this as the American way- pay your dues, sacrifice and hard work. Now, it’s all a con, games, lies, and deceit. Fat cats on Wall Street- rich beyond compare, gambling homeowners feigning ignorance for bailouts, the list can go on and on. “Guilt”- as Tara said over and over again, she “feels none”.

Why should I give one red cent to people like this?

Looks like ARMs, subprime or not, are mostly to blame. Lots of people easily overpaid for houses 2 years ago and now are selling them at 10% loss or more. The worst I’ve seen is one house listed now at $843,000 that was purchased for $1,091,000 mid-2006. After commissions, that’s a $300,000 loss in a little over a year. Ouch.

I got lucky and managed a 7/1 ARM at 4% (1/2 discount point) back in 2003. It has worked very well, so not all ARMs are bad for the consumer. I’m trying to trade-up now for family reasons, and my next mortgage will probably be a 5/5 ARM around 4.75%.

Why is it that people who save and don’t borrow their brains out always get the shaft ? I say if a “favorable” rate package is given to one to prvent foreclosure then it should be given to all !

I believe the lenders should help the borrowers they enticed into loans they could not possibly qualify for, with 100% financing (80/20) to avoid PMI. These loans should not have been made and in prior years, would have been considered fraudulent by the lending institutions. However, the banks should be shouldering the debt burden not taxpayers! These lenders should be held accountable and should spend their ill-gotten profits not our tax dollars. That’s how I feel about it!

Does this mean I can run up my credit cards while at the introductory rate and expect someone to pay my bills when the rate increases. Let the market work it out the lenders and borrowers of these loans should both lose. If I suffer financialy because of their greed so be it but I should not be forced to pay to improve their position.

If you think that the option of having the lenders “bail out” these loans by adjusting the terms of these “troubled loans”, you fail to comprehend the point of this posting.

Why should Countrywide charge these dead-beats less and charge me more. I do not want to subsidize a dead-beat. My 30 year fixed will not be lowered!

I FEEL LIKE A CHUMP- I should have come close to default instead of switching to a fixed and paying more.

Finally- most importantly. The reason there is vacant homes that have been previously forclosed on is because no one is willing to pay the current inflated price for these homes. Let the market adjust and demand will soak up this inventory immediatly!

Yes, let’s have a bailout. Here’s how it should work: Firms like Countrywide can take the billions in profits before this mess came due and give it to people like me. Then, I can buy the house that pure and simple common sense told me I couldn’t afford 3 years ago.
Americans living within their means should be rewarded, not bled even more on the altar of greed.

To: Responsible Voter, LA CA

I am not asking for bailout. I am trying to inform you stupid people who have their head up their ___ that there are well known big mortgage companies out there that are telling people one thing and doing something else. I am still paying my mortgage and will continue to pay my mortgage, but I think it is wrong for them to have said one thing and done something else. I have no intention of taking tax payer money for anything, but I think my mortgage company should step up and give me what they said the two step process was. I didn’t buy an expensive house, as a matter of fact, it is less than the national standard. I just thought it would be good to refinance with this company when they offered and then I could make one payment and they didn’t tell me about the interest rate until they had me signing papers and happy I could do this. I had an elderly dog that I took care of like a responsible person does and didn’t put down just because she cost me money and the vet bills added up and I refinanced those bills. I finally had to put her down in September. I was also out of work all last winter. I do pay my bills and always have, even when I was out of work, but it would have been nice for the mortgage company to keep their word instead of sticking me with this rate. You know the “Good Faith” they always talk about. Well I didn’t get that “Good Faith.”

Ticked off? You bet I am! We obtained a fixed rate mortgage with a payment that made us comfortable. Both our realtor and lender told us we qualifyed for an amount 4 times higher. Thankfully, we did not fall for this and remain comfortable with our mortgage payment.

Big Business again. The little guy played by the rules. Now big business wants to change the rules to suit their needs.

The bubble burst for both the lenders and borrowers. And again those who played by the rules pay for it? If any lender gives lower fixed rates to anyone in this situation then they should, by a mandate or law approved by Congress, give the same rate to those who have had higher rates and paid their mortgage payments on time. Why should the responsible people who have played by the rules be penalized for the actions of those who did not?

Ben Franklin said: “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” If I got a mortgage rate of 8% X number of years ago and had to borrow from my 401K or by other means to struggle to keep my house, no one helped me. Those who were unaffected because they played by the rules now see the rules being changed by big business.

Rodger, Port Huron, MI.

a note to those who seem to think they have it all together “Let he who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” you may not have it as well together as you think,watch out, calamity knows no special persons.

I used to be an Account Executive for the subprime mortgage business for two years. One of them, at one time, was the largest subprime lender in the country. Some people might think of it as the tip of the spear in this whole mess. During that time, we were told they did research and found that people with a 580 credit score could not be trusted with the equity in their home. That is why they required the borrower to have a 600 to get 100% LTV. They were not competitive and were quickly passed by the companies that saw the big picture.

Before that I sold high rate / high closing costs (10 points on every loan nationwide) for three years.
We used to have a saying. “I wouldn’t lend them the money, good thing the bank will.”

I made good money at one point. Not because I stole or misled someone. They signed 75+ documents that said they understood what they were doing. At one point I can’t go into Tiffany’s or a Mercedes dealership and take a car or watch and not expect to pay for it. They knew what they were doing and they and the banks that made imprudent lending decisions, along with a lot of good one’s, are going down first.

i’m sorry to inform you that the economy and country are next.

What the problem is that some people have a predisposition to feel that “The Man” has been screwing the for all of these years, so I am going to screw “The Man” by going into foreclosure.

The only one losing here is the delinquent borrower, and the rest of the tax paying public.

You can go to China, Istanbul, or Venus. Your credit will always follow you….

I have a 30 year fixed loan at 6.75%
Can I have a 5%?, please?

If the government actually bails out those who lost money in the Subprime scandal, they will bail out the Lenders (banks) and NOT the home owner. Similar to the 1980’s Saving and Loans bailout by Bush, Sr., history repeats….

I owned a townhouse in Chicago that I purchased in May 2004 using a 3/1 ARM at 3.675%. I was well aware that the rate would adjust in three years and that there was a 2% cap on the rate increase. I was planning on moving in three years and it was a gamble I took.

I ended up selling the house in June 2007 and only had to pay one increased payment. I just closed on a house in Des Moines two days ago that was in a Short-Sell (buyer owed more than the list price) and was moving into foreclosure. I plan to stay in this house for the forseeable future, so I got a 30-year fixed mortgage at a rate of 5.875%.

My mortgage company was up front about what the ARM was and that the rate would adjust. Knowing how low the interest rates were at the time I bought the townhouse, I knew they could only go up. People are foolish to assume that rates would continue to drop or remain static. This is why I don’t gamble or play the lottery … they’re a tax on people who can’t do math. They got themselves into this mess … anyone who says they didn’t understand what they were getting into is playing us like violins.

Sadly, I do agree that the lenders need to make deals with these people because I don’t want to see so many families lose their homes and watch our economy get even worse than it already is. I think the people who get help deserve to have it be a negative impact on their credit reports, like a bankruptcy. There should be some kind of penalty for living outside of your means.

I agree with all of the other pissed off people. Borrowers messed up by purchasing/refinancing beyond what they could afford. Lenders messed up by not telling these people NO.

I absolutely think NO TAXPAYER MONEY should be used to help out lenders or borrowers. If the lenders want to help struggling borrowers out, using their own money, then I am ok with that. They both caused the problem, so they both need to work out a solution, whether it is forclosing or restructuring mortgages

I dont like a bail out either,but it is better than mass foreclosures and vacant properties bringing down the neighborhood,increasing crime and vandalism.The lenders who made billions off these loans should now have to give some back and keep people in their homes.(period!)

Heck no to any aid to individuals who
didn’t have any sense when it comes to money matters, especially residential or property financing. If one doesn’t have a little something upstairs, he or she shouldn’t even be trying to buy a house.

Tara, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Accept responsibility for your mistakes. The lenders owe you nothing, as you were not guaranteed a preferable rate upon refinancing. You gambled and lost. Clue- No credit is bad credit. Face it, you got caught up in the boomtimes thinking you had to act now or lose out. Different from you, rathered than diving in, I reasoned I was shut out. I refuse to buy one of those expensive homes, favorable interest rate or not. Do not brag that you never asked for help before, for it, is not a savings account, a person earns. It is a goal to attain. “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country”.

Don’t even mention bailout! Why should the majority of Americans have to deal with the greed and stupidity behind this mess. GREED is behind this mess, so let the gluttonous elements of our not-to-swift society suffer the consequences. Many Americans are just not with it when it comes to financial matters; let’s stop punishing those who handle their finances responsibly.

A bailout should not be an option for individuals with sufficient incomes who made poor financial choices in order to purchase a home larger than what they could afford. People need to be made responsible for their decisions and made to realize that they need to be informed and educated consumers.

To Missy… Whatever!!!

Grow up. You duped yourself. You and your ilk just want to win the lottery. You are trying to sell your bill of goods to us like we are stupid. We did not buy these crazy adjustables. Why do you think we are buying “sob” stories.

Back off and stay out of my pocket.

To geri in Baltimore, and I CARE… I do not!!! What is wrong with you people. Are you just blowing off wind or are you advocating for assistance. You must be crazy if you think I care about your financial problems enough to give you money.

In seven years, if things improve, you will be celebrating. Bingo! You cannot have it both way, folks. Whatever the case, I do not care.

To the Adj Rate Borrowers in trouble, do any of you take responsibility for your loan without blaming others?

Tara, you are “nervee”, I give you that. Your rants are “off the hook”. So much so that I think you are an imposter, some social do-gooder trying to help the downtrodden. If so, your so called good intentions are misplaced on this lot. They are the Haves (bad loan and all). In fact, they stand to win the lifes Jack-Pot.

I do not care if you loose your home. Please! Give me a break. You’re kidding. Right. I am the have-not, I rent. I have not change for Life’s Jack Pot. I only have myself! That’s fine, I accept the terms and so should you.

I am utterly amazed at the sheer ignorance and arrogance of the writers caught with ARMs. They blame everyone but themshelves. Don’t you see, this only inflames our contempt. To make matters worse they try to hold themselves separate from society’s other despots. “I am not like them”, etc. ugh

Woe is me, the big bad wolf scared me or is it he tricked me, (oh H*$!) any excuse will do, he made me do it. Blah-Blah. Clue- banks, mortgage lender, realtors are out to make a buck. They do not care about you or me! Give me a break.

I DON’T CARE WHY YOU ARE IN YOUR PREDICAMENT. I am only writing because I do not want the government to any bail-outs (lenders or holders).

I do not care about the taxes you paid, what others got away with, or how you have lived your life. I do not want to pay for them or you! Get it.

“Do not piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining”. We all know why people take out adjustables. It is to purchase at a lower rate what isn’t affordable at a fixed rate. Usally poor credit and no credit is considered Poor Credit.

Stop asking the citizens of the U.S. to take care of you. My goodness… wake up! Are you advocating a handout for me and the rest of us; renters, those with fixed rates, those who switched from adj to fixed rates, etc. We all have money issues rather our fault or others.

You are no exception and we do not care (not enough to give you money). Stop trying to get over on us (we are not buying). Join us and deal with your own money issues. You find no sympathy here. We want the market to fall, foreclosures and all. This is a resilent country. In fact, buy your house back through foreclosure. Where did you say you lived?

I’ve gone from making $35,000 per year to $100,000 a year since 2002 and have 4 kids. I’ve been unable to afford a home where I live due to the steep increase in housing prices due to the completely false economy created by mortgage companies lending money to people who can’t afford the homes they’re getting or have bad credit (or BOTH). I was wise enought not to fall victim to the BS of the mortgage brokers and stayed in an apartment I can afford. I’ve been waiting for a few years for the Sh– to hit the fan so that the market well correct and I an finally fulfill my dream of owning a home. IT IS FLAT OUT WRONG FOR THE MORTGAGE COMPANIES OR THE GOVERNMENT TO BAIL THESE IDIOTS OUT WHO WERE JUST PLAIN GREEEDY, WANTED TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES AND HAD NO WAY OF MAKING THEIR PAYMENTS……… bailout? what makes you so special?!

By someone who was taken advantage of by the mortgage companies, this is not exaggerated. These mortgage companies have really duped some of us.

By the way, I am still paying my mortgage, but if any of you think what my mortgage company did to me was fair and was my fault by telling me they would lower my interest rate in 10-12 months because it was a two-step process and then came back with an appraisal that was way below the first one they did, are the ones that are ignorant.

There should be NO BAILOUT for people who bought properties they could not afford. The problem in today’s society is that a lot of people DO NOT understand what they can and cannot afford. The use of credit has gotten way out of hand. Everyone wants instant gratification and the lender’s (both mortgage and consumer)are making it happen. It’s time to STOP THE MADNESS!!!!! Bailing people out will teach no one a lesson. Both lender’s and borrower’s need to act more responsibly regarding the extension of credit. THEY have made their beds…now let THEM toss and turn in them.

Like someone previously stated, I empathize with anyone who is dealing with financial problems. But the same excuses keeps coming up, “I did not realize”, “I did not read the fine print”.

I am held accountable for my mistakes, the IRS does not tell me, “Oh we understand you signed a document and did not read it, we will pay your tax liability this year”.

Why are these peoples mistakes special? They are not(period).

Bush Sr. bailed out the Savings and Loan collapse of the 1980’s stemming from mortgage problems. Of 150 billion in losses, about $125 billion was subsidized by the U.S. government. Was that fair? My feeling is if Bush, Jr bails out the Subprime mess, the $125 billion is going to look like Chump Change.

By someone who was taken advantage of by the mortgage companies, this is not exaggerated. These mortgage companies have really duped some of us. The government has allowed them to get away with it for years and now we are all paying for it. My mortgage company called me and asked if I wanted to consolidate some bills. I did refinance with them, one of the big names that hasn’t gotten hurt yet, but will when all of these go belly-up next year. They called me to see if I wanted to consolidate some debt and they gave me an 8.6% loan because they said they went over my home appraisal by about $5,000 because of the penalty if I pay off within 3 years, they did want me to go at 10% and I questioned them and they lowered it. I had good credit at this time, but they told me they had to go this % and I could come back in 10-12 months and they would lower it. I went back and they sent someone out to my house to appraise it at $30,000 less than what the appraisal was the first time. I knew this was wrong because the house beside me just like mine just sold for $10,000 more than their first appraisal and I called the company that did the first appraisal and he said he would have appraised it at $10,000 more than he did 10 months before. I didn’t realize it until this stuff is going on but he did put me in an adjustable rate loan also even though I told him no because I know what happened years ago to someone and he was trying to tell me that it could only go down, but he did give me an adjustable rate, but now I can’t get anyone to refinance it for anything because of the housing market and they won’t value it more than $20,000 less than the mortgage is. I reported it to the attorney general’s office which turned it over to the BBB and they went back and forth on emails with us, but never did accomplish anything.

I did a refi and I said “fixed” and would get proposals for ARM. Found a company who I thought talked my language, the day before we settled we went over the terms and suddenly they tell it was an ARM. I said no and I get a call back from a manager saying “well the rate is good for 7 years”. I felt stuck, I was told I could not use my appraisal with another lender so I would have to put out another $300.00. I was told my house appraised too high so I had to borrow 60,000 cash out instead of the 20,000 I wanted. I was not trying to go above my means I was really screwed and felt stuck. It fact I put the 40,000 I did not want right back on the principal. I am not in any trouble and do not need anyone to bail me out. At least not for 6 more years. I have been trying to find out what do I do now before that dreadful day when my housepayment goes sky high?

I know better next time. I’ll just leverage everything beyond common sense, then I’ll cry victim, and let government programs bail me out.

I ran the numbers, and I would break even with a nicer house. Dam! I am a chump!

People be HONEST! Many thought that rising home prices would continue indefinitely. Buying a house with low introductory payments and waiting for appreciation to occur WAS a great idea. Those who followed this logic from 2001 to 2003 profited greatly. This encouraged more and more people to do the same, which led to increased demand for homes resulting in skyrocketing prices. Those who waited to long to jump in are now going to lose greatly. Government needs to stay out of the way and allow the correction to take place. Home prices will come back to a level that can be supported by stagnant wages.

Once again certain people are unwilling to take personal responsibility. Bad decision means paying the consequences in my world.

Because you were ignorant/lazy and did not take the effort and sit down with a pencil and paper and figure out the costs associated with home ownership when you purchased your home, you now expect taxpayers to foot the difference?

These bail outs are not for investment based residential real estate. You muddy the issue when you bring that in to the discussion.

National unemployment rates are not the driving factor behind these foreclosures and subsequent BAIL OUTS. Look at the statistics from the Dept of Labor.

I don’t have to walk a mile in someone’s shoes who made a bad decision by purchasing a home they could not afford; walk a mile in my shoes and learn something about prudent financial management.

AND PLEASE DONT ASK ME TO PAY FOR YOUR SHOES!

Well, ya couldn’t say it was unfair for Fed chairs to dump the interest rate down to near free money, to spare the 9-11 economy. I guess there is some justice in aiding the victims of aggressive lenders, especially to spare the all world economy. It just feels like it should be the commissions of those lendors footing the bill, not the American Bailout Taxpayer.

O and for those people that seem to ludicrously think everything is cut and dry dont have hte experience in the mortgage market to have a clue on what to be talking about here.
You people dont know anything about the mortgage scamming that has been going on across the board.

No ONE said that an ARM is a bait-n-switch.
A standard ARM is not the problem here.
And yes according to Lender guidelines Each of these people were income-qualified to get those mortgages.

A) many people who get a mortgage for the first time dont understand the extra costs that go with a home ownership.
B) these mortgage companies have been giving out loans that reset far more than just a normal 1% ARM would. They reset at jumbo rates, and WERE NOT GIVEN the information about how much they MAY reset to because its variable. And the schedules they were shown were for the previous few years where the Federal Rates were lowering.
all that =s Lies to the public.

You folks that sit in your black and white world of, “hey, i know everything and i have experienced everything, so we are the honest, and knowledgable, good citizens” are full of yourselves and have NO idea whats been being told to people NOT in your situation.
PERIOD.

Many lenders have purposely inflated home values to lure people having money problems into a high rate home equity loan to “solve their problems” and while everyone’s cost of living has continued to Skyrocket with no end in sight while pay levels have actually retreated according to the US Census bureau, what do you expect to happen to millions of people that were able to afford a mortgage that quickly changed on them?

If you people cant go walk in the shoes of someone you continue to criticize, you just keep living in your fantasyland and stay out of the real world please.

A) a large portion of the people that are part of this meltdown were wealthy speculators that got into multiple mortgages as investments and are not refinancing them, they are just walking away. But they also provided a boon to the risky mortgage sector.
B) many more buyers are not ignorant dumb people that just didnt read the fine print, they were people that could afford the mortgage that have lost jobs since. Im in Michigan and when the auto industry and its supporting businesses lose over 150,000 jobs in your state over 6 yrs, theres a lot of homes that went on the block.
C) Many more people also knew their mortgages were risky, but went ahead with that same dream of home ownership that the mortgage companies were helping to persuade people to buy for the first time or with ‘creative financing’ and home values have deteriorated instead of the ballooning that was going on.
D) Lastly, its true the mortgage companies were frauding customers, banks, and investors by fudging the appraisal values of homes to get Home equity loans and fueled the economy with cash purchasing.
70% of our national GDP is due to Consumer spending. Our economy had continued to spend in the face of bad corporate scandals, tax fraud, investor fraud etc, because so many homeowners across the nation got big Equity checks to spend on home improvements, cars, and furniture, now thats drying up too.
Facts are facts people and these are all facts.
Additionally, all that you now complain about thats happening was the main reason for the housing price boom in the first place, so all that equity you have in your home and complain about going backwards is due to those factors you now decry against.
Whiners.

Yes!

There is no “Bait and Switch” scam involved with ARM mortgages. Their lender told these people that these rates were subject to change. If a person would be unable to afford their loan if their rate were to increase they should not have taken the loan. Taking out a mortgage on a piece of property that you cannot afford with the current fixed rates is not everyone else’s problem; it is your own. Persons that cannot currently afford their new mortgage rates from the ARM loan over a series of three or more months should not be given special exceptions so that they can make their monthly payments. The government and lending industry has no place in giving monetary incentives to persons who take loans they cannot afford. We homeowners whom carefully dissect the stability and amplitude of our incomes and then realistically decided how much of a loan we can afford should not be penalized. Giving financial support to persons who cannot afford the loan in the first place is asinine. People need to have some personal accountability and need to stop blaming everyone else for their problems.

I am elated to finally find an article that deals with this issue. First I want to express my profound empathy for those home owners that were “tricked” into getting into an adjustable loan on a home that you had no business buying. You will have to lose your home and join the ranks of renters. Welcome aboard mate; my wife and I are also renters.

BUT: the primary reason my wife and I are still renters is that the ignorant were “tricked” into signing these flagrantly risky “exotic loans”. Or much more likely, that greedy individuals misplaced their bets that home ownership was an ATM; causing the market to bubble and home prices to rise out of our budget. We knew that these exotic loans were risky; and that the market was inflated, and elected not to expose ourselves to the chance of loss. They are called “Variable Loans” for a reason, rates can adjust. We knew this not because we are especially intelligent, educated, or in some other way associated with a “silver spoon” heritage. We are just an ordinary American family who can balance our checkbooks and understand the concept of too good to be true.

Everyone who is referred to as a “TROUBLED BORROWER” in this specific forum is really someone who gambled and lost. If someone goes to Vegas and gambles; do we as a tax-funded nation bail them out? To say “I could never have known this would happen” is to admit a total and complete lack of any understanding of basic finance. With the resources available EVERYWHERE today, ignorance is a choice. Just as you chose to sign that mortgage, you must admit that you made a mistake and live with the consequences. “STEP AWAY FROM THE HOME SIR, THE ONE YOU NEVER COULD AFFORD IN THE FIRST PLACE”. Just like a drivers license is not a right, neither is home ownership!

By bailing these unfortunate (unlucky) individuals out what you are accomplishing is punishing people like my wife and I who acted prudently. The cost of bailing them out will be carried by your family, and by my family. Corporation like Countrywide do not lose money, they will pass the costs on to you and me. Price controls do not work, a free market must be allowed to adjust and correct.

I am furious with Country wide for giving a bailout to people who are defaulting and don’t read the fine print. I did not go for the teaser rates and making my payments on time so why should I pay my tax dollars on bailing people who saw the dollar sign but forgot to look at the risk factor. The same people would have made a fortune had the market not turned. If defaulters get a bail out why should I be penalized? Would Countrywide give me a financial incentive by writing off part of my loan or decreasing my interest rates? This is ridiculous and since when did corporate America start giving incentives to defaulters. This is a mockery of the system that wants me to play by the rule but reward people who are not willing to play by the rule. I did not make the rule so lets get a life and protest about this.

No, my wife and I are not chumps. We’re priced out renters who didn’t go for the loan scams of recent years. Now we’re sitting on the sidelines with big grins on our faces. Let the market correct itself and kick the chumps to the curb. That way people with brains can finally afford homes again.

I cannot believe that hardworking taxpayers should be expected to pay for the poor choices of others. I have had loan approvals for ridiculous mortgages that I knew I couldn’t afford and chose to continue to rent. I know there are many like myself who have refrained from jumping into their dream home (even a modest one) because they were responsible enough to know what they could and could not afford. Did these irresponsible borrowers think some magic was going to get them out of debt. They can’t afford the mortgage payment, so they max out their credit cards just to buy groceries. The bailout would be irresponsible magic on the government’s part and the reponsible, hard working people are expected to pay the price? Who can say this is fair? This is something that, as a democracy, should be voted on by all the people. Can you guess who would win?
I find it hard to feel sorry for people who live beyond their means. I am a credit analyst and I see it everyday. I also fault the companies who approve loans to meet quotas and sales knowing that they are stretching the consumer over their limits. Those loan companies and the irresponsible consumer should pay for their own greed and mistakes. Maybe had I known someone else would have to pay for my poor judgement, I would’ve jumped to buy a house. (just kidding) I think it is time for people to accept responsibility for their own actions, don’t you?

Who cares if over valued homes drop in value? It’s a necessary and overdue correction. Too bad for you if you bought at the peak. You should have known better. Trying to make a quick buck? TOO BAD! Bought a house for you and your family, then don;t pay attention to the paper money you are losing. Ride it out and sell when you have to.

It has been obvious for years that the market was in a bubble. Anyone who bought a house and had any plans for it to increase in value quickly was rolling the dice.

I also do not think a 3-bedroom fixer upper in a so-so neighborhood in the LA area should cost $850k. I blame mortage brokers and crazy lending programs for driving the prices up – since people buy houses on payment, not price.

I have been a renter, and will remain so for a while longer.

Then, when the correction is just about complete, no earlier than 2011, I will make my move and buy up as many houses as I can afford to, and rent them out and retire in THIRTY years, not three years, like some people expected to do by flipping houses.

Oh, and I will NEVER, EVER use any form or ARM. 15 or 30 year fixed rate only fore me.

Chump? Not this kid. This whole mess was so easy to predict, and my friends and I have been predicting it for years. Now we’re laughing.

Just one more thing I wanted to add.

By no means I’m I trying to make excuses. I’m just trying to illustrate that not all the people in this mess are who and what you think they are. Yes, there are “flippers” and investors that did play a gamble and lost. There are certainly those that are irresponsible and couldn’t afford a home at more normal levels. There are also people who did use their homes as ATM’s to buy buy buy bigger and better things. I do not dispute that. I did want to illustrate though that not all in this mess are in that category. We’re also not all living in McMansions. I shared my story to illustrate that point is all. And, what the gov’t does propose is NOT for people who are investors that do not live in their homes or who took a gamble on an “investment” and lost. What is being proposed will weed out those that truly deserve a home from those that don’t and those that live in the home from the investor just looking to lessen his investment loss.

If the lender wants to delay foreclosure and work with the borrower I say great.
HOWEVER, NOT 1 PENNY OF TAXPAYER MONEY SHOULD GO TO BAIL THESE PEOPLE OUT.

This whole mess can be traced to the widely held opinion that real estate values never go down. We see now this is false. Anyone with any business sense could have seen this coming. Back in 2004-05 you rarely saw the price of a home advertised, only the monthly payment. People were dazzled by football field sized family rooms and marble countertops and assumed that if they got in trouble they could always refinance or sell and get their money out. Not understanding that an interest rate that goes from 5% up to 6% is not a 1% increase but a 20% increase, their house is now worth 20% less and they are screwed. If they put less than 20% down, they’re now in negative territory.

I wish those in trouble much luck, but not at my expense.

To Responsible Vote in Los Angelas CA.
You state that I gambled and lost. I don’t feel that I gambled. Again, I took out a loan that started at a normal interest rate. The plan was to refi before it reset. I never intended staying in this mortgage. I couldn’t hvae known that the industry would flip and the completely box me out of a mortgage. Also, You talk about me “winning”. I don’t see how, if I refi’d, how I would have won. I didn’t buy my home to flip, I didn’t make a profit and I wasn’t looking to make a profit. I wasn’t playing a Real Estate Game. I also am not and have not been irresponsible with my credit, as my lack of a good score was BECAUSE I didn’t have any open lines of credit, which I thought WAS being responsible. Now isn’t that ironic. As for being a welfare scammer. I have NEVER EVER taken a red cent from the government. I’ve worked my entire life as has my entire family. I also never even collected an unemployment check when I became unemployed. I immediately went out to find a job because I do not feel that I should get something for nothing. I’m also not asking the gov’t for a handout here either.. but I certainly do not mind them putting pressure on the lenders, who are just as at fault if not MORE in this instance, to work things out with their borrowers. I’ve been saying from day one that if they would swallow their “pride” and start communicating with the ARM holders, like myself, perhaps their looses wouldn’t be in the billions with more to come. It’s about stopping the bleeding at this point. The bleeding that will hurt and is hurting those that did not make the mistake of getting an ARM.
I also never said that I was better than a renter. I’ve spent most my adult life renter.. but homeownership in itself is much better than renting. I’ve worked hard for my home, the down payment I put into it and also the work I’ve done to it. I didn’t buy a McMansion and didn’t buy something that I couldn’t afford at normal market interest rates (because I didn’t start at an artifical 2-3%). If we get to work out our notes with our lenders and negotiate to a fix rate (I’m not even expecting to stay at my 6.95%, which btw is above prime right now and above prime when I purchased in 2005. I expect that they will perhaps try to put me in the 7% range.. which I still could manage to do.. what I CAN’T manage is the number that it will eventually adjust UP too!)We will still owe our principal, and in a lot of cases it may end up being more than what the market is at currently putting us in a negative equity situation.. somethign that I do not find is beneficial to us, but is better than loosing the home. We all purchased at the “height” of the market and it will take us years of price adjustment and eventually appreciation to catch up to a positive equity situation. It’s not exactly a win for us! It is, however, a chance for us to stay in the homes we’ve invested in and continue to pay property taxes etc. AND.. our being able to adjust our notes with our lenders is not going to keep property values high as the market will adjust regardless since the tightened restrictions have knocked many buyers out of the race for a home.
However, if my efforts with my lender get me nowhere (and I’m working hard at getting somewhere with them) than I WILL turn to the FHA for an FHA secured loan and I will not feel guilty about it. Why? Because it is my tax dollars too! It seems that you are forgetting that a lot of people in this situation are also hardworking tax paying citizens like yourself. The safeguards in this country are in place to help those that have made some of the poorest choices of their life, like drug addicts or the teenager that gets pregnant and then spends her life on welfare. Funny how when the group of people less likely to ever need a handout from the gov’t but contribute the most to that hand out, as a group, get into a little trouble how the others who aren’t in this mess are so uncompassionate, understanding and unwilling to help out. Even if that means that helping out will help out the general economy.
Also remember, we are NOT talking about small number of people here. So that has to mean that there were many breakdowns several places along the way, but the homeowners are the ones that are getting most of the blame, rather than the financial geniouses that Wall STreet people are supposed to be are certainly not getting as pummelled as the average middle income family homewoner is.
I’m not saying we didn’t make a mistake, that I didn’t make a mistake, but I certainly didn’t expect to be in this situation.. and believe me, I’ve learned a lesson and regardless of wether I get to keep this home or not I will be paying for it for a long time and will never make the same mistake again.. And hopefully the industry as a whole will not make this same mistake again.

Foreclosures are good for people like me. I chose to wait out the unrealistic rise in property values and continued to live meagerly and rent. I want foreclosures, so that property values can reset. We need the return of realistic values people can afford with traditional loans. The teaser loans allowed the unrealistic rise in property values. LET THEM FALL!!!

Yes, I feel very much like a chump and that is a shame. My government is making me feel that way. In their zeal to help the irresponsible ones, I am sitting on the sidelines rotting. I built my credit, and worked a decent job. Responsibly, I could not afford the price of homes. I very much looked forward to the real estate market taking a nosedive because prices were outrageous. I feel cheated. I feel closer to poor than middle class. Skimping and saving did nothing for me. I am deeply saddened by this turn of events. I do not know which way is up and which way is down. Fair is unfair. It is all a pity-party and I am getting the short end of the stick. Though no fault of my own. I did the right thing and went without. Rather than the government appreciate my efforts they are rewarding those that sow the seeds of their destruction and the country.

What was the purpose of all the great stories about right and wrong? It was about fair play and responsibility. Do not cast me aside. I paid enough. These years have not been easy. I feel like Humpty-Dumpty teetering on a wall waiting for the government to push me off. I understand about caring for the infirm however, this is not the case, here! I matter, instead I feel invisible. It appears the government has lost sight of these virtues. What kind of society is the government creating? Where slickters rule the roost. I feel very much out of style.

I bet many of the homes snatched were realtors trying to score big flipping homes. There was a time I rarely saw a For Sale sign. They would have first dibs on Homes for Sale. Now, there are signs everywhere. Flippers drove up the prices of homes. They treated the market like their playground, “Flip that House”. Ha! How do you think I felt watching that show? They treated buyers like lamb to slaughter. Chumps, pigs, no respect, whatsoever. Who was there for me. I chose to rent rather than fall prey. I say… let the *!^$&! market work!!! That goes for everyone- speculators, builders, sellers, government, and yes, buyers. I look forward to prices falling so I can buy a home to live in, at a FAIR price.

To Tara and others like her , I don’t care about your problems! I have problems of my own. Shockingly, you scream your justifications to us who were responsible. As if, we care, we don’t!!! Face it, you made your mess. No one force you to sign the doted line. It was your GREED AND IRRESPONSIBILITY. So get off it. You rolled the dice and LOST. If you won you would be gloating. As far as your talk about welfare and social security scammers, well, you are a card carrying member! I RENT and you’re no better than me!!! I hope the government is listening, back off and treat them like the adults they portend. Do not worry, there are plenty of us (responsible ones), waiting in the wings.

Irresponsible lender and borrower pushed up the price of the house out of reach of reponsible people. What if the price kept going up and they enjoy making some good money, do our responsible people get a cent? Now, the price go down and they cry out for help. Hey, it’s your decision to stretch. Play fair and don’t touch my tax money. Lender and stretch people should learn how to be responsible with their finance.

II have ZERO sympathy for subprime borrowers. The responsibility is on the borrower to make sure they can afford what they are buying. I say let the foreclosures happen and return those irresponsible borrowers to the apartments they never should have left.

Yes, and they aren’t the only ones. Don’t forget those of us who had so-so credit and no money down that chose to walk away from “junk” mortgage offers. Less than two years ago, my wife and I contacted a mortgage broker looking for some advice on how to improve our credit scores and document our income (tips) with the idea that we were 1-2 years away from being able to buy. We were shocked to find that there were “loan products out there to let us buy a home right [then].” Initially, we fell for it. We spent the next couple of weeks looking for homes, using our “pre-qualification letter” as a sort of VIP pass to tour homes in the small college town where we live. We found the perfect turn-key 1930s Craftsman for about $20K less than we had been pre-qualified for. We made an offer. The seller accepted. The house passed inspection (at this point, we were driving by the place every day, talking about what color we were going to paint it, which of our kids would get which room, etc.). Then, three weeks from closing, we were filling out paperwork with our mortgage broker when things really started looking fishy. My wife and I were troubled by some of the terms in the agreements (80/20 6.5/8 ARMs). The broker tried to dismiss our concerns with a swipe of her hand, assuring us we had nothing to worry about. She said we had nothing to worry about; said our house would only appreciate and our credit scores would improve with every mortgage payment we made on-time. She promised us we’d have no problem getting a fixed-rate loan before the ARMs adjusted. But we weren’t so sure. In the end, we chose to back out of the deal, fortunately with the full support and understanding of the seller. My wife and I are no financial wizards. We’ve made more than our share of mistakes with money in the past. But, we’ve paid the price for those mistakes. No one bailed us out.

I am totally against a bail out. I’m 47 years old and just bought my first home. I’ve been forced to rent because home prices in the areas I’ve lived in have constantly outpaced my ability to save up a down payment. The final straw were the bad mortgages that have been issued in the past several years. They have artificially inflated “values” of homes till I could never afford a home in some parts of the country, such as the King County area of Washington State where I’m from. I make a six figure income, and have little other debt, so that is pretty pathetic. The thing is MANY of the people who bought homes, and drove the prices up could not afford them either. They were not required to show proof of income, and they bit on ARM’s and interest only loans, figuring they could “flip” the houses and walk away with big cash in a couple years before the rates readjusted. It is their own greedy fault that they are where they are!

I was able to get a 30year fixed rate on my house. I was offered a rate of 6.375% because I have very good credit, and was able to buy the rate down to 5.875%. Buying down the rate cost me close to $5000. Now I am reading about someone who had an ARM, who is being offered a bail out by changing their loan to a fixed rate of 5%…..which isn’t costing them a red cent! And it’s Countrywide who now owns my loan. I’d love a 5% fixed rate.

I’d love to see the prices of homes in overinflated areas drop. Maybe people like my brother could then afford to buy a small home to live in.

I have posted a few days ago.. but I want to add something.
First, I’ve said from day one that this is a problem that should be worked out between the lender and the borrower..that the lender help the borrower adjust to a fixed rate..one that is acceptable to them and affordable to the homeowner. Of course, if the borrower couldn’t afford a home at more reasonable rates.. market rates, than perhaps you’re right they shouldn’t be in a home.
BUT.. the lenders ARE NOT working with their borrowers. I know. I’ve tried to communicate with my lender about what is coming and they basically have ignored me or just given standard answers that make no sense. Basically, i’m current so they don’t want to work with me. Well, if my lender WILL not listen to me and work with me, then I WILL turn to my government for help in my time of need. After all, many people use the gov’t to help them in situations. It’s why the welfare system was developed. Funny thing is, the group of people who NEED help are NOT the welfare type that are always drainging the system rather we are the group that has been contributing to this country via property and income taxes like everyone else. I will say that I will need to do what is best for my families, AND if that means going to the gov’t for that help, then I will do what I need to do and not feel guilty about it. AFter all, I helped contribute money to the “pot” so to speak and have NEVER gone to the gov’t for help in anyway. I won’t feel guilty about it either becasue i know all that money I pay in Social security tax won’t be there for me when I need it, right.
Just remember, these are people who are middle income tax paying and otherwise contributing members of our great nation that made a mistake. One thign that is great about our country is our capacity to have compassion.. although it seems that we always turn that compassion on other nations, other peoples.. but when we need that compassion for our own kind we can be cruel and want to walk away without lifting a finger.
I’ll take an FHA loan if my lender won’t work with me or I can’t find someone to refinance me and I’ll do it with no guilt. (But I will have learned some very valuable lessons.. I promise you)

Brian from L.A. said:
“…..Which would you rather have, the equity in your home — that you worked and slaved for decades to buy — disappear because the whole neighborhood forecloses around you, or are you willing to forgive and forget and have a giving heart, and lend a hand to your fellow Americans? We’re all in this boat together, folks, and for good or ill….”

No bailout, let the housing bubble pop. If my equity disappears, fine. These resets are probably only going to put off the inevitable -> subprime borrowers will probably default anyways. My house is bought and paid for in Orange County, CA. The price of my house almost tripled since 2000. The price of SoCal houses need to come down to a level where the average citizen can afford to purchase without an crazy loan. I’m willing to forego my over-inflated equity to give a chance to first-time and serious home buyers to purchase at prices more in-line with salaries and rent. What kind of society do we have where the above average worker cannot afford to purchase a house in SoCal? Deflating of the housing bubble will be better for us as a society in the long run.
For the people who said “I had no idea the market would turn and prices would go down”, you’re foolish. I’ve been watching housing prices for the last 4 years and knew the party couldn’t last. Instead of joining in the on the frenzy, I worked hard to pay off my loan.

No Bailout (public or private), live by the contract. Take the money put it into the education system. It didn’t take a whole lot of math to figure what would happen if the rates went up. Learn your history, I remember a time when CD rates were in the double digits, and I’m younger than 50. The American ‘dream’ was supported by lenders who allowed more borrowing than could logically be supported if rates rose to the historical middle rates.
I want rates to rise, I have money in CDs for my kid’s education. Will the low rates help me put them there? Put your money into a safe investment (CD / Bonds) get taxed on earnings, lose it all in the stock market get a tax write-off & be eligible for low cost government loans. Even more if your ancestry is in the correct category.

My wife and I feel blessed taht we have been given the intelligence and fortitude to resist the constant hard sell to want more than one needs or can afford. It is good that the less fortunate who were victimized by the mortgage industry are being helped in some way. The underlying problem of deregulation of the banking and investment sectors that led to the current collapse still needs to be addressed.

Instead of feeling feeling anger at the injured who are receiving a little first aid we should focus on the elected officals who have not yet replaced the safeguards which prevent this sort of debacle.

How does this work, I live spending money that I do not have and get rewarded for it. I think I need a time out. How in the heck are people going to learn that money does not grow on trees.
American economy is teetering on recession because of actions of people spending money that they do not have! It is not because the sub prime mess alone. If you do not punish the lenders, home buyers and speculators, there will be another recession in a few years out from now. You have punished every one, at lest if you punish people they may not do it again.
I know it suck but I rather have the recession now and get it over with then having it latter. Because the same people that are now irresponsible with no repercussions will be irresponsible again! And we will be right back in a recession!

The Govt use to be overly concerned about how to make housing more “affordable” – Now, that it is becoming more affordable they are desperate to keep it less affordable – I want to hear from all those politcos who have been advocating for more affordable housing – are they saying they really didn’t want it more affordable all along???

A Bailout seems to be illegal on grounds that it is patently unfair – there must be fair practices or discrimination laws on the books…

Absolutely!!!! I’ve been responsible with my money, so why should I feel sympathy for those who haven’t. Your income should be able to support 3 months of emergency funds on top of your mortgage. It doesn’t take anything more than a calculator and 6th grade math skills to find out if you can make the payments. I think the people in trouble need an education in basic math, not a bailout. I’ll be really pissed if one cent of my tax money is used to help troubled borrowers. If anything, send them to some math classes. STUPID PEOPLE MOVE OVER, I’M READY TO BUY YOUR FORECLOSED HOUSE!!!!

Think about it! Johnnie was late, late, late on his mortgage payment because he was duped into a teaser loan when he “went” for the “big” house. While Sally knew a fix rate will not adjust in 5 years and qualified for a “comfortable” home. Now, the big bank bails out Johnnie (no sweat for him). He now has a lower payment and you guessed it; Sally is still stuck with a higher rate but, its fixed! Bail them out – NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

If the mortgage companies and banks want to be responsible and avoid an escalating number of foreclosures, then they can at least lessen some of the losses they will incur by offering to convert some of these folks to conventional mortgages at reduced or no cost to them. If they want to offer subsidies to help them out, let those costs come from their profits – NOT from government or taxpayer funds.

Stockholders in these companies may complain about the fact that dividends would be cut (and stock prices would likely fall in these companies as well) as a result of using corporate funds to stem the onslaught – but then again, you certainly didn’t hear them complain while these same companies were raking in the profits and helping their personal finances, did you?

As has been stated here already, let the top executives and sales folks of these companies take the hit for this. Not necessarily with jail time or job losses – but certainly by whacking their huge bonuses until the financial institutions are more stable. They should have made more than enough in previous run-up to cover having the same number of years without the extra handout. Then again, they’re probably living above their means just like those who are caught on the tail end of this whole ordeal.

If defaulters can’t afford the reset rate, then to prevent foreclosure why doesn’t the loan company EXTEND the loan to a 40 – 50 – 60 year term but KEEP the reset rate.

That seems the FAIREST way to prevent foreclosure. The Irresponsible can have their affordable monthly rate and the long term to go with it and the Responsible people don’t have to pay for their mistakes or lose house equity value due to others’ foreclosures.

As for me, I am closing all my Countrywide savings accounts and moving my business elsewhere.

Countrywide could only play this game because investors were buying their toxic CDOs and it can stay afloat now because suckers like us keep our money there.

Let them give away Angelo Mozilo’s money to the deadbeats now.
I am out of there, there are plenty of banks to move your money to, check out bankrate.com

If we could all be absolutely assured that taxpayer money was not used in any way to help out the lenders and borrowers then that’s OK, however if taxpayers are being made to foot the bill, even partially, then it is a problem and responsible borrowers are being made the chumps and have every right be angry.Response to Ronald Wennerlund, per my statement, if taxpayer money is used at all then it is out business.

I understand people want to keep their American dream alive (by keeping homes they can’t afford), but what about the rest of us who didn’t give in to micky mouse loans? I also need a home for my children, but I wasn’t willing to get it by using irresponsible loans. What about us? Who’s going to give me money for free?

I think that the bailout is a totally ridiculous notion. I’m a prime borrower with a high credit score (which has taken me 5 years to get to that point), and countrywide did not give me exactly what I’d call a great rate. So, why should someone who’s credit rating is poor get a bailout because they’re not that responsible in maintaining their finances. Well, maybe they should offer rate reductions for repsonsible people, just like Sallie Mae does on their school loans. Just a though

Seems pretty evident that the last thing anyone in this country wants to do is honor the stipulations of the contract they signed.

Instead of acknowledging that the promise to “free up funds in the present” has a cost which must be paid later down the line. “Average” folks would rather trot out the familiar whiny emotional garbage about how they were taken advantage of by greedy bankers, loan officers, hedge fund managers, real estate agents, (fill in blank here)

Can’t see past the dollar signs dancing at the end of one’s nose. When gravy train hits the inevitable speed bump though… watch out! It’s nothing but moaning and complaining about how “no-one told me it would be so hard.

Debased dollar, skyrocketing commodities, and millions of cud chewing cattle crying to the sniveling patronizing slime in Washington hoping their avenging political angels will tar up the contracts and start an inquisition to find someone to fry for their sins.

If this momentum continues, we’ll be on par with Zimbabwe before the end of the decade.

I know of too many people driving BMWs and living in 4,000 SQ FT homes that are complaining about their ARMs adjusting. I have no sympathy for them! The more we bail people out the more we become a ‘welfare state’ and people that sue before they consider they did something stupid. Read Atlas Shrugged…it is scary how similar this book is to what is happening in this country today.

I couldn’t agree more. My husband and I could have gone for a lot more expensive home but we looked at all of our options and decided it was better to get something we could afford for the long-term rather than taking an ARM for a more expensive property. Where’s the incentive for those who get these breaks to get their finances in order or make any other changes to their spending? I’m willing to bet a mortgage payment isn’t the only area they are living beyond their means.

OK so the reasoning goes that if people lose their houses then the value of homes in the neighborhood goes down. Hmmmm don’t we want cheaper, more affordable housing for people? Seems that the real problem might be crime and social issues in some of these neighborhoods. I grew up poor but with dignity in my family. Through saving and working hard for many years I have a beautiful home that is easily affordable to me.

The people who barrow are the real victims here. The lenders told them their homes where worth more that thay really where. Then they where willing to lend them too much money for the over priced house. Then the lenders let the victims pay these loans with negative amortization. Then they didn’t explain the loan agreement to the victims. They never where told that the rate and payments would go up.

These barrowers are the victim here. I support a bill to allow the people who get foreclosed to sue the lender for fraud and therefore let them keep their homes for free, free, free!!!! This is the type of help these victims need. Lets all band together and support this type of action for these victims.

Yes, I do feel like I am being taken advantage of by folks who did the wrong thing financially and now feel entitled to get pulled out of their mess. I have never missed a payment of any kind ever, never bounced a check and generally been responsible for my entire life (I am 56). And now I am being put on the same level as those who didnt make payments, made bad choices or got greedy. They should at least have it marked on their credit report. I understand why Countrywide and others are doing this – like they say self-preservation. They pushed people into loans that werent the right choice and now they too would have to eat the loss. Shame on us as a society if we allow this to continue. It sends a very bad message to our young people that no matter what you dont have to own the results of your actions – somebody else will pony up and bail you out. Shame Shame Shame

I was not lucky to sell my properties two years ago, I saw this coming. Now my equity is not even safe in the bank because of the weak dollor. If Fed money starts to flow for bail-outs then I will stop paying taxes and pay the penalty and interest just to make a point. What are they going to do, take my properties?…oh I forgot, I don’t have any!

Bailing out irresponsible persons or companies is the norm in this country. The Federal Reserve turns on its printing presses to loan money to irresponsible banks. Guess who pays the interest on these loans? The Banks? No. The US taxpayer. Now the banks and mortgage companies are bailing out irresponsible homeowners. Same ole thing. If you run into financial trouble just get the government to bail you out. People are just like companies. If you can’t afford it, get the government to pay for it, which in turn, penalizes the responsible US taxpayers.

I guess I’m upset too, because I bought a smaller (more affordable)home, with a fixed rate mortgage and yes irresponsible people are getting a short-term break on their ARM. But do worry people, if they couldn’t make the payments on a teaser rate at 3-6%-they will not make the payments on a fixed rate at 5-7%. They and the banks will ultimately have their day of reckoning; this is just a short-term fix. The new restructured loans will fail again, and the banks are going to have to deal with the problem again in two years.

Hate to say it we are regretting our home purchase even with with our fixed rate.

But we are not defaulting, we are not whining and Washington Mutual sure hell has not done us any favors. We were fools and now must pay for it.

We are all responsible people but unfortunately many people act like they can’t READ, LISTEN and THINK.

Thats pretty much why we had the Real Estate boom and now the well deserved bust.

So lets expect the government to help the weak, foolish (May be there not so follish) people who somehow can’t be responsible and let the truly strong people pay for it. We are in the country that invented SBA Section 8(a) contractors!

I think one problem is that the fat cats who make lots of the policy decisions as heads of finance, mortgage, govt, etc. are well enough off that they do not understand what it is like to be trying to buy your first home on your own. Being a gen-Xer starting out late after getting a higher education, I could not see how such a house price upswing was sustainable 3+ years ago, and am amazed to still see reports by real estate, builders, and such that the end is a few months away. Who do they think can afford to gobble up all these homes and sustain or better yet drive up these prices? Current talk about taking action to avoid price depreciation (let alone bailouts) is a further disservice against those starting out. For that matter, many policies (tax, energy, and entitlement programs to name a few) seem to have a strong established-baby boomer bias. This is understandable due to baby boomer numbers in leadership and overall, but as exemplified by this housing mess, such policies are not sustainable and will hurt everyone in the end–except those bigshots who didn’t and don’t comprehend the magnitude of the problem.

I would have been better off starting from scratch if banks still required a 20% downpayment.

I bought an investment property in 2004 and put 20% down on a 20 year fixed loan. Today, the property is valued $30,000 lower than when I bought it, and, due to the glut in rental/for sale property on the market, I had to lower the rent substantially in order to get renters. However, because I didn’t buy into the teaser rates and no-money down hype, I can still make the monthly payments and hopefully weather this downturn, even if it takes years. So, I have no tolerance for these people who knowlingly bought into this charade and are now being bailed out at the expense of responsible taxpayers. What ever happened to personal and fiscal accountability?

Who is accountable for this? Why do we allow the high-ranking banking officials to rake in their millions in bonuses, only to cut and run when their decisions create disaster?

I can’t beleive how unforgiving we can be at times (think of the story of the prodigal son) These people got lured into these mortgages because of the gov’t keeping interest rates far too low. I think it benefits all americans if we give them a chance to pay off their loans. I don’t think it’s fair for anyone to have to pay 10.5% for a home loan. What’ will one gain watching his or her neighbore lose their home? What does the home owner who can afford his mortgage payment gain by allowing the real estate market as well as the economy in general sink even deeper? Does the value of their house go up or down when this happens? We all lose. These are times when americans should stick together and help one another. This is what will keep America strong and economically healthy. It’s sad that there are so many Americans that opt for ” you lose, I win” or ” you lose I lose” situations rather than win win.

Who does Countrywide think it’s fooling? Instead of having thousands, if not millinsons of forclosures, they are resetting the irresponsible people, who appearently can’t read a contract, and giving them the benefit of lower interest. Countrywide is also winning by not losing these loans to forclosure, which would cost them probably billions. Lower interst earned for Countrywide is much better than having millions of forclosed homes that would probably sell at 50 cents on the dollar? Nice Try Countrywide!

Let’s toss another delusional mistake on the pile. Now that foolish loans are going bad as rational people feared they would, why not try to get out on the cheap by ’saving’ the original bad idea? Like the teaser rates that tried to postpone reality, we can use the bail-outs to postpone the consquences until they get larger and more painful. Perhaps we can drag it out long enough that home prices have time to fall far enough to have 20 million homeowners upside down rather than a mere couple of million.

I have been unable to get a mortgae despite an incredibly high credit score so I can’t understand why the bank has been lending so much money to people with poor credit scores who don’t tell the truth about their income. How did this happen since it has not been my experience at all? I have found clear evidence of a bias towards giving loans in urban areas rather than rural areas. I would like to know the percentage of foreclosures in urban areas versus rural areas where they scrutinize your income with a fine tooth comb. They assume the job you have is the only job you could ever have in a rural area and that you could lose it easily and have no income options. They should probably apply that same standard to urban areas.

I have a 30 year fixed and now I’m thinking of stopping paying on it to see if I can get one of these sweet deals at 5%.

The best part is that our schools are filled with subprime borrowers and they are taking down the schools that were once very high scoring. So I guess it’s better for them to keep thier house and bring down the town. Does it pay to be responsible in America anymore?

No bailout!! It is a band-aid masking the real problem. These folks shouldn’t have bought the house in the first place. The rest of us fixed rate folks had the SAME choice and bypassed the ARM. Housing too expensive in your area? Move! If they are converted to fixed, can we also take away their credit cards? Hey while we’re at it, I feel bad these ARM bailout puppies now also probably have a few +20% credit cards that might be maxed out. Why stop with ARM-Rescue? Let’s cut those ARM-victims’ credit card rates down so they can charge up that big 50″ plasma TV for the holidays. Yes I guess I am a fixed-rate choosing chump. People bought the ARMs by their own free will. Life will throw you a curve ball from time to time. Deal with it. No bailouts.

Although the reaction of “hey, why are those people getting a better deal than me” is understandable, the folks who are not in trouble would do well to remember one thing. Many markets enjoyed tremendous gains in real-estate value due to the wide-spread (probably too wide-spread) availability of home financing, which allowed people to purchase homes in your area at increased values (which, in turn, helped your home values). If you want to let all of those homes and loans go down because you feel that those people got what was coming to them, also be prepared for having foreclosures, short-sales, and boarded-up abandoned properties on your street. This will gut your property value when it comes time to sell…if it’s even possible to sell your home in a sea of cheap bank repossessions. Nobody wins in a foreclosure…nobody.

The silly bigshots at the federal reserve won’t tell you this ,,, when they lower interst rates to help those that borrow money , they are hurting savers who live within their incomes with lower interest credited to their savings accounts ,, by the way , it seems no one in the media will alert us to this travesty …..

We bought our first home in Jun 2006. Mortgage of 775K in one of the most expensive markets in the country. We haev a 620 K 30 yr Jumbo fixed and a 110K HELOC currently @ (.15% and falling (Thanks Ben). We earn ~75K adn ~70K and have a 20K rental income. We also have a combined 5K savings and both put 6% towards retirement (my employer matches 4%, his does not) Quite frankly we think the sub prime thing is a bullsh** beatup by deadbeats and speculators. Sure we live in our home and scrape some months but quite frankly, we’re errning MAYBE 5K more each than we would be in Idaho (although defnite;y the renatl of 20 K/yr wouldnt happen in ID) and we bought in the 3rd MOST EXPENSIVE MARKET in the USA. We thinkt he sub-prime whiners are 1) deadbeats, 2) speculators that got caught out and 3) people with unrealistic expectations. God I am so TIRED ofv this “bail our the naive/stupid/greedy guy” bulls***

NO. WE are bailing out the house flippers and our low life mortgage banks.Don’t waste time writing congress,they can be bought by anybody.

Simply the largest problem we have as a society and the possible down fall of this society is the failure individually and collectively to take responsibility for our actions.

“My credit scores were not stellar, mainly due to some older issues from my early 20’s (I’m in my early 30’s )… I’m also self employed. So, when I went for a mortgage all they would give me was an ARM. I did NOT get a low teaser rate mortgage that artificialy allowed me to afford my home. My starting rate was 6.95% which was above prime on a fixed rate mortgage and still is.”

From a previous post…Sorry, but that was the teaser rate. You just had lower credit scores which justified the higher intro rate “teaser”. I’m glad you can afford the property with your income and are current on your mortgage, but if an ARM is the only loan you can qualify for, you probably shouldn’t be buying a home.

How can CNN run an article like this whilst running adverts on the same page from one of the biggest issuers of Sub Prime Mortgages ?? I find that particularly offensive and I’m not even American or live there.

“and had no idea the loan and housing industry would have a major meltdown. We didn’t have a crystal ball. So I find it hard to swallow everone’s accusations about us not deserving a “bailout” when refinancing loans, at the time, was a common, everyday occurrance.”

From a previous post…okay so…
1. Are you implying you should have had a crystal ball when buying a house. As a reponsible consumer you have to take into account values could drop. I bought my first house when I was 23 with the expectation the property would drop. I made sure my DTI was < 33% of my income, at 23 years old.
2. That’s the problem, you think refinancing all the time is a common “everyday occurance”. It is not and should stop being viewed as one. You should put yourself in a position where you don’t have to refinance unless it makes sense (lower rate, not payment). Not as an ATM, or I’ll do it when my ARM is gonna adjust. We need to all be smarter and more accountable consumers.

I am disgusted that you would reward people that took out bad loans and give them lower interest rates to keep from foreclosure. I am not a mean person but it is not right that those people in this country that try to obey the laws and regulations get screwed over and over by doing what is right. There is no right or wrong in the U.S. anymore…… just what keeps making money for the company!!!! I knew at 18 that a mortgage other than a fixed mortgage was a risk and I knew that and how to balance a check book. I didn’t want to get caught with a payment I could not make. Shame on you idiots!!!

I don’t blame some people for taking out subprime loans since it was the only way to get a foot in the American Dream for some . But the fact was the Banks and Mortgage Company’s and Speculators went to Vegas with the money of the few that could save and were responsible enough to restrain themselves . And now they want the government to bail the Banking system out while the value of the dollar plummets to new lows and takes money out of everybody’s pockets that owns dollars.

The free market is working. ONeal screws up and gets $160 million. Incompetent Chuck Prince screws up and walks away with $40 million. Stupid and/or greedy borrowers who screwed up get to keep their houses without paying for them. Our elected officials continue to get money to run their campaings. And responsible borrowers and the innocent taxpayers? They are screwed, as usual.

To CNN producers,
I suggest to produce an in-depth program to show who actually is getting benefit out of this ‘bail-out’ or who is getting screwed over this bail-out. As many people expressed here, there are many irresponsible home buyers who exactly knew what they were putting themselves into. If bail out helps those people, there is no justice in America. Let irresponsible people suffer by losing their homes they could not afford from first place (there are plenty of apartments or rental properties they can move into), and let responsible people keep their houses and enjoy with their honest choice. America, wake up. If someone gets reward by irresponsible actions, there is no reason to make honest money in our country. Please remember dot com collapse. There was no bail-out when hundreds of thousands of people lost their life savings. Why this bail out? Because our government was part of all this? NO BAIL-OUT. Let people get what they deserve, either suffering or happiness.

Damn right. The only reason, politicans want legislation, is threefold. 1.) Get relected 2.) Save the financial sector from their own runious/greedy ways 3.) Continue the game of inflation and asset manipulation, which also entails devaluation of the dollar. To fix this Federal Reserve (1913) enduced mess, is to let the U.S collapse due to it’s corrupt WTO/NAFTA/NASCO ways. To hell with the corporations, and their Fascist ways…

Here’s my attempt at being proactive. Maybe those with ARMs close to default could refinance into graduated payment mortgages. At a higher rate with lower intial payments it may be a manageable transition. As with the teaser rates on an ARM, those who got in over their head would be punished by negative amortization. You’re probably thinking that this is more of the same thing that got these people into this situation, but at the very worst it would spread out the foreclosure rate so that it could be better absorbed by the economy. At the very best it would be a more equitable solution assuming the fixed rate underlying the GPM is based on the implied forward rates calculated at the initiation of the ARM.

If ARM holders are allowed to enter into a fixed rate mortgage at current rates (based on their credit rating), at a loan amount based on the negatively amortized values of their ARM and charged standard refinancing charges then that option is fair and equitable since FRM owners can do the same. Any special provision that artificially lowers the rate without future compensatory increases is the bank essentially gifting these people a portion of their loan. If inequitable proposals are the only solutions, I say let the defaults roll in. The economy will survive, it’s recovered from much worse. House values will eventually rise again as well. Housing recessions have happened before and it didn’t result in Armageddon. These bad loans need to be weeded out at some point.

The one thing that still baffles me is how a person entering into an ADJUSTABLE Rate Mortgage does not expect that the rate can possibly move against them. It’s in the name, adjustable. Maybe they assumed they could adjust it. “I would like to adjust it lower please.” If they were surprised by the teaser rate expiring then why didn’t they read up on ARMs? For something as pricey as a McMansion, you want to read the fine print.

While all this unfolds I’ll be hanging out, making payments on my fixed rate mortgage, wondering what I could’ve “afforded” with an ARM.

There’s a forum called creditboards.com that promotes these bailouts and other ways of avoiding responsibility. They promote running up credit cards and then not paying the bill. They use baseless lawsuits and other abuse of laws to get out of paying their bills. It’s people like this who caused these problems. They are the ones that cost honest citizens. I cannot believe these scam-artists haven’t been stopped yet.

They lie on applications, including mortgages and then run when they don’t feel like paying the bill. These frauds then have the nerve to claim they’re victims at the hands of predatory banks. They use methods to alter their credit reports to be able to qualify for the loans. As soon as they get all the loans they can, they stop paying the bills. Then they turn around and try to sue the banks to get them off their backs. The collective of creditboards.com is probably defrauding banks and taxpayers of tens of millions of dollars every year. They mock honest citizens who pay their bills. Until groups like this are stopped we can expect to see many stories like this one.

So let me get this straight. Short-sighted mortgage companies and irresponsible buyers got in over their heads with subprime ARMs. They snatched up nice houses and drove up real estate prices to unreasonable levels and now they want me to reach into MY pocketbook to spend tax money to bail them out of their mistake and prevent a market correction?

I for one was saving up a down payment on a home, waiting for prices to drop because I saw an inevitable market decline from mortgage defaults. I would be happy with the move, but now prices are being propped up by the bailouts and I see now that irresponsible buyers are going to pay percentage points less than I’ll have to for MY mortgage.

My worst miscalculation was in assuming that Americans would actually have to take responsibility for their actions. Silly me.

Isn’t it interesting to see the reaction of the snake oil salesmen when a small breeze blows on the House of Cards that our fiat money system has created? Who is going to bail out the U.S. Government when their debt comes due? You and I will, but not through taxes. We’ll pay every day when we try to buy things with dollars that are worth less every day and our wages can’t possibly keep up with the devaluation. The government will simply keep printing money until the whole system collapses. Ever wonder why they doesn’t publish M-3 any more? Think about it. Oh, you may want to set aside a little (or a lot) of precious metals even though they have already risen in price over 200% in the last couple of years. The dollar is going down and precious metals are going up, at least until it all collapses. The U.S Dollar lower than the Canadian Dollar, how embarrasing!

Thanks for bailing out the irresponsible landers and borrowers. We all going to pay for it. Its a scam!

Continued decline in the dollar because of excesses by spendthrifts, and attempts to cover it by the Fed, will result in inflation for all. It makes a mockery of saving for the future.

so knowing that the government will bail out gamblers and speculators, should we all start lying on loan applications and when it comes time to pay just tell them we don’t have the money? once everyone gambles and losses, who is left to bail everyone out? letting the system crash now is better than creating a bigger mess for our children to clean up. being typical spoiled and irresponsible americans, we will no doubt push this mess on to the next few generations so that we can continue to live in comfort. we better hope the world keeps buying our debt or else we are doomed.

Obviously the Bailout is unfair to responsible homeowners. How about instead of letting us all pay out of pocket for this mess, we stop all military action in the Middle East.

That should free up enough funds to bail out the stupid homeowners, reward the responsible ones with similar interest rates, fund our schools, fix our roads, save the lives of our soldiers and give tax everyone cuts.

Or we could continue this losing battle on every front; at home and abroad.

how do you know it’s republicans who took out these loans? most of the people in trouble are in california. the people pushing for the bailout in congress are chuck schumer and barney frank. remember who is in charge of congress when the save the banks bailout package is passed

I’m sick of this. They should oust any politician that tries to bail out all these speculators. They were greedy and took an investment risk for potential gain. Why should I pay for their bailout? I’m so mad. If they cant afford to buy, then they should rent, or sell their house at a loss. Why should I pay for them to live and uy their house. These politicians and banks are all crooks. This is what captialism and democracy has come to. Special interests screwing the middle class working folks.

Write to your congressmen:

http://patrick.net/housing/contrib/nobailout.html

To step in subprime loan trap is either the result of carelessness or simply greedy. To bail out these people with all tax-payers’ money is immoral and nothing more than encouraging more irresponsible financial decisions in the future.

Stop the Bailout! Write to your congressmen now! (I already did so.)

I do not believe that the government should bail out the borrowers who borrowed money knowing that they could not afford the mortgage after the teasor rate expired or the predatory lenders who loaned those borrowers the money, knowing that it was a high risk to lend them the money. It is unfair to use my tax money to bail these people out.

This bailout is ridiculous. Many people talk about increased foreclosures lowering housing values. I would say that after 5 years of double digit appreciation, that most homes are unaffordable for new buyers and that the housing market could use an adjustment. Those who have been in their homes for years and plan to stay in those homes won’t lose money. The only ones hurt will be realtors and mortgage brokers who charge a percentage of the sales price. They made the money and speculated, let them eat the losses.

I’m sorry, but if you bought beyond your means with the knowledge that rate’s could rise and be re-adjusted then why should everyone else come to your aid. If I speculated on a stock that did not pan out should I ask for aid? Would you help me out if I lost money on Citigroup, Merrill, B of A, Wells Fargo, etc. in the market? It’s called capitalism. I don’t want people to lose their homes especially if they have children, but don’t be unreasonable. If you bail people out then help everyone by a similair amount.

In 2003, I wanted to buy a house. It was too expensive. I could not understand how people can afford it. I decide against it. Then in 2006, a loan broker explain to me how all the new loans worked. He and I both thought the real estate cannot continue on such a trajectory. Well, we were both chumps. We were responsible and is not getting screwed. Everyone now thinks their house is worth a million dollars.

I don’t agree with bailouts. They are, as those below have mentioned, forcing the taxpayers to help those who were likely unprepared and unable to support a “real” mortgage anyway. The fact that the mortgage brokers were sleasy, to me, is beside the point.

The reality is, that without these sleazy loans, most of these folks wouldn’t really have a home that they could say they bought. And, indeed, they don’t own any of that home yet (maybe less than 1%) as the banks were giving away 100% plus loans.

Bailouts are only helping the banks continue with their efforts to get people into homes that they could never afford in the first place and probably still can’t afford.

[...But there are tons of “average” people like us who used such a loan as a financial management tool, and had no idea the loan and housing industry would have a major meltdown. We didn’t have a crystal ball...]>>>>I feel so compelled to comment on the above: You can use whatever financial tool as you wish, but please don’t make any execuse. No one has a crystal ball, ever. Should people who were hurt in year 2000 dot.com crash receive rebate for their stock market losses just because “they didn’t have a crystal ball and didn’t expect a major crash”?

is anyone of any importance or who can stand up to the bailout ‘big business bed partners’ even care to know our opinion? they will never read this!!!!

Mortgage lenders should be required to lower the rate of the responsible borrowers before they are allowed to lower the rate of irresponsible borrowers. If they don’t they should be liable for discriminatory lending practices against responsible borrowers.

I would like to know whether all of us that were responsible and took fixed 30 year mortgages instead of gambling against rate increases can initiate a class action lawsuit to recoup past portions or payments and refi into a lower than available current rate?

The word subprime is exactly as it looks — borrowers who thought they were “entitled” to a mortgage even if their credit was not in good shape.

The people that feel they are “entitled” to things in life need to get a very good dose of reality. What a novel idea of going back to having a few items to obtain a mortgage…hmmm…a downpayment, a good credit history & a good job. For the majority of the homeowners, these are all obtainable. Maybe some of these lenders should have taken a better look at the individuals who couldn’t seem to pay a $250 medical collection or their utility bills on time. What makes someone think that these people would be able to pay for their mortgage?

Society today makes it too easy to give back a house, file bankruptcy or have a car reposesed. There are far too many people who don’t care what they do to their credit and look what mess we have in the mortgage industry today because of people who just don’t care.

Consumer debt is at an all time high and credit card companies, mortgage companies, car loan companies, etc, etc, etc all continue to lend to people who month after month don’t pay their bills.

So after I step off of my soapbox — no bail out should be given. We give and give and give to people everyday. Be responsible for once. If you got taken for a ride by a mortgage lender, than too bad for you. We live in an age where information is at our fingertips. To the people that are in teaser rate mortgages, ARMs that are adjusting or don’t know what type of mortgage they have — you should have done your homework. You wouldn’t have bought a car or a computer or any other major purchase without knowing something about that particular item. The only person that you can blame is yourself for not taking the proper steps to educate yourself on the biggest investment of your life.

mr. anonymous’ point is well taken, but did he read the printed page that stated in 3 years you have a 9-10% loan? if so or even if not if you do not have the equity to refi, you lose. just like if he entered the stock market, their is risk, even bigger when dealing with your home and family finacial stakes. think down the line instead of infront of your nose.

I disagree with a bailout. It is unfair to honest, hardworking, responsible people. Why shouldn’t we get the same low rate or low payments? It is truly discrimination against responsible people who planned, saved, budgeted, and bought a home that we could afford. Blame the Democrats who want to give away everything!!They will pass some bill, and give away even more of our tax dollars, afterall, it’s the homeowners who pay their taxes, not the deliquent ones about to loose their homes!!

The folks who were paying slightly higher ARM rates; I hate to tell you this, you’re a CHUMP! the mortgage broker got paid a “bounty” for the higher rate they bamboozled you into accepting, Boiiiinnnnnnng!!!!! And its because the market was upset by all these “Walmart greeters” buying $500k homes that fueled the “feeding frenzy” that made it unaffordable for the rest of us!!! so i’ll wait til they come down even further and then buy!!

Of course we have a right to be mad if it comes from our tax dollars. Accountability is best for a community, not government bailouts for irresponsible people. Borrowers who take a bailout should forfiet all profits from the sales of their homes as reimbursement.

absolutely! We are the only country in the world where illegal aliens have more rights than we (hard working citizens) do, where most of the prison population lives a better lifestyle than some middle class do, where the people who screw up more than others get the breaks. now give me a break. If you were a moron and got an ARM and now can’t pay, tough! Get a life!

We have freedom to be ticked off or to avoid jealousy of the treatment of others. We should try to focus on what we agreed to, help others with personal acts of charity, and educate people to avoid falling into the numerous traps in life.

That said…
I guess the group theory concept that usually suggests that what is best for an individual may not apply if everyone does the same thing also works conversely. One person can be irresponsible and lose their home. But if enough people are foolish together, it becomes brilliant, since everyone else bails them out and they can renegotiate contracts in ways that only benefit themselves. Clearly, this shows no justice.

Seek justice, but don’t get bent out of shape in the name of jealousy or greed.

I’m 23 and purchased my first home last year. Just a small condo on the central coast of California. I got myself a nice 30 year fixed loan. I am totally disgusted with the people around here that either bought too expensive of a home or have leveraged their homes out for new cars, boats, and so on. Now they all get a reprieve for being a bunch of irresponsible fools. I hope they dont get bailed out as I am in this for the long run, even if it means lower home values due to foreclosures. That’ll just mean more renters looking for my place when i am ready to buy a bigger home.

I sold my house and then rented for two years waiting for the market to settle down. I bought in April and put a large down payment so I could get a fixed loan that I could afford. Why did I bother with all of that if the bank was going to let me off anyway?

Call or write to your state and federal representative as well as your mortgage lender and let them know how you feel. Send them a link to this page so they can see we’re mad as hell and aren’t going to take these bailouts anymore.

I just have to say that I’m one of the people who got hit by the subprime fallout. I took a 2-year interest only loan that I was told I could refi into a regular fixed loan at the end of the term. Now with the market fall out, my house will not appraise for what I paid for it. So when my rate adjusts to 10% next month from the 6.5% interest only, I can’t afford the extra $900 a month.

If I was able to simply refi like I planned, there would be no issue. I could have a normal mortgage with a 7% rate and be just fine.

Well Eric in San Francisco are you politically correct here? Well I won’t go there. What about the people that finally had an opportunity to purchase a home for their first time in California and other expensive states. That was a great opportunity for them. The young families living in the suburb’s getting ready to have their first child. They are the ones suffering. This economy is outrageous. The older generation had many more opportunities then the younger generation. We have to be slack somewhere in this economy. Gas prices are high, taxes are high, cost of living over all is high, pay scales are down and lay off’s are up. So we have to give somewhere. I guess I’m willing to give where it is needed. What about immigration. We supply billions of dollars to illegals! Are you okay with that? That’s your hard earned tax dollars at work. Not to mention the war in IRAQ. Our money should stay in our country!

Speaking from someone who got a fixed rate loan and paid 1/2 a percent more than my ARM friends, I think people are not realizing the whole situation here. That same bank that has all those stupid loans to stupid people is the one that offers out fixed interest rate loans as well. If that bank goes south, they take down the whole ship with them. Bailing borrowers out is in everyone’s best interest. I’m pretty upset at irresponsible lending, but I’d be downright angry if the country went into the toilet because no one did anything to look after my interests.

Fixed rate mortgage holders are not the only ones that should be miffed. I am a renter. I am trying to get into a house of my own. I shepherd my finances with responsibility. I have been waiting for a good opportunity to get into the market. When it looked like the market was going to become affordable due to unwise lending and borrowing, I was glad. If the lenders help those borrowing beyond their means they are missing the opportunity to get a good borrower like myself and cut me off from getting anything at all for my effort to save and buy.

I see the perspective of the responsible borrower because I want to be one. It looks like irresponsible borrowers and lenders are trying to leverage the economy for their homes. IT IS WRONG FOR UNWISE LENDERS AND BORROWERS TO HOLD THE ECONOMY HOSTAGE! It looks to me like a new terrorism just hit HOME! But do not fear, the government will bail us out again and spend more of the good people’s money!

Those of use just starting out in life, who graduated just at the start of the boom and were priced out of the market, are depending on housing to come back down so we don’t have to sign our entire lives away to buy. Please do not artificially inflate the market any longer with these buyouts. I could have bought with a crazy ARM loan but was too smart for that. Don’t punish those who were actually responsible with their money.

It’s the death of capitalism, and the rise of a deadbeat society. Let’s keep bailing out Wall Street, Bernanke!

Way to destroy our country.

Mary is illiterate, just read her comment. His name is Chuck Prince, who is O’Neal? And the problem that Citi got in to had nothing to do with writing loans, it was a poor decision to use SIV’s to purchase blocks of mortgages that other banks or brokers originated. Get the facts moron before you make yourself look like a fool as you have done. Are you a public school dropout or an illegal?

No Bailout for the Corporations! Let them pay huge fines, forfeit their stock options, go to jail – they purposely acted irresponsibly and I bet illegally, in approving many of these loans. Give the borrowers some break through FHA refinancing – no tax dollars to the corporations who fraudulently allowed these types of loans. Stop the Corporate Welfare!!!

It is very simple. If you made the loan, you are responsible for it. If you took out the loan, you are responsible for it. If you made a bad decision, deal with the consequenses, whatever they are, and maybe you will make a better decision next time. Rewarding this behavior only encourages it. No bailouts for lenders or borrowers.

I’m a chump. I feel sorry for the people that may have been duped by bad lenders. That said, my guess is that most of these bad loans went to people who were assuming they could get out ahead; either by renting, refinancing or selling at a profit. I don’t feel a bit sorry for them. These people are the ones responsible for keeping home prices artificially high and making housing less affordable. The CEO of Countrywide wants me to be concerned that forclosures are bad? This is the market correcting itself and I can’t wait to upsize. Sorry if his bonus isn’t as big this year.

Shame on the lenders, shame on the borrowers. I stayed within my budget and sold 2 homes to make my new home of 2 years affordable. Since I have one of the highest credit scores around I got the credit unions best rate-6.1%. How nice it would be to have a 5% loan! One issue no one is discusing is the DEVALUATIN of your home due to the subprimers that get foreclosed on or just vacate their properties. Since most of these subprimers-you know the ones that let their new sod go to weed, I am personaly going to attempt to recoup my losses via the lender who created the mess that they have put me, a responsible person in.

your damn right, i get screwed again, we reward incompeteance adn the get the deal

They should not have been given those mortgages to begin with why should my tax money go to help them or even better I damn sure dont want to help the banks and loan companys that knew when they made those deals that these people could not pay. Now because thses irresponsable people took out loans they knew they could not pay they are even better off than others who took out the mortgage they knew they could pay. Its not right its unfair. The Fed cut its rate twice now but it has not helped the real people who would loke a lower rate . There cut only helps the banks and the CEOs keep the millions that they are rapeing the rest of America for. For example,the head guy for Merril lost his company 8 BILLION dollars yes thats BILLION and he gets to walk away from his job with 161 million dollars. Anybody else would probably be going to jail or something.

I was talked into an interest only ARM that has a 2 year prepayment penalty. I don’t have any problem making payments, but I would sure like to get a break to convert into a fixed rate that is a lot lower rate.

This is not fair. I sacraficed much to make my mortgage payments. Now these lazy mismanaging stiffs want a break. This is foul: moral hazard. Rand (Ethics) you should get what you deserve; nothing more, nothing less

What a bank and a customer do is not my business; I will not tolerate using public funds to enter into a contract between a bank and a customer! That is outragous! Are these people insane? What’s next? a low interest loan for a car from federal or state government?

Rewarding bad behavior produces more of the same. This is a replay of the Savings & Loan bailout with different players.

Boooo hooo hooo to all the speculators buying houses in “hot markets” who assumed houses would continue to appreciate at 50% a year.

Wah, wah, wah to the other folks that used their homes as ATM machines, did you really need that GMC Surburban or hot rental property?

The ARM terms were fully disclosed.

These lending practices have driven Real Estate prices sky high in many markets.

Lose a bet at the tables in Las Vegas and you leave with less money. Not so if you gamble with something as important as your home. Nope, no way, if you made a bad bet with an ARM to buy a house you couldn’t afford speculating it would continue to appreciate like a hockey stick or turned your house into an ATM, you leave with the house’s money. You hit the jackpot and are rewarded with larger homes and lower interest rates than those of us who exercised common sense, and managed risk by choosing not to speculate.

Is common sense not so common anymore?

Wow this board is huge. Please take a step back. If you don’t need to be bailed out be thankful. Its not a penalty by any means. The penalty you will really incurr is if the housing market continues to spiral.

Your house value will continue to drop, Credit will get harder to come by, and in the end you will have nobody to blame but yourself for whining. You really need to take a big picture view on this. It isn’t all just about the fact that you took a 30 year rate.

Even though you may find it hard to beleive YOU are not the only one in the economy.

The responsible have every right to be mad and demand that the govt stay out of it. Countrywide should have been allowed to fail, anyone who can’t afford the price they paid should lose the home. In any other scenario, we are rewarding reckless behavior, and keeping the larger problem from corrected itself – that problem being the ridiculous housing bubble that has caused so many people so much pain by elevating their paper worth, or causing them to believe in dulusional finance. The bottom line is prices of homes are way overvalued and MUST be allowed to come to equilibrium. So the bottom line, the person who has a job, saved a downpayment, took out a real loan is now at a disadvantage to the person who took out a no document, interest only loan, with absolutely no real way to pay for it! Is that capitialism? I thought risk / reward was the balance that kept it all together….

The investors in the mortgage companies simply want a return on thier investment. They could care less what the public thinks

It is way too easy for greedy people to “go for the golden ring”. I have no sympathy for the greedy who went for these loans. No bailout—let ‘em go broke.

Like many others, I opted for the safety of a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. It isn’t always easy, but I’ve never been late on a payment. I resent the bailout given to those who gambled on appreciation and lost. If you reward the greedy and irresponsible, what message does that send to others like myself? Being good just doesn’t pay.

the problem we lost our goverment.
we don’t have a goverment we have a goverment in most of world that represents creminals most of them in the goverment are creminals themselves.
in the old “”GODS”" days in this country the creminal and fraud and all this corruption that you see all over the place these people would be in jail.
today they are in higher places running everything,they can charge,steal do what ever they want there is no laws to stop them,instad they have pass laws to help these criminals.they have destroyed the family structure.
in “”GOD”"old days dad went to work and mom stayed room raising and taking loving care of the children.dads one week wages would be anough to pay the mortgage,the other two weeks to feed the family and even put a litle in bank.no more today you need everybody working just to pay the morgage and forget about kids education they will never be able to afford it.we have allowed these criminales to steal everything from us.they have stolen
our industry that took 200 years and a lot of hard work to build,destroy our morals our christian colture everything.
these forces of satan they want to own and control everything.
even with imence sacrefice if you are able to own a home some day,you will loose it when you get old and sick,these creminals will take everything you have if you want to stay alive.they will charge you $100.00 for a pill that costs them a dollar to make.a hospital room with two or three other people in the same room will cost tens of thousands of dollars a day,they can charge what everthey want there is no laws against that.
the fathers of this country wanted us to have a goverment of the people,for the people and by the people.
no more now we have the goverment of the criminals,by the criminals and for the criminals.

Greed for a quick profit on Real Estate. Yes, all these people got money from the banks to invest in housing and then to resell to get gains. Then WHY do these Banks not lend us money to buy Google Stock. I too can pay off the debt when I get a profit. Ridiculous!!! All of us who did not default and Gave 20% down on mortgages – Can somebody help? Can somebody help by way of easing the PROPERTY TAX at least!!!

YES people who took our responsible mortgages have every right to be ticked off!

Ignorance is bliss. Most responsible people check on what they are doing before jumping. Money was easy and alot of people jumped. I sell real estate and have watched people know exactly what they can afford but hear what they qualify for and jump. People have to take responsiblity for greed.

Wow, Americans never agree on anything to this degree. About 98% of the responses are against any sort of bailout.

So, we must ask ourselves, why are our politicians pursuing strategies that 98% of constituents are against? It does not make sense to piss off the people whom you depend on for your job. Therefore, I think it is fair to conclude that our politicians really bow to corporations, not us, the voters.

Well I guess I am a chump. I drive my FICO score all the way up to 796, pay all my bills on time or early and still only got 5.78% on my mortgage. I guess I should have saved money by not paying my bills and blowing all my money on cruises and useless consumer artifacts, cars I can’t afford, overpriced house I couldn’t afford, waited till the buzzards(collectors) were circling and claimed ignorance about what I was bought and for what an interest rate really was, (what do adjustable mean?) and waited for someone to bail me out with no consequences or remorse. How stupid of me to be responsible.

Yes. Not only do I pay my fixed rate mortgage on time. I pay additional principal. so I can make three additional principal payments a year. Countrywide has been calling for me to refinance, and it will only cost me $3,000 in closing fees. Thanks Angelo.

The lenders are telling us that being financially irresposible pays.

What a precedent it sets!

Of course we should feel short-changed.
Most people took ARM’s because they were considerably less expensive than the tradional 30 year fixed mortgages. In short, they wanted to live for the monent and not for tomorrow.
Now, the lenders are rewarding these individual for their bad and “live for the moment” decisions. In the meantime hard working, honest people who did their homework and purchased the more costly 30/30’s and 15/15’s are being punished.

Absolutely! And I can’t wait for the published list of any and all politicians that dare vote for using even one cent of our tax dollars in any “bail-out” attempt! That “checklist” will be carried into millions of voting booths so we’ll all know who NOT to vote for in 2008!

If there’s a bailout, I’m definitely going to retire. Why continue to give money to lost causes. If I quit working, I’ll cost various government entities roughly $67,000/yr. in tax revenues. And, I really don’t care.

Let me get this straight. A bunch of stupid lenders give a lot of money to a bunch of stupid people who are buying much more house than they can reasonably afford…and now all of us responsible folks have to bail out all these idiots???? I say let the chips fall where they may!

I feel like an idiot for taking on a 30-year fixed-rate loan just prior to the collapse. Lenders should offer the re-finance options to all borrowers and especially to those of us with good credit and payment histories. What incentive do I have to pay my loan back on time or keep my credit score high if it would save me money in the long-run to just let my loan reach bailout status?

What’s next – free healthcare! Oh wait, we do that already.

Many who posted comments understood the great impact that would occur if assistance to prevent foreclosures was not put in place. It would result in an overall domino effect that would impact even those of us who have made sound, stable decision when purchasing their homes. In contrast, I do understand the other side. However, I WOULD RATHER LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE AND SIDE ON WHAT’S IN THE BEST INTEREST FOR OUR COUNTRY.

we can rant and rave all day….at
the end the day….YES SIR!!!
WE ARE CHUMPS!!! for being RESPONSIBLE!! work and pay our monthly mortgage…blah BLAH BLAH!!!!

Nation in TROUBLE! lies~lies~and MORE LIES!
sad!!

I agree – I am a chump.
I made 2 big mistakes. First, I fell for the Interest Only mortgage from Citibank years ago. Second, I had to borrow from my 401k to make the payments. I have since sold the property – at a loss. Boy was I stupid! Now – who is going to pay me back???

bailing out the cluless people w/arms with our tax dollars ,whats next giving our tax dollars ,5k of it to every low life that has a child? Where is this country heading?

Many of these loans were given to people who bought their 2nd,3rd, 4th,…houses and rented them out or tried to flip them for profit. Why should there ba a salvage for a greedy investor? They took a risk and they lost. Let them deal with it.

Worst thing about what mortgage lenders is that they “short sell” alot of pre-foreclosed homes. They sell them for a “fair market value” and write off the difference. Customer pays nothing, credit remains intact, lender takes loss. Loss inherently passed on to shareholders. Execs made massive bonuses booking subprime loans and flee with the “golden parachute”. No one will be prosectued, government will assist in bailout. No one held accountable, tax payers pay the fund to bail out the banks.

When is the hard working person who knows the value of money going to speak up? We work hard and pay our bills and we get screwed. The worthless skum who have their heads in the clouds buying everything under the sun end up coming out of this smelling like roses. The people who took the risky loans end up getting better rates than the people who took honest conservative loans.

I totally agree. We must write our Congressman/woman and let them know that we do not support a bail-out Bill.
This is how you can write them:

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

people who play by the rules usually end up losing and nobody ever said life was fair. people who say foreclosues will decrease the value of neighboring property don’t understand the term bubble when used financially. values of homes these days are not justified nor are they sustainable. let them lose there homes, they never deserved them to begin with and let the prices of houses come back where they belong, on Earth.

I’m struggling to ,make ends meet, not only because of my home mortgage rate increase (my payment is now $8,000/mo) but I am also feeling very pressed to make my Ferrari and Lambo payments which total almost $6K/mo. Is there any way that I can get help on these car loans as well???

Everytime I hear about lenders giving people who are fiscally undisciplined and have low FICO scores a break in their interest rate it makes my blood boil! It is actually insulting and a slap in the face to those of us who live below our means, take pride in paying bills on time and take our financial obligations seriously. Countrywide and other lenders made their bed….they should now lie in it!

Once again, the greedy lender and big business with the backing of the current administration and the Republican are going to screw the honest, hard working middle class of America. It is not the irresponsible borrowers need bailout, it is the irresponsible lenders who can’t stand to lose money begging for the bailout.
If the risky borrowers and lenders are rewarded for taking irresponsible risks, they will continue to take bigger risk and the next fiasco will be so big that not even the American economy can rescuse them, and you know what? US!

The only responsibility mortgage companies have is maximizing profits (or minimizing losses) for their shareholders/investors. If it means modifying loans, so be it. And no, they have no obligation to modify loans for responsible people. Get over it.

Now, for the sake of fairness, I hope that those modified loans will not be too easy to pay off. 40 or 50-year mortgages come to mind. Alternatively, borrower’s finances could be reviewed every year to make sure that they are paying everything they can afford.

This country was built by independent people who took care of themselves. Now we have a government that wants people to be dependant instead of independent. It’s all about power. You don’t teach people to be self-sufficient by bailing them out. The lenders that approved these loans should have to clean up their own mess. The rest of us are already being hurt enough by artificially low interest rates that lower our prospect for earnings and do nothing to control the upward pressure on inflation.

COUNTRYWIDE HAS REFUSED TO RE-DO MY LOAN BECAUSE I AM A RESPONSIBLE HOMEOWNER. I WILL BE HAPPY IF COUNTRYWIDE REDUCE THE INTEREST RATE ON MY LOAN. IT IS NOT GOOD TO EXCLUDE GOOD LOANS. I AM TAKING EXTRA STEP TO AVOID FORECLOSURE. I HAVE MADE MY PAYMENTS ON TIME. WHY ARE THE LENDERS EXCLUDING PEOPLE WHO MAKE PAYMENTS ON TIME?

I think all those of us who opted for fixed rate mortgages should have a class action suit to lower our rates.

This is stupid. I like so many responsible people I know haven’t bought a home because I can’t afford it. Meanwhile, prices have surged due to demand from irresponsible borrowers buying out of their means. I say NO BAILOUT and let prices fall until homes are affordable again. It’s their fault affordability is so low. If their well deserved suffering makes it better I say let them have it.

Mary from New York – comment above – was right on the money. Wall Street bonuses (often the bulk of Wall Street compensation) are determined on a short-term basis, normally annually at the end of the year. When something then goes seriously south in a subsequent year, no one involved seems to have to give their bonus back. Maybe they are fired, but they get to keep remuneration that basically makes them independently wealthy forever in many cases. So someone can earn millions of dollars in year 1 for actions that result in billions of dollars of losses for someone else in year 2 or 3 (literally). In addition to this being a questionable way to compensate people, it also is a system that encourages disregard of long-term consequences in connection with investment and other decisions, which cannot be for the general good.

Let the lenders bail them out and lower their rates. We’re not paying for it, their shareholders are. They steered people to these ridiculous loans when I was closing people on fixed rate mortgages. Let them eat it.

We should let nature take it’s course. Let the greedy, self-serving lenders AND borrowers pay the price for their actions. If they agreed to terms and now don’t want to live with them, it’s just too bad. When you sign on the dotted line for HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of DOLLARS, then you better make certain you know what it is all about. I have no sympathy for the bankers and investors who were looking for a greedy way to make more money. A bail-out is a tax on everyone who does not directly benefit from the bail-out. Sure, it’s painful to go through the process of foreclosure, but it is the only way to properly cleanse the system so we can start over and do it the right way next time.

They should clarify whom will get help and whom not. I saw a lot of high income family (over 100K) but could not afford a house in Southern California because lots of non-knowledgeable buyers got into housing market then they put price up and got themselves in trouble. For example, one lawn contractor bought…4 houses because he was lured by RE agent and mortgage broker then his houses is being forclosured one by one.

I feel sorry for homeless high income family only.

I think that the economy has to corect itself. Help should only be given to people having trouble paying on there primary residence. Anyone that purchased a second home or investment property should be on there own. However, anyone who is helped should only be given a fixed rate that would have been available with there credit score at the time of purchase not something that fits there budget. They also should have there credit blemished as if they they had filed bankruptcy or gone into credit counseling and had creditors settle for less that the amount owed.

I’m stuck renting because I decided not to purchase when housing prices were beyond my means, or at least would have been beyond my means once the “teaser” rates expired… These “victims” (as William Richardson put it) are getting a home that I can’t afford, at prices (once interest is accounted) lower than I’ll ever see, even though I make more money and have better credit than most of them. I should be so victimized.

Well, it is our business and it’s not our business. If the money comes directly from the mortgage lenders, then it’s none of our business. But when the lenders can get that supply of money because of a government (read OUR MONEY) insured program then it absolutely is everyone’s business. This is nothing more than a transfer of risk from the people who blindly invested in CDO’s and such, the lying companies that sold them, and the rating agencies that turned a blind eye to the American Taxpayer. Lets face it, if these people couldn’t pay the bill when the investors were at risk, what makes you think they can pay it when my tax money is in play? The problem here is that in the age of partisin politics, we found one thing the democrats and republicans can agree on, fleecing the taxpayer. For that reason, we are going to swallow this.

Got to ask yourselves who you voted for in the last 10 years. I thought the days of cattle rustling were long gone, but they’re obviously not…

Let the foreclosures happen. I’m waiting to pick up some rental housing as an investment. Which I will finance at a fixed rate!

Hate to kick them when they’re down, but Citi has subprime woes in their Auto loans. They are lowering customers interest rates to 4% when a repossession comes into play to avoid customers from turning their cars in. Where is the reward for paying your bills and earning a good interest rate by your credit history??

Absolutly, I refinanced an ARM to 6.15% one year ago,,why should people that were stupid get better rates

Let them all reap what they sow. If you want to be part of the solution, perhaps you have to be willing to become part of the problem.
Every mortgage holder in America should stop their payments tomorrow. For all our lives we have been told we would be rewarded for being responsible. Today we are being punished. It is time for Atlas to shrug.

Yes, I feel like a chump. I have paid a higher fixed rate because I knew ARMs were trouble. Now I read that some ARMs will be renegotiated to a level that people can “afford”, below market. I want to renegotiate MY loan too then. What a country, you can be a sleaze bag ignoramus, and be rewarded for it.

according to CNN, Tampa,Fl is in the top 5 cities experiencing the largest foreclosure rate in the country. Part to blame is our higher taxes based on inflated house prices over the past 4-5 years however, alot had to do with speculative flippers and teaser loans. I have empathy for the small few who actually are struggling in dealing with adjustable rates, expecially young starter, first home owners who really didn’t have the experience to sign the papers they did. As for bailout, NO, education is expensive and comes in all forms of “schooling”. Quick question for the speculators, when the tech buble burst and margin accounts were called, did they receive federal assistance or assitance from the brokerage houses? The old saying, higher the return, greater the risk” applies to allinvestments-pay the piper and by the way, pay the tax on the default home too!

The government, or the Fed I should say, has quietly pumped over $40 billion USD into the economy to dampen the initial impact of these loan scams, which will have an inflationary effect on all of us. Also, since when has a top US financial institution been allowed to make a major statement on a Sunday like Citi was allowed to do this weekend? You’re already in trouble.

NO BAILOUTS PERIOD,LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY AND LETS GET ON WITH IT.

I’m happy to see the Enterprise slaves are waking up

It’s too late, the bubbles just exploded in oyur face. and the US dollar is a joke.

May be the Emperor should send his slaves to invade another country

Why does the Government have to “save” everyone? Shouldn’t we each stand on our own two feet and take responsiblity for our failures and successes?
I educate myself to understand the potential risks I face on a day to day basis and take steps to protect myself from these risks. Did the people who are now be foreclosed on educate themselves on the risks associated with the mortgages they signed? Or, did they think they could make a fast buck or a killing in the housing industry?
Let them eat cake!!!!

This bail-out is NOT about saving people or their homes. It’s about saving Lenders at the cost of our taxes! We have been trying to buy a house in San Francisco and we didn’t do it since buying with the crazy teaser rates sounded dangerous to us. Now, the unwise/uninformed people who went for those loans and practically pusged the home prices higher are being rewarded by a salvage? With MY tax money? NO!!!!

I agree with Nelson. The taxpayers (us) should not bail out the speculators.
The lenders, too, were greedy. Make them all pay the price

At what point does anyone in our society have to stand up and take accountability for their actions?? Both the lenders and borrowers are equally at fault for the situation they have created as a result of their myopic choices. THEY need to suffer the consequences of THEIR bad decisions……NO TAXBREAKS, NO BAILOUTS!!!

The Republicans will wake-up day after election day 2008 and wonder why they lost the White House, Congress and most state legislatures. I am tired of bailing out corporate America failures.

If the Lenders decieved the borrowers, they must pay for it.
If the borrowers were stupid to buy a house( supposedly the biggest investment in life) without checking how much it costs/will cost, they must pay for it.
I don’t see where the tax-payer’s money fits into this!

The government at all levels is behind all of this. Look, Los Angeles does not have enough money even with people paying ridicules amounts for property taxes. What would happen when property values decrease to where they should be? For example; someone who purchased a house in early 2005 for $800,000 in L.A. County pays approximately $10,000 a year in property taxes. The real value of the property in the example is $500,000. This means an annual property tax of approximately $6,250. Approximately $3,750 less than what the county is currently getting. Multiple this scenario with the number of houses sold during the bubble. Now you see why the government needs to do everything they can to keep the property values at ridicules levels. It has nothing to do with helping the homeowners over their head and everything to do with keeping the tax and spend machine going. Let’s let the free market work itself out so that responsible people can purchase homes at the right price.

I’m not sure why the taxpayer and the responsible borrower should be penalized for folk who didn’t want to work their way into the homes they financed creatively. I’m also wondering why the taxpayer and the responsible borrower should be shouldering the burden that mortgage companies are wanting the bail-outs on. After all, the taxpayer and responsible borrower did their work with integrity – did the lending companies hoping to rape the public or the irresponsible borrowers hoping to benefit from the taxpayer’s largesse?

Ok I have a 30 year mortgage on my new home in AZ and I have a descent rate at 6.0 but I don’t have a problem with country wide helping the people that were not as smart about picking their loans because if they didn’t then our property values would drop even faster than they are now. At least this helps the market get out of this mess faster for all of us. Wake up people we need to stop adding houses to the market and move the market into a more normal growth and pace. None of this 20% up in value and 20% down in value crap. We need to be at a 6 to 8 % gains again. We will get there its just up to us on how long that will take.

99% of these people knew that their rates were going to go up, but they thought the properties were going to appreciate and the increased equity would balance it out. Well, for some people it did, and for some it didn’t. Do we bail out people who lose money in the stock market? Do we bail out people who lose money in Vegas? No, NO BAIL OUT WITH MY TAXES!

I am all for some sort of easing of loan regulations/help with hight loan to value ratio’s that the lenders could be providing to borrowers to allow them to refi. to a fixed rate. In many instances, home prices are falling due to the many foreclosed homes flooding the markets. This drop in value of my home might not allow me to refinance to a fixed rate in the middle of 08.

I don’t think its fair to help overextended people in debt,they will never learn there lesson to stop borrowing and living beyond there means.I had a ARM loan on my home that I was paying 7.3%, I just refiance my home to a lower rate of 5.65% fix,but it costed me 9700.00 in fees and points.I say “NO-BAIL-OUT”.

I think the anti-bailout sentiment iz pretty clear in these responses, so there is hope for this country. I could have bought a house 30-40% more expensive with one of these sleazy mortgages when I bought 3 years ago…but I didnt. Why should irresponsible buyers end up living better than me due to a bailout?

Yes, they do, but it’s really none of their business. This is the mortgage lenders trying to stay in business.

Wow, and you’re surprised? Welcome to the welfare nation.

Write you Congressman and tell them you will not stand for this. These Greedy Bankers and Mortgage Companys got into this mess. The taxes payers should not be bailing them out. We need to stop this corporate welfare.

O’Neal of Citi went because of this mortgage mess, is he, or anyone else at Citi who was involved in this mortgage mess, going to repay his fat bonuses that were based on the profits coming in to Citi from these bad mortgages? They should! I am sure he earned enough during his tenure at Citi, while this mess was created, to far outlive whatever he could spend in his retirement. And the taxpayer and honest citizens are is supposed to pay for this. Do to the bank bigwigs what was done to the Enron bigwigs – no difference here!

Yes, what happened to a free market economy those Republicans always brag about? What happened to personal accountability? They went for a bigger home than they could afford, they should have to deal with the consequences.

All of the idiot borrowers who borrowed money to buy homes they cannot afford are hurting good people who are entering the rental market.

Wow, all you folks saying that those of us with lousy loans are “irresponsible” are way off base! There were perfectly sound reasons to get the loan I got for my home, at the time, and I’ve been in the same home since 1991. I took on a more aggressive loan in order to free up funds for my family’s needs, and now the loan is hitting it’s max rate. I will now refinance it to a conventional note. My lender has offered to lighten up on the terms of the loan until the penalty period expires, a few months from now. I don’t consider that a bailout! That company is simply trying to be flexible and help me convert to a better loan. Yes, there were some people who took on too much risk with these loans, for perhaps speculative reasons. But there are tons of “average” people like us who used such a loan as a financial management tool, and had no idea the loan and housing industry would have a major meltdown. We didn’t have a crystal ball. So I find it hard to swallow everone’s accusations about us not deserving a “bailout” when refinancing loans, at the time, was a common, everyday occurrance. If you’ve got a good loan, so be it. Don’t throw stones!

NO! They should bail me out of my mortgage first… I pay everything on time, stayed away from the idiotic rates and was SMART about my loan. Now I should be rewarded! Pay off my mortgage… then I’ll buy a house that’s in foreclosure and rent it out! That should be the deal … not the other way around!!

It is a complicated matter. For one I would say no, these people will have the benefit of a home when they retire. Many of these loans negatively amortize leaving the person with little or no equity in the home, so they shouldn’t be jealous or angry. They should be grateful they can afford a home. Also if you can refinance at a lower rate why wouldn’t you. Rates in the 80’s were at 17 & 18%. Should people who bought their homes in the 80’s be mad at people who bought in the 90’s because their interest rate was lower? It is in the best interest of the bank to not own the home so what ever they can do to not own the home they should do. It also benefits everyone because the more homes the bank owns the lower property values will be. I can understand someone being miffed by someone getting “a better deal”, but they should understand many of the homes are upside down due to negative amoratization and foreclosure is a loser for everyone.

I grew up with the understanding that it was my responsibility to convince the bank or savings and loan guy that I could afford to make my payment. He/she was tough. The burden of proof was on me, and the rules were enforced. All the CEO’s holding the bag today are my age. What the heck happened to our leadership?

When these ARMs and interest only loans, with little or nothing down, were so popular just a few years ago, I was wondering what was wrong with the ordinary 30 year mortgage at rates as low as 5.25%. Did these people think that the loans were going to readjust at an even lower rate than what was already historically low? I guess that was fine while the houses appreciated at ridiculous amounts for several years in a row but what would make anyone think that appreciation could possibly continue.

I have no sympathy for those that ignored the history of interest rates and or for the lenders who were making these no document, “liar loans”, where so many people were grossly inflating their ability to pay for the houses that they were buying. Whose idea was the no document loan anyway?

I purchased my home in 2005 on Long Island, NY. The home I purchased was a modest home.. fixer upper. I make a good living and I was at a place in my life where it was time for a house with baby on the way. My credit scores were not stellar, mainly due to some older issues from my early 20’s (I’m in my early 30’s ) but mainly because I actually had NO credit cards. AFter having paid off all my old debts I was trying to be responsible by NOT having any more credit cards. Little did I know that that would end up hurting me. I’m also self employed. So, when I went for a mortgage all they would give me was an ARM. I did NOT get a low teaser rate mortgage that artificialy allowed me to afford my home. My starting rate was 6.95% which was above prime on a fixed rate mortgage and still is. I also put money down on my home. I was told that I would be able to raise my score and then refinance, as I already had equity and would most likely build even more. So.. Idid exactly what they suggested. I paid my mortgage on time for 2 years, took out lines of credit all of which help me build my score. However, this summer the market dipped, taking with it the equity I had in my home, bringing me to 100% LTV. Add in the fact that I’m self employed.. double whammy for me. While my score climbed considerably, restrictions have tightened and it’s not quite high enough for 100% (which is RAre.. plus I’d have closing costs) AND self employed individual to get a fixed rate loan. The rug has been pulled out from underneath me.
I’m facing my first re-adjustment in December .. probably to 9.95%. I probably will be able to handle that. It will adjust again 6 months later and can eventually reach 12.95% (the max). I wasn’t one of those with a low teaser, as a matter of fact I’m paying at an interest rate at or even above those that pruchase in 2005 in a fixed are! I certainly COULD afford my home at realistic market level interest rates. However, I’m not stuck in an ARM that will adjust to levels beyond my means. I’ve been trynig to work with my servicer, Midland Mortgage, however they will not speak with me because I’m currently current on my loan. They also have not taken the initiative to find a solutino to something that MAY become a problem.
Those that are paying those teaser rates and will now have their mortgage adjust to normal levels like the rest of you folks are paying, certainly couldn’t afford their home in the first place adn I can understand how it’s unfair that they get to stay at these really low numbers while the other responsible borrowers are at higher rates. I, however, do not fall into that category. Nor am I a speculator rather I bought my home to live. I also have money invested in my home in the downpayment and the neccesary repairs that I have done over the past 2 years (as I lived in it becasue I couldn’t spend all the money at once).
Some cases really do need and deserve attention and repair. I’ve been responsible and am only looking to pay a fixed mortgage rate like the rest of you at normal market levels.

People who took out responsible mortgages have every right to be ticked off at troubled borrowers and lenders as well as the government (if the government gets involved). Once again, this shows that if you are responsible, you get the big one handed to you. I could have taken out an adjustable mortgage with a lower initial payment but did not because I knew what would happen with rates increased. And, common sense would tell you that rates are going to increase when rates are sitting at historical lows. Everyone that took out adjustable mortgages had a choice. They decided for the lower interest rate (ARM) so they could get a more expensive (overvalued house). A house that they really could not afford.
Once my lender starts working out deals with the irresponsible people, I will demand a similar deal. If no deal, I will give the property to the lender.
On a different note, why is nothing being done about the fraudulent home inspections, the fraudulent realtors, the fraudulent appraisers. The real estate industry needs a major shakeup. A shakeup like the accounting shakeup of the early 2000’s (the one that put the largest accounting firm out of business). Realtors, inspectors, appraisers and others involved in the process need to serve some time.

Here’s a novel idea. If you can’t pay your bills you don’t get a house. If you default they go after you and the idiots that made the bad loan to begin with. Why do I as a taxpayer have to bail you out for your poor financial situation or some financial institutions greed? Why do we need government involvement to help fix this? When did the government ever fix anything more then they screwed it up? How about paying your own way and stop messing with the rest of us who are responsible and pay our bills. Pay attention to the government officials that support this garbage and come election time vote them out of office. Revoke the charters of these poorly managed financial institutions and punish the CEO’s (no golden parachutes or generous severance packages for creating this mess!!!

Yes, I have a right to be ticked off if a troubled borrower gets help from a lender. And I am. It’s called speculation for a reason, and if we bail them out we remove the moral hazzard of poor behavior, so whatever the next boom to come along is, everybody once again will be “all in”, and when that heads south then we can just surcharge everyone and allocate the pool to those that have bad judgement.

If it’s your primary residence, well then you borrowed too much money. If it isn’t, then its a business deal gone bad. What the hell ever happened to personal responsiblity in this country? The only way to learn from a mistake is to take ownership of the fact that it was a mistake. Yours, not mine. I need a new garage door, should I charge it and then say the rates are too high so you pay for it? Where are we, how the hell did we get here, and when does it end.

Does it bother anyone that it takes 30 some years for a savings bond to mature?

The government at all levels is behind all of this. Look, Los Angeles does not have enough money even with people paying ridicules amounts for property taxes. What would happen when property values decrease to where they should be? For example; someone who purchased a house in early 2005 for $800,000 in L.A. County pays approximately $10,000 a year in property taxes. The real value of the property in the example is $500,000. This means an annual property tax of approximately $6,250. Approximately $3,750 less than what the county is currently getting. Multiple this scenario with the number of houses sold during the bubble. Now you see why the government needs to do everything they can to keep the property values at ridicules levels. It has nothing to do with helping the homeowners over their head and everything to do with keeping the tax and spend machine going.

It seems as though the responsible borrowers are failing to realize something. Yes, the public was irresponsible and yes the lenders were irresponsible. But we have an econnomy to worry about. Have you thought about what would really happen to the US if all of these irresponsible borrowers were just foreclosed on?

Have you thought of what the banks would have to do to ‘balance out’ their balance sheets?

Since the war, everything has gone up but wages and income. But we have to defend our country right?

Well unfortunately we can’t have it both ways. With the sub prime loans, we messed up simple and plain. But if it doesn’ get rectified in an efficient and smart manner – WE as a country WILL BE MORE BROKE THAN WE ALREADY ARE.

Responsible borrowers are unfortuately having to deal with this issue they didn’t create.

I pose a question to the responsible borrowers: What, really, do you think can be done that is fair? What can the Fed do so you don’t have to be punished for other’s mistakes; but doesn’t cause the country to go under?

To hell with all the subprime idiots!!! They get what they deserve and if they lose their home, then so be it. Go rent something. Those borrowers got into something they couldn’t afford in the first place, so they’re not really losing anything in the end. They never owned it in the first place. If the banks are giving breaks to irresponsible people, how about giving the responsible ones some of those rewards. Or do I need to be an idiot to reap them too?

I personally signed a fixed rate mortgage on a home that I cannot sell. The housing slump has hurt us as we lost our job and had to relocate. However, I CAN afford to make the payment. It’s called a budget..something the banks loaning know how to do as well as those getting the loans should have known what to do. So now I am subsidizing those who aren’t smart enough to budget?

There are more irresponsible people than responsible people. The politicians will pander to them and buy their votes with the money of the responsible people. There is nothing new here.

Those not wanting a bail out because they think it rewards those who didn’t understand finance. Don’t understand finance themselves. If we don’t do the bail outs then there will be foreclosures. Foreclosures mean downing house prices. drooping house prices means those who have proper loans are losing money on their investments.

Even though you should be upset at the financial institutions that wore giving out these loans. Don’t be upset at those sold these loans. The people picked to get these loans wore uneducated people that the financial institution purposefully went after, and they went after them not worrying about you.. the person with a good credit score.

I do feel like a chump for taking out a fixed rate mortgage loan in 2003. While I’ve been making higher payments, those who opted for ARMs have been enjoying relatively lower payments until recently when their loan rates adjusted upward. People who chose ARMs knew the risks. It’s not fair to bail them out at the expense of those of us who were more prudent. Also, lowering interest rates penalizes people on fixed incomes who rely on interest earnings and weakens the dollar internationally, which adversely affects the entire U.S. economy.

PG, it’s the sense of entitlement. Delinquent borrowers feel entitled to something they did not work for, instead of saving up a downpayment and being responsible with their finances they wanted to jump the line because they felt they were “owed”. And now it’s the same attitude, they think they are entitled to keep their home despite being delinquent. As you correctly said, they should give up the home and go rent something. The solution is awfully simple! This bailout nonsense is ludicrous!

I feel like a chump, for a completely different reason. I could totally be one of these people being bailed out. But no, I knew these home prices where ridiculously high and I knew they would come crashing down as all this starry eyed folks realized they’d bought way more home than they could afford. So I stayed in my crappy little apartment and paid off debt & saved up a big downpayment, thinking I could swoop in a get a deal down the road regardless of where interest rates where. (I figured the explosion in oil prices would have had a more sizable effect on inflation and interest rates would be much higher by now. – my wrong #1) Of course I never imagined like it looks like my tax dollars on my savings would go up to pay so these morons could stay in homes they could afford to begin with! (my wrong #2).

So that’s why I feel like a chump, if I had been a rash moron like the rest of the now now now American public, instead of being a rational thinker (and the chump paying to keep them in their homes).

People who took out responsible mortgages have every right to be ticked off at troubled borrowers and lenders as well as the government (if the government gets involved). Once again, this shows that if you are responsible, you get the big one handed to you. I could have taken out an adjustable mortgage with a lower initial payment but did not because I knew what would happen with rates increased. And, common sense would tell you that rates are going to increase when rates are sitting at historical lows. Everyone that took out adjustable mortgages had a choice. They decided for the lower interest rate (ARM) so they could get a more expensive (overvalued house). A house that they really could not afford.
Once my lender starts working out deals with the irresponsible people, I will demand a similar deal. If no deal, I will give the property to the lender.
On a different note, why is nothing being done about the fraudulent home inspections, the fraudulent realtors, the fraudulent appraisers. The real estate industry needs a major shakeup. A shakeup like the accounting shakeup of the early 1990’s (the one that put the largest accounting firm out of business). Realtors, inspectors, appraisers and others involved in the process need to serve some time.

I borrowed at a fixed 8-point-something in ‘96 to buy my house, then refinanced two or three times (at considerable cost each time!), always fixed, to get it to my current 5.37%. I never thought of an ARM, sounded like a sucker’s game, like those teaser credit card rates that reset to 18% after a few months. Or the state lottery, for that matter. Turns out, I was the sucker, huh?

Question: Will the bailout recipients at least get a black mark on their credit records for a few years?

There are no rewards for being honest and responsible anymore. It seems that the irresponsible,greedy and shady folks make the money. The rest of us have to pay to clean up there messes.

What a bunch of BS. I played it smart and didn’t go for a fool’s ARM loan and now those idiots get to pay a lower percentage rate than myself? So when is government going to come in and help the people who worked hard for a downpayment and made smart decisions?

No bailouts! Let the gamblers rot!

It is the same old same old political liberal crap. Hold no one accoutable for their actions… corporations or individuals. Throw money at it, bail them out and get re elected. It is communism at its finest. Let the free market run its course and let everyone sleep in the bed they made.

I purchased my home on LI in 2005. At the time I had a so so score, mostly items on my credit history from my early 20’s, which I knew were falling off soon. But mainly because, since I had paid off all the old items and cards, I didn’t open new lines of credit trying to be responsible. Little did I know that NO credit cards was a bad thing. As a result, I didn’t have a great credit history. In addition, I’m self employed so I had no W2 to show BUT.. I did make a good living and it was time, with baby on the way, to buy a home. I found a modest fixer upper at a price I could afford. I put money down on the home and then began fixing the house over the next 2 years. I also started to build my credit score with ontime payments and other open lines of credit to which I was being responsible. My score climbed, the home was improved. I was told that if I did all these things, I would be able to refinance out of my ARM mortgage.. which, btw, was NOT at a low teaser rate, but rather was at 6.95%. Come this past summer, when I was ready to refi before hte adjustment this December, the industry tightened and the real estate market started to dip, which wiped out the equity in my home and now brought my mortage to 100% LTV. While my score had risen significantly, now that I was at 100% LTV AND self employed I needed a score even higher than my current score to get a refinance. So I had done all that I was supposed to do to get my rate fixed.. either a rate that was at my current and along the market lines with other 30 year fixed mortgages.. or even slightly more, which would be manageable. Now.. I’m in a jam. My mortgae is set to adjust and the first adjustment will bring it from 6.95 to 9.95%. I MAY be able to handle that, but it will adjust in another 6 monts hadn will eventually climb to 12.95%. So.. not ALL people in this ARM mortgage took it because of a low teaser rate, that when it adjusted to “normal” market levels, would be unaffordable. Not alot of us went for more house than we could afford. AND not all of us are speculators that were looking to flip. I’ve attempted to try and re-negotiate my mortgage to afixed term with the company BUT they are not speaking to me yet becasue the servicer I have has not yet figured out a way to help those that are not yet IN trouble. Because I’m on time currently, they will not speak with me.
While I believe that those with the low teaser rates really shouldn’t have purchased because they are in a lower than real rate and may never have been able to afford their home in the real world of market rates.. but some were being responsible and doing exactly what they were told only to have the carpet ripped right out underneath them as in my situation. With someone like me, working out my mortage to a fixed shouldn’t be as much of an issue. Even if they fixed it slightly higher than where I’m at now, I’m fine. BUT i will be paying market rates like the rest of you who got the 30 year fixed rates.

Not only am I insulted about these free loaders, but they have also over extended themselves with expensive cars, vacations and entertainment systems. Let’s the chips fall where they may and sooner rather than later.

There is plenty of blame to go around.
I agree that too much emphasis is placed on the FICO score. Banks should go back to evaluating borrowers using more of a relational process. Loaning money is more than just a statistically based transaction. Going back to doing personal evaulations would be a good start, but you know that would mean a real job, where someone would need to think and make judgements.
Then there is the issue of the banks creating all of these products to get customers on board. I agree if they were so frivolous as to create these products then they should be on the receiving side of their own business
decisions. Secondly, the banks
did the final underwriting for each
loan, they had the final say whether a borrower got a loan or not.
The lenders established the guidelines and evaluated the borrowers accordingly.
This situation will effect everyone.
No one will be spared by the time this is resolved. Blame will solve nothing, doing nothing will only make matters worse, doing something will
appear to be unfair to some. No solution will please everyone.
I guess that is what Capitalism is about. Some people win, some people lose, some people hope they can just hang on.

As someone who lives in a moderately priced area, I bought my house to live in. I did not buy it on speculation that prices would increase drastically.

The percentage of subprime mortgages varies greatly in different areas of the country. We are being asked to subsidize whole areas where subprime mortgages are rampant. Sure housing prices would drop. Actually, they would return to more of a reasonable level, allowing many more deserving people to own property

I have no sympathy for those that bought more house than they can afford in the hope that it will appreciate and make money.

We should treat this like the stock market. You buy a stock, it goes down…you lose money. I don’t recall asking for assistance when I bought a stock that tanked!

This is another example of those who get in over their heads being bailed out both those who didn’t. I have rental property and primary residence that will be impacted by ARM’s but I’ve planned for it, worked hard to make sure I’m current on payments, etc. Where’s my bail out for not getting in over my head? I’d sure like to save the $500+ per month additional that I’ll be paying for mortgages in 2008. What about having the brokers, lenders, appraisers, etc who perpetuated this situation have to bail them out or better yet the HGTV or TLC programs who encouraged home speculation by making it look easy ante up monies.

If you can’t pay you can’t play. The housing market has not reached a bottom yet and may not for years to come. If in this happens what do we do, bail out again? Also when the banks and mortgage companies made profits I don’t recall receiving any on the money. Don’t ask me to share the pain when I was not in on the gains. Let the chips fall where they may… After all if I don’t pay my obligations I will have to pony up and pay the piper…

There are those who will comdem people who received loans with ARM/hybrids/teaser rates etc. Do not penalize the victim. The onslaught of advertising and the banks themselves with overzealous loan offices sold these products to specific groups the research departments had knowledge were not informed of the process.

They took advantage of citizens that had weak credit profiles and assets. No one is calling for the Loan officers, underwriters, VP of banks etc. that are the real criminals

I want to add my voice to the chorus of voices crying out against lenders who have created their own mess. This “bailout” of bad loans was created by the loan companies. It’s no wonder they are now creating ways to recover their losses. I’m glad I’m not in their pocket because I don’t submit myself to their snakeoil sales pitch in the first place.

This is total act of discrimination. A bailout plan should include crediting back responsible borrowers retroactively for the difference between the teaser rates they avoided and the fixed rate they opted for at the time they secured financing. I intend to file discrimination lawsuits against entities that will engage in such discriminatory practices.

People, you haven’t seen anything yet. Just you wait and see what a real mess we’re going to be in a year or two from now.

Picture it, 2009, property taxes are at the extreme and housing values are literally plummeting. What happens when even the responsible ones have a tough time making payments because of those crazy taxes?

If you didn’t sell in ‘05 and move into a rental, you are a chump. Blame no one but yourself.

How about a class action suit to make all rates better. If it’s good for one it should apply to all. Stop the selective pampering.

If I would have known that a bail out was possible I would have purchased a home double the value of my present home, taken out an ARM, waited for the reset and cried, I CANT AFFORD THIS !! and wait for the calvary. I say know to bail out. assitance yes, but a 2-3 point reduction in the rate, AND with borderline credit. What happens when they fall behind AGAIN ???

anyone who thinks us responsable people who didn’t get greedy and max out our equity to live beond our means should be paying higher taxes to bail out those who had no commen sence is ridiculous. How bout this; what happends if I purposely fall behind to get the free refi and reduction of my mortgage balance and lower rate. Who’s going to stop all the people who are thinking like that!!

If they’re going to bail out irresponsible borrowers, at least force them to include the difference in the cost of borrowing as gross income so they may pay tax on the benefit they are receiving.

Absolutely, responsible borrowers have every right to be outraged. The recent greed and irresponsibility in the housing market are what caused this mortgage crisis in the first place. This disaster prices many hard working and responsible individuals right out of the American dream of owning their own home. These greedy lending institutions, house flippers, and careless borrowers who destroyed this market must be held responsible and certainly not rewarded. Bailing these people out will only contribute further to the problem. The natural behavior of this market must be allowed to take its course if we ever expect to see this problem resolved. Decisions such as bailouts will only prolong this crisis by contributing to inflated prices and keeping responsible borrowers out of the market.

With delinquent lenders being rewarded for delinquency and inept managers being rewarded massively for failure – if I was American I’d be very worried. Is this how capitalism finally meets its end?

I rented for 25 years before I could accumulate enough money for a down payment in the ever rising Boston market. I bargained with points and everything else to get the lowest interest-rate I could. I have friends who went out and bought second homes and speculated using ARMS or you. They were not naïve innocents. They were greedy.

Have you looked at the details involved in each and every one of these refi’s claiming low rates while getting bailed out of their adjustable rate mortgages? It’s irresponsible to start quoting rates when you have no ideas of what these loan applicants have on their loan applications; FICO scores, on time or late payments, loan to value ratios, etc. Stop fanning the flames with your incomplete reports!

yes we have the right! My work moved me from Houston (lower priced market) to Seattle (higher price market) and I was careful, conservative and planned my move, my investments, my credit scores and down payments to make sure that I could afford a house in a higher market… I have MANY friends that played the ARM or interest-only game and even used Equity Loans to pay for new cars and credit card bills… now they are hurting for biting more than what they could, and myself, A good financial planner have to give more because of their mistakes???

Some people didn’t know what they were getting into, I believe that from low-income markets… but markets like DC, California and Florida I don’t buy… those people were riding the Equity Train looking for quick money, they knew what they were getting into, looking for quick cash, flippers without remodeling… now they cry and we are supposed to help them pay for their $500K homes?

This is another example of where Uncle Sam is adding to our enormous debt. The way our government keeps adding to our deficit it reminds of the stupidity of the people that took out these ARM’s to buy a house that they could never afford.

Bryan (from Rockville, MD) makes good point:

“Either way people who don’t default will not be rewarded for their good behavior. They will either lose value on their homes as foreclosures from subprime lendees hit the market, or subprime lendees will get a break on their loans and keep their houses off the market. Seems like the second one is the smarter of the two.”

However, while this would seem like a good reason to support a bail out, it only makes sense if everyone invloved already owned a home – which they don’t. Clearly, it’s the people who don’t already own a home who are the ones that will be the big loosers in a bailout. The only way for a bailout to be fair is for the lenders to provide “permanent teaser rate” loans to everyone!!! I am angry beyond words.

I thought with capitalism, if you make dopey choices you end up out of business! When will the Fed say,” No One Is Too Big To Fail”, i.e. Citibank, Bear Stearns, Bank Of America, etc.? It’s a joke. Now everyone will have to pay for the greed and stupidity of these companies management. With lower interest rates comes a weaker dollar = higher prices. I believe it was Thomas Payne who said, ” It is every patriots duty to protect his country from it’s government”.

This sets a horrible precedent to give irresponsible lenders and borrowers a break. I understand the impact of not helping them out, but it puts a bad taste in the average “joe bag of donuts” mouth.

Yes, there is very good reason to be frustrated. This issue is simply more evidence that our country has a problem with an attitude of entitlement. Our country is a land of opportunity, but unfortunately most people have taken that to mean getting something for nothing. Our country was founded on the principle of a strong work ethic. However, many people have forgotten the work part and want all the reward. My wife and I work hard, plan accordingly and make our payments on time. It is extremely frustrating now to subsidize someone else with an entitlement (aka easy money) attitude with our tax dollars. The root issue is an entitlement attitude problem in our culture that desperately needs to be addressed.

Hi, I need the bank to bail me out,too!! I am on fixed jumbo mortgage like everyone honest citizen paying our taxes and mortgage on time each month. Since they can bailout the subprime lenders,they should also able to give us at least 2 points deduction on our mortgage,too. After all they know we are not going to be delinquent payers. The subprime lenders should not be bailed.

So much for “Free market economy”. It seems that many of the people on Wall Street who touts this country’s supposedly free market are now asking for a “small” favor in the best communist fashion…

Teresa Nelson said it all in her interview with CNNmoney.com, “Our Nation is closer to recession, and it may be just what we need to get people to tighten their belts and live within their means”, she said.
BRAVO!!! The FAT cats won’t get fatter is you’re saving your money instead of spending your children’s inheritance. Slow down people….smell the roses. And as for the Countrywide bailout….let them bailout those borrower’s that the ‘cheated’. It was all based upon ‘predatory’ lending practices. Careful what you do in life…..it may come back to bite ya!!

Well, we might as well help the little guy. I’m sure our politicians are going to help the bank and the mortgage brokers, who created this mess. It’s all disgusting.

It is frustrating to me because the housing industry caused this in the first place. I bought my house in Michigan 10 years a go and now because of the crappy builders and loan scams I can’t sell my house. 10 years a go I paid 155k for my house today it is listed for 170k and can’t sell it due to the number of foreclosures in my area. This mess has not only caused havoc with the lenders it has caused a wide spread drop in home values, in my opinion we should be more upset about that. Not counting appreciation in my home if I sell it at 170k I will loose almost 60K in improvements I have done to the house. That is the real shame. We should hold the ones that originated these looser type loans responsible for all of our financial losses. But noooo no one will go to jail and these banks that bilked everyone out of millions of dollars will go unchecked.

Just like always the good guys always I mean always come in last

It is as simple as this. Those of us who were responsible are getting the short end of the stick. Let’s take a moment to forget about the possible tax payer costs incurred by a bail out, and let’s just focus on the unfairness of the current situation. I purchased a new home January of this year. I locked into a 30 year fixed loan, and even payed 3% in discount ($7500) out of pocket to get an aggresive interest rate. Now as a result of the problems surrounding the poor choices several home owners made, I am now seeing several loans being modified with no cost to the borrower, and with lower rates then I received. How fair is it to those of us, who always took care of our credit, and always pay our bills on time, to end up with loans that carry higher payments than those that didn’t take the time to realize the risk. Don’t get me wrong, I truly feel bad for the few people who may have been deceived by their loan officers, but the simple truth is, most of these people knew exactly what they were doing, and were betting their home’s value would continue to increase to cover them in the end. I don’t have a problem with the bailouts, under one condition: I too should have the option to modify my loan to a 4.75% rate with no additional costs. That is only fair!

No one should be bailed out. I like the lady in the article took a 30yr instead of a 3yr with a much lover rate and now they are giving people much lower rates then I have. I have a 796 credit score and I sometimes wonder why I bother to pay my bills and do the right thing if no one else cares.

I hear more whining from people who are not on a.r.m. loans about “bailouts” than I ever did from people who were struggling with a.r.m. loans and trying to make the payments. this is not like welfare gimmees for people who don’t work. because lots of people on the a.r.m. loans are hardworking people who are paying a “dummy tax”. also, everyone thinks a bailout is automatically giving someone money or a free ride. In my case, bought a house with $20k down and wife was working in a family business where compensation was difficult to document. we wanted to refinance later on a fixed rate but she became ILL and this changed everything. So, wah wah! cry me a river! I have worked as many as three jobs in order to pay inflated medical bills and for our home. No one owes me any bail out, but I’m tired of anal-retentive people crying about others getting a break on their a.r.m.s. while living in their perfect little lives with one job.

Greed was the cause for these subprime
buyers not thinking THRU the consequences of ARM versus Fixed.
Now, they want for banks to bail them out and NOT fair to customers that are consistently paying mortgages on timely manner. FLIP buyers.

Our politicians, lenders and overextended borrowers are attempting to pull at our heartstrings telling the responsible borrowers how awful it is to lose one’s home. If the borrowers who are being foreclosed or threatened with foreclosure did not make a downpayment, then they are not losing anything such as their downpayment or equity, just the roof over their heads. Technically, these borrowers are renters. When a landlord increases a renters payment with 30 day advance notice, the renters must decide if they wish to pay the increased amount or move. The troubled borrowers had years of advance notice and knew for sure their rates would be increased. So, exactly what is the problem? If the troubled borrower does move, there is plenty of available housing. Two million vacant homes and counting. They will just have to rent something they can afford, like the rest of us have being doing for years.

I think delinquent borrowers should not get a break at all. The banks knew these people couldn’t afford these home mortgages yet the went ahead and processed them. This is a TOTAL outrage. Why should they get any break? I have been paying my mortgage responsibly and now these borrowers will get a better rate than I have. Why don’t they cut me and the scores of responsible mortgagees a lower interest rate. I think they (The banks and the delinquent borrowers ) should be made to pay for this fiasco, NOT reward them. They went into a loan knowing they couldn’t pay, well then sorry -you lost your property! I think the deals that banks and these subprime mortgagees made should be recorded as criminal activity. I think this is total outrage, and would like all responsible mortgage payers to contact their elected officials and voice their opinion on this matter. THESE PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE REWARDED. And as far as these banks which made these loans are concerned; have our Government pull their charters and shut them down!

It’s all of our responsiblity to help these people. We should bail them out by taxing the wealthy. There should be a 5% subprime bail out income tax for 07 and 08 for anyone making over 100k a year. That will solve it. Any extra money should go to the public schools to increase peoples awareness of the how they feel about their finances.

This bailout is a short term fix for what will be a long term problem. People who snapped up these ARMs and cannot afford to pay them can’t afford to maintain the houses they bought either. While having an empty house in the neighborhood may not be great; at least someone [the loan company] will be responsible for, and motivated to, keep it up. Those who are being bailed out have no real motive or ability to deal with the expenses of keeping up the property; it is basically someone else’s money that is paying the bills and someone else’s problem. The end result will be a lot of middle class neighborhoods going down hill and further spreading the divide between affluent and not affluent.

I am one of the responsible ones and spoke to Coutnrywide. I qualify for their Super-Prime rate. In order to get the rates that these irresponsible people are getting I have to pay 2 points. I think I have the right to be upset that someone who can’t pay their bills get a better rate than those who pay and pay extra!!

While I agree we should not bailout those who made bad decisions, this is symptomatic of larger problem. Financial institutions make money on credit card (teaser rates, 0% percent transfer fees, credit limits that have no basis in the ability of an individual to repay, etc.), by locking in profit: short term with all manner of fees; long term by the inability of individuals to pay off loan. From social perspective there seems to be much less stigma being in tens of thousands of dollars of debt. So it was only a matter of time that super credit cards — HELOCs would come along … the answer to every credit card wet dream. I suspect most “dumb” people thought their house was equivalent = unlimited line of credit secured by an asset that continues annual double-digit appreciation. Seems to me that banks too wanted to turn houses into super credit cards as well; bigger loans, bigger fees. The only thing they didn’t account for is a bow wave of defaults that are threatening to sink them and everybody else in this global economy with them. So anyway you slice it the “smart” people will have to pay, higher taxes; higher costs on everything (rate cuts drive oil costs up, drives up cost of living).

So let the greedy financial institutions choke on their repackaged debt; scr*w the fed (Greenspan should not have tinkered with the rate in the first place) … but there are no easy answers. As mad as I am about all of this, we have to figure out how to get from where we are to where we need to be. Let is start with the government — stop deficit spending …

My husband and I have not purchased a home although we could have gone for these teaser loans and owned a big home stretching our limits. Now the rate has shot up so high due to these irresponsible greedy institutions and reckless borrowers making a home purchase even less affordable especially in Southern California where Jumbo loan is almost always necessary especially for first time buyers.
Awarding greedy reckless buyers and penalizing prudent responsible potential buyers can hardly be a good idea. It’s extremely demoralizing.

All Americans are chumps as the federal Reserve Board lowers interest rates to bail out the housing and financial industries with lowered interest rate cuts…This creates a devaluation in the dollar and high inflation on the horizon…

For the most part I do not feel bad for the people that are defaulting on their loans and I do not believe that they should just be bailed out a interest rates lower than people that have outstanding credit scores. As a professional that has been in the mortgage business as an underwriter I am certain that when one sits down to sign loan papers they have amply opportunities to ask questions about their loans and understand what they are signing. When one signs loan papers they make a legally binding pledge to pay their debt. Now they can’t pay their debts they are getting better rates then the people out there that have given up lots of other things to make sure that their mortgage payements are on time!

I love the fact that we’ve become so politically correct that we have to save everyone from their own troubles. We have pills to make everyone feel better about themselves, so why don’t we just go and correct their irresponsible spending habits as well. Maybe we should focus on some common sense finance classes in high school instead Calculus and the next generation may turn out to be less dependent on everyone else taking care of them.

I’m the biggest chump of all. I knew I couldn’t afford a home in the Bay Area before and during the boom, and now because of bailouts due to concern over falling property values if too many foreclosures force down prices, I still can’t, despite a better than average income.

What is the greater good being done by propping up prices? Holding the “value” for existing homes is of negligible value. All you can do with a single home is sell it to buy another single home, so really who cares if your house is worth 50K as long as all the ones around you are 40-60K. You’re no worse off than if your house goes for 5 mil. and all the neighboring ones sell for 4-6 mil. However in the latter scenario, new buyers are locked out of the market. The greater good would be to let market forces take their course, swing the pendulum back the other way for a while so that those of us who have been diligently saving, and avoiding patently absurd mortgage terms, can finally get a foothold in a home.

Having a house that’s worth a lot of money, when all of them are, doesn’t make one rich unless it’s a second or third home not being used as a primary residence. I say let the chips fall where they may. Homesellers are no worse off selling for a lower price because they can turn around and buy again for a comparably lower price anyway. The only ones truly losing out are the people on commission and the banks who need refresher courses in basic economics. In retrospect, I should have taken remedial socio-political courses to impress upon me the wisdom of going for a foolish mortgage, and partaking of the bailouts. But hey, at least all those taxes I’m paying in to Social Security will prove their worth someday…right?

I agree with those who consider this a disgusting bailout.
I will add that those people who sought these cheap deals were harming renters who were honest and did not get into sleazy deals. Our rent had been schduled for a $100/month increase until the subprime mess came along.
When you’re good to those who do wrong you do wrong to those who are good.
These bailouts were what Americans laughed at in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Back then we thought that only Russia would do such things.

I don’t feel bad for the people that got stuck with these loans. If you are not clear on what you are getting yourself into that’s your fault, what ever happened to BUYER BE WARE? If something happened to me and I could not pay my loan there would be no one there to help be out or offer to reduce my loan payment.

Greed isn’t illegal, but the events happening in the lending market are criminal. Lenders took shareholder value, created financial instruments with no real value, then walked away with the rewards and left honest borrowers and shareholders in the lurch. Why aren’t these lenders doing a perp-walk for the cameras?

It is called personal responsibility. If the banks are that dumb to give out loans to people with bad credit or low income, they deserve what they get. Banks that worship at the almighty FICA score desirve it. Mortgages should be done by manual underwriting, looking at the person not the score.

I feel we should not bail out these banks or people who did not do a budget before investing into a house.

This is a country of victoms, even when these “victoms” were trying to make a fast buck on the backs of honest buyers. Get real, this is a political move to buy votes.

Joe, Sarasota, FL 11-05-2007

Many of these people went in over their heads in an attempt to make a quick buck. Those of us who actually wanted a residence and realized our payments would be getting us in over our heads in financial burden and didn’t buy are now being punished for intelligence. This is not right!!!

If there is a Class Action Lawsuit against these lenders and or the fed for allowing this gambling behavior to happen and then rewarding the losers with sub-prime loans please sign me up. Alan Greenspan missed the clues and now we the sensible public must carry and pay the burden.

I would like to feel bad for people who bit off more than they can chew but I refied my arm because I saw that interest rate would rise. I don’t feel Counrtywide or any other lender should be giving these people better rates than I recieved which they are doing. I think there should be a class action lawsuit or offer people who did the right thing the lower rate that the others are recieving

Now that all the responsible mortgage payers have either refinanced their arm to a 7+ % 30 yr. fixed, or received a 30 year fixed rate from the get go, all those who defaulted get a 5-5.25% bail out. Why doesn’t country wide offer this rate across the board, or is being responsible with a good credit rating a punishment.

Well country wide, with this type of behavior, I am taking my loan else where, even if I get a higher rate.

Steve, Sterling Heights, MI

My wife and I have always live below our means..its our choice to do so. We have put two kids through college without borrowing money. We have watched friends borrow money for expensive homes and cars that we knew they could marginally afford, and we still waited until we could easily affored a large home. This was just last year and we are really enjoying our new palace. We watched the market for several years before we bought, and could see this credit situation unfolding. Why did’nt the powers that be see it? Because the residential market growth was all about the money…and now the rest of us have to suffer, to a degree, or at least feel like chumps for prudently paying our bill on time. I guess we all have the option to quit making mortgage payments and wait to see what happens. Our preference allows us to sleep at nights… because we pay our bills. Maybe that our personal payoff!!, but it still is very irritating.

You bet we have a right to be “ticked off.” These idiots who got in over their head trying to make a quick buck are now getting bailed out by the profits made on us morons who played by the rules and did the right thing. Boy, are we a bunch of saps. How about lowering our rates a point or two? Why not let us skip a few months’ payments and have it excused? It’s typical, you do the right thing and get screwed again. No wonder people are cynical. I say let them sink or swim on their own with no help from anyone. If Countrywide, Goldman, Wachovia, Citibank or another lending institution goes under as a result, well, too bad. In a capitalist economy it’s survival of the fittest and if you’re not the fittest, then you lose. If you’re stupid, like most of them are, then you deserve to lose.
Let’s also not lose sight of the fact that these mortgages were designed because of pressure by the Congress to make housing more “affordable” for those who couldn’t afford it. So they are heavily to blame too. They couldn’t afford loans/houses because of the risk they represented. Now we know why. Worst possibility is they may try to “fix” it and then we’re all in REALLY big trouble.

A credit score used to detemine if someone would loan you money. Then it evolved into a way to determine at what cost they would lend you money. Today it seems to be a way to punish those who it initially set out to benefit (ie worthy borrowers).

What the $%#$@!&* happened to self responsbility! If a bank or lender wants to bail-out a home-owner, that is fine – just don’t use my tax money to do it. The last time I made a bad financial decision, I didn’t see, nor would I want, federal/state money.

I agree with Robert from Palm Harbor, Fl. Not only is this a bail out for the banks, I hold the banks responsible for telling people they know are iffie at best that they can “afford” much more house than they should be looking at. Too many young people have no idea how money works and put there trust in the “Bank People” to steer them in the right direction. There own ignorance and the got to have it right now mentality, whether they can afford it or not got them into this. NO BAIL OUT FOR EITHER THE BANKS OR THE PEOPLE LOOSING THERE HOMES. Yes it is a horrible lesson, but one that needs to be learned!

I waited 10 years to get my house. I did my research and went with a fixed rate loan. I work 2 jobs to make sure my mortgage is paid on time. Where is my break for doing the right thing?

Unless the person being bailed out can prove that they were truly misled, they do not deserve a penny of taxpayers money. Most of the people in this mess, wanted something for nothing. Just another get rich quick scheme.

At first your credit score determined if someone would lend you money. Then it moved away from if someone would lend you money to what cost one could borrow money at. Now it seems like a credit score penalizes the very people it set out to help.

Yes, I’m a big time chump. While Smith was buying-up to ‘take out equity’ and keep up with Jones I did what I thought was financially prudent and stayed where I was. Silly me for being content. For the next bubble I’ll try to buy at the tail end of all the euphoria so I can get bailed out, too. As long as I follow the masses I can’t be wrong, can I? If only we could have all got bailed out when telecom stocks tanked …

As a taxpayer that forks over a lot of my money to the government through taxes, I think I have a right to have a say in what they do with it. A bailout is a bailout and it’s wrong. A lot of these people should never have gotten into this mess in the first place. You only buy a house when you can AFFORD it. If you can’t, then it’s your own tough luck. Save your money or move to an area that is more affordable.

Those borrowers were either careless or greedy taking out those horrible loans.
Those lenders were either careless or greedy giving those loans to people who should NOT have been qualified.
Let the Greedy and Carless deal with each other and the mess they have created. The borrowers: Law suit against the Lenders. The Lenders: Give discount from YOUR money to keep the mortgage payers payment coming.
I do NOT want to save them with my tax money. They are getting what they deserve. They didn’t share with me a penny as long as they were profitting from their deals.

NO BAILOUT! Instead of each homeowner confronting their lender individually, is there an existing responsible homebuyer group or something of that nature we can join to stronger support our beliefs? Sign petitions? Anything?

I am against a bail-out. However; lets put the blame as well on the irresponsible mortgage brokers who knowingly sold these mortgages. In ARM, borrowers should have to qualify at the maximum interest rate possible for the load — or they don’t get it. Companies like Countrywide should be allowed to go under. House “flippers” should be allowed to go bankrupt as well. Responsible lenders and borrowers should not be penalized as under the current law. I don’t want my tax dollars goping to bail out irresponsible and/or stupid people.

Absolutely. Its ridicules that responsible people again have to take the brunt of other people’s mistake. People defaulting on mortgages & credit cards, shoplifting. . .all this ends up costing all of us in the end. Why should I pay more because of irresponsible people.

The government bails out banks companies etc. They all made a pretty penny with all these subprime loans. I am not suggesting a bail out but some sort of solution to the rise in interest rates. We don’t live in a vaccum if we allow all of these homes to go into foreclosure we will all pay the price. If anyone thinks it is not worth finding some sort of solution then they are sadly mistaken. We have wasted billions of dollars in Iraq and now the American people need a break.

I am a Countrywide customer and I think it sucks that I don’t get the same treatment. I have a 5yr/ARM that is coming due and think I should get a low fixed like the subprime borrowers are. I agree with one of the other comments…..I think I’ll buy a mansion on the ocean and wait for a bail out loan. I am sure there is a law suit just waiting to be filed for all of us who pay on time and don’t get what the poor credit borrowers are getting. I can hear attorneys wheels turning right now.

Why should people that did the responsible thing and went for the 30 year fixed pay more than someone that was suckered into a teaser rate deal? We have been paying the same amount on our home for 7 years and never missed a payment. Some months we even send in a little extra. Why are we being taken advantage of because so many people made bad decisions? It is insulting! These homeowners are being treated like the victims. HELLO!!!!! We are the victims. If their rate are going to be reduced to 5%, lower ours while you are at it.

I’m ok with lenders ON THEIR OWN renegotiating subprime/alt-a terms but please no Govt. bailout for the big banks! The Fed comes to the rescue of Wall St. at the cost of Main St., the dollar drops, inflation rises while all the rich talk about diversifying assets overseas!

What a nice way out for the banks and for those ‘greedy’ people. The question I have is if this act will help boost the housing market once more? Will housing be affordable to most Americans in the next 5, 10, 15, 30 years?

In all fairness, banks should then refinance those of us who pay on time on our 30 yr. fixed loans that are over 5% down to 5% without any charges or fees! Why should someone who got an ARM because of his/her questionable credit be rewarded with a 5% interest rate? I guess next time I will choose a home I know I can’t afford and then wait for handouts to come my way too! Unreal! So these people will learn to live within their means when? Apparently, never! It truly makes me ill to realize that doing things “the right way” gets you nowhere!

I’ve had it with people who can’t manage their finances having part of their debt forgiven, getting lower interest rates, or both. When are we finally going to put the burden on those who don’t take responsibility for their actions?

My softer side feels for people desiring one of lifes goals, home ownership. The reality of it is simple economics. Responsible home ownership calls for responsible loans for qualified buyers. There should be no bail out for subprime buyers or subprime loaners. You made your bed, sleep in it…. NO BAIL OUTS

Yup. I’m a chump. I admit it. And I know that the crooks, both individual and corporate will have their bacon pulled out of the fire becuase if we don’t “we all suffer”. The individuals who fibbed on loans and who over extended are just greedy. That’s forgivable. Those corporate types who masterminded it though knew the risks of this happening. They would be stripped of their country club memberships, private planes, and other perks if the world was fair, but it isn’t is it?

My wife and I lived in our basement as we worked just about every night and weekend for two years finishing the up stairs. When the carpenters left we had an enclosed shell. I was 21 yrs old and the 1700 sq ft house w/2 car garage was paid for when I was 32. We lived from pay check to pay check and our payments were 237.00 month for just the house no taxes or insurance. The first year we were married we grossed $16000.00 total., I will retire at 60 without ever being helped out by the government or any inheritance or anyone. I’m Proud and I have no sympathy for any one living the high life!

Apparently, the banks can lead a horse to water and make it drink! Their predatory lending methods and lack of logical guidelines are robbing all of us.

People should always read the fine print before signing any legal document. I feel the high schools should begin teaching basic budget and balancing checkbook classes for use in todays business enviroment.

Yes, we should be ticked off!!!! Let the losers suffer and the smart people buy up the foreclosed homes for 10 pennies on th e dollar – let them lose the homes they should not have been able to buy in the first place. No BAILOUTS – Let’em lose what little money they have!!!!!!

Having been the seller of a house to a couple who had no business buying, it infuriates me that they might be bailed out. These folks both had bankruptcies and FICO scores in the 500s that we learned about after the closing. Initially, their real estate agent said they had stellar credit. With their stellar credit they got 100% financiing and pocketed $10K at the close of escrow. Their arrogance at closing was amazing.

There seem to be two main arguments for a bailout:

1)”it’s better than a foreclosure, which would lower the value of the area”.

The value of the neighborhood IS GOING TO DECLINE WITH OR WITHOUT THE FORECLOSURE for the simple reason that housing is not affordable to the next generation. Foreclosures may speed up the decline, but they will not cause it.

2) “it doesn’t affect you if someone else gets a sweet deal, so why should you care?”

Wrong, it does affect me. By reworking all these subprime loans Countywide and others are taking a hit. This will increase the risk premium for lending, and increase mortgage rates across the board.

Summary: Property values are in the process of correcting to where they should have been all along. It’s inevitable and bailing people out will only cost money and delay things for six months or a year.

Paul, South Bend:
Actually, these people are re-negotiating their contracts, not getting a better deal. That smacks of the illegal.

While I feel bad for these people who signed on to loans that they are not able to pay, I also feel it is their own responsibility to know what they are signing up for. It’s a home purchase, you want to be sure you know exactly what you are getting yourself info. There should be no bail-outs from the government. Counseling and information are helpful but not financial help, because where is the incentive to be responsible?

Wake up people!!!! The real bail out here is for Citi, Merril, Country Wide, Bear Stern, and good old Goldman Sachs. They sold this junk collected their fees and now they want to be protected from it? As for the “home owner” just one question…was this to live in or a get rich house flipping scam? I’ll dubble down and place my chips on Flipper Scam/pipe dream for the greatest percentage of these fools. oh…and think this mortgage thingie is bad? The ABCP (asset backed credit paper) sold to the corporate world is the REAL story about why we are so screwed. Should they be helped?…oh I forgot the lowering of the Fed rate is really about that and not mortgages (gotta watch those hands in this game of 3 card monty). Those rates tied to the 10 year treasury and LIBOR rates.

Either way people who don’t default will not be rewarded for their good behavior. They will either lose value on their homes as foreclosures from subprime lendees hit the market, or subprime lendees will get a break on their loans and keep their houses off the market. Seems like the second one is the smarter of the two.

Sure , this teaches us all a lesson in finance that I suppose the big boys already know. Sign up for something you can’t afford and wait for a bail out. Look at corportate America ,they all do it. So next time I’ll buy a mansion on the beach , and wait for Countrywide to bail me out.

My wife and I got our home the old fashioned way, we earned it and worked for it over a period of 30+ years. We made our last payment this month and now own it. We have never taken out a loan that we couldn’t afford and have never asked for help on repaying a loan. I have no sympathy for those living beyond their means. They created the problem, now they can live with it.

The majority of people who benefitted from ARM loans are infact flippers who price the real estate out of wack. That didn’t help anyone else.

Why are we bailing out the flippers? They’re not homeless. They’re making it harder for the middle class not to be homeless with false demand enabled by the bad lending practices. Let them suffer.

The “victims” of predatory lending can file collective suits against the banks, mortgage lenders, etc.

If the real estate market is so dependant on flippers, maybe we don’t have the even the economy that the media wants us to believe.

The problems run a little deeper, people are looking for bailouts.

Yeah, I’m a chump. Cheap money was responsible for driving up home values in the first place, so many of us single-income families couldn’t afford them. Then, these people went out and borrowed like drunk sailors. Now, they want to be bailed out. I wouldn’t mind seeing them pay their dues, so housing prices come down even further. That way, regular people could start affording decent houses again. Plus, I’m just angry that the government wants to save their rear ends, when this is completely their and the banks’ fault. By saving these people, the government is essentially bailing out the banks, too. That’s corporate welfare.

You bet. I’ve lived in the same 1,100 sq.ft for 20 years while everyone around me trade up in homes, cars, etc.
Now I’m suppose to cover it with more taxes or higher rates.

This is more about keeping up with the Jones’s, info-tainment driven, want it now consumers than the mortgage industry (but they’re definately not guilt free either).

The poor consumer can’t be to blame for not doing the most basic math and buying a house they couldn’t support, they have to get someone else to make it “affordable”. And the tax code just encourages it. If they can find a scapegoat then the government will come in and make it all better.

Look at real estate prices vs. incomes over the last decade and say you couldn’t see this coming. It was all debt, supported by inflated values.

Three-quarters of consumers clueless. Financial education K-12 is one term in many school systems, covering everything from home-ec, how to shop and cook food, to paying bills, to buying cars and homes and investing for your retirement – all in one term. No wonder most people have no idea about the cost of debt. They a hissy-fit when lettuce goes up 50 cents a head, ’cause they’ve got a $100/mo cable bill, $400 a month car payment, and they’re driving just as much at $3 a gallon as they did at $2. They can’t separate a want from a need.

The Federal Government and Joe consumer are running their financial house the same way and are headed for the same day of reckoning. The sad part is that it will take down the minority of responsible consumers and savers with it.

Think it’s bad now, wait for them to start expecting Social Security and Medicare to cover everything.

My wife and I bought a house that we knew we could afford. We didn’t use any of this creative financing to get more house. Shame on those greedy people who bought more than they should have. They should have to pay the piper now.

If people are going to be bailed out because they took a risk and got burned, why not reward those who opted for the security and certainty of a fixed-rate loan and paid on time every time
by giving them a significantly lower rate,too?

At some point in time, people in this country have got to be taught that you can’t always be rescued when you take chances that don’t work out – especially when it means a better deal for them than for those who make more responsible choices for themselves.

This is so wrong. Talk about promoting bad behavior. This has got to stop.

They’re discussing this over at Promote Your Opinion. Check it out.

http://www.promoteyouropinion.com/wfTopic.aspx?TopicID=42

I Did not purchase a home because I knew I could not afford the terms of the ARMs even though I could get into the home based on initial payments.

Is it too late to get in on this SCAM

If I new I would be bailed out, hell I would have went for it!!!!

Give me a break, so much for being held responsible for your own mistakes.

Subprime was Wall Street’s anwer to fees, crank&churn, pump-dump, transaction fees generation

imho, Wall Street replaced fees (investment banking, loan underwriting, legal, financial, accounting, etc.) lost from the dot.com boom by taking advantage of subprime loopholes.

The simple answer to your simple question is…ABSOLUTELY. My wife and I don’t seem to get any breaks at all despite the fact that we are hard working, middle class, and pay our bills on time. How much, and to whom will they (these breaks) be extended????? At some point we will say, “Enough is Enough”. We hope they will be listening.

Yes, It is their tax money that pays for it.

Either the loan company writes it off as a loss taking the tax benefit or the government pays it directly.

Either way tax payers get stiffed. Remember it during the elections.

As Chris, Newton MA so rightly observed, bailouts are BAD for the middle and lower class because they prevent the market from properly adjusting and letting the smart people finally get a home at a fair price. That some stupid people lose their homes is tough luck – loan terms are not a mystery, they are in print on the document you sign. If you can’t handle reading the terms of your loans, then you shouldn’t be taking loans. NO BAILOUTS. And let Citibank and their freeloading shareholders take the hit too! Why should those who shorted citibank on this fiasco have to lose money? Lower the dividend!

I paid my mortgage off last May – it was a 5% fixed rate mortgage. My children will still be taught to save and live within one’s means. The “bailout” is being done ONLY for the purpose of protecting the lenders – not the borrowers – make no mistake…. I’m also taking measures to not get screwed when they figure out how not to pay Social Security – you ain’t seen nothin’ yet….

Wow! What great education for current and future generations.

This is what people hear: It is okay to buy anything on credit that you cannot afford, or is overpriced, as long as tons of people are doing it. Because eventually the government will bail you out.”

We are living in a dreamland of infinite low cost money supply. Guess what – eventually this money supply will stop. It is important for irresponsible individuals and corporations to get weeded out. By bailing them out, the government keeps pushing today’s problems into the future, setting us all up for much bigger shocks.

Most of the people who claim to not understanding their loan terms are either pathetic, or liars. Just ask them about the complex features of their fancy electronics, cars, etc, etc and they will go on-and-on forever sounding like PHDs.

One thing few talk about is the genuine home buyers who overpaid for their homes because every Tom, Dick and Harry in town started bidding up home prices.

Reading through this thread saddens me.

Sue sue sue!!

Me me me !!

This whole issue is emblematic of the entitlement society we live in. It is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS what deal your neighbor gets on his/her mortgage. I’ll make you a deal, you don’t pay anything for a buyout, and the companies involved can cut whatever deal they want with their customers.

I will fight any sort of government bailout tooth and nail, but we each negotiated our own deals on our mortgages. Live with it, or default, but don’t act like you are entitled to a better deal just because someone else is getting one.

Classic case of the American way: go for broke, and when you are broke…expect others to bail you out (Bankruptcy, etc.)….Think Donald Trump would be where he is at today without filing BK twice???? Jesse “The Body” Ventura once said, “You can’t legislate against stupidity.”

Yes I feel like a chump, Let the CEO’s OF THESE bANKS and Lending Agencies pay for their GREED from their Bonuses and Stock Options

2 questions come to my mind.

1. If the government bails out people that took low front cost loans betting prices would go up so they could refinance, why don’t the rest of us taxpayers get the same amount of money that they are getting?

2. From what I recall, Ronald Reagan eliminated the FHA no qualify loans stating tax payers and the government should not be in the business of guaranteeing loans. If these people prove him wrong by bailing out some homeowners what else did Ronald Reagan get wrong?

People SHOULD BE held responsible for the mistakes they make otherwise what kind of lesson are we teaching. DON’T BAIL anyone out!!! It should be a free market.

Absolutely no bailout with my tax dollars. The people who HAVE to pay are the lendors and the people who took the risk. The lendors made a LOT of money over the last years of the housing boom now they lose some. No sympathy for them. As far as the borrowers, they took a risk in order to save money. Can I get a taxpayer bailout for money I lost in the early 2000’s for risks that I took in the stockmarket.

Don’t forget that a crash in real estate valuations also crashes city, state, and federal budgets dependent on property taxes.

It was criminal for Paulson, Greenspan, and the Fed.s to promote hedge funds while ignoring overextended loan qualifications.

It was also criminal for Joe Blow to jump into variable rates with unrealistic projections for the short term future.

The loose lone qualifications promoted property flipping and pushed property taxes to unrealistic highs.

Back the whole mess off.

No, it does not bother me. I would rather see those people get some help, as opposed to seeing our entire economy collapse. I can understand some government employees, with their guaranteed jobs and pensions, being ticked off, about not getting in on some good deals, like having their mortgage lowered. Those of us who are actually contributing to our economy, are very concerned about losing our jobs or business’s. I would like to see the government doing even more to help those folks with bad mortgages, just so I can keep paying mine.

John Baker

If we don’t save them prices will continue to fall on all real estate.
As a broker myself, if you did these kind of loans you are not in it for the long run since you will not have and repeat clients. They don’t go back to a person they can’t trust.

If your going to loan 100% LTV on a home you don’t do it to sub prime borrowers. Any fool should have seen this coming. Especially in an unusually
fast appreciating real estate market. I don’t feel bad for the lenders. This is no different than the negative amort. products that caused a large amount of repos in the eighties. Let’s wake up people. If the buyer doesn’t have the ability to save for a down payment what makes you think they are going to be able to pay their mortgage payment when it adjusts or that they are going to stick it out in their home that is worth less than their mortgage balance. They will never have the money saved to pay the balance down. These are people that fly by the seat of their pants.

I don’t think these people should get any help. They are not “victims” whatsoever. Nobody forced them to take out an ARM. Nobody held a gun to their head and made them sign the paper. In my area we have lots of these idiots who tried to buy 600k homes while making less than 40k a year. They deserve whatever happens to them. I am so glad the bankruptcy laws have changed so less deadbeats will get away with their irresponsibility.

NO BAILOUTS! I don’t like the idea of people losing their houses, but most of those people shouldn’t have owned a house in the first place. The government is partially responsible for not putting in stricter lending standards and allowing the banks to have free reign.
Mistakes are being made left and right that are hurting the greater economy and that includes the recent actions by the Fed of reducing rates. The Fed is clearly ignoring inflation in order to cater to a particular market segment, in turn killing the dollars value. The decision to cuts the Fed Funds rate was the correct one, but the short term rate was a flat out mistake.
The housing market has and in some cases still is treated like the stock market. People were buying houses left and right and leaving them vacant because it was an easy way to make money. Then all of a sudden they can’t flip the house for a profit and they don’t know what to do… if that was the stock market then they would have no one to cry to. The writing was on the wall for years but people didn’t want to accept the fact that prices can go down.
There are a lot of people waiting on the sidelines waiting to pick up a house but until the banks and the Fed lets the market naturally correct, then the money is going to stay on the sidelines and potentially in foreign markets.

People who borrowed money knowing that there could be a hurriance in their bank account should NOT be helped.

These people need to learn the reality of life. If it is a harsh lesson then so be it.

About country going to recession…the country needs to get a taste of its wrongdoing.

My final Statement on this matter… I can certainly understand someone’s frustration when Tax payer dollars are involved and it seems like everyone is getting a break besides yourself. I am only 28 so maybe I am incorrect on this but what I have come to notice about life is that it (is not fair) however the difference between those who prosper and those who fail is the ability to take the good with the bad. So you paid your bills on time and someone who doesn’t has a better rate than you…Is there life that much better than your because so… I think not.

I have two suggestions for those that are upset about the bailouts (as I am):

Write your congressman, and other officials you see fit. Sometimes one or two letters can change the way a politician will vote, so a deluge should have a lot of influence.

Stop paying your mortgage, as a protest move. If enough borrowers organized and stopped paying, vocalizing the reason, the mortgage companies would then weigh the consequences of failing to consider the position of those who position them so they can offer these bailouts.

since the government etc want to help those with bad mortgages, how about helping all seniors who have fixed incomes and their taxes are going up because of those speculative days falsley raising home prices. we need help now!!
how about it??

Privatizing gains in good market times and then spreading the losses for all the masses to cover when times go bad…seems as though most of us will be covering the losses of not only those who, perhaps, never should have been in the real estate market, but also the losses of speculators who have made profits but are now stuck with depreciating property in the down turn. It’s ridiculous, and while I cannot control a private company in which I own no equity, I can vote out any legislator that thinks this is an appropriate use of our taxes.

“You can’t stop private companies from restructuring their own loans. It’s their choice and it won’t cost the responsible people anything.”

WRONG. It costs me money. I was ready to buy in 2005, but chose not to, because I could tell that prices were approching a cliff, and I didn’t want to risk my life savings on a depreciating asset. Bailing out people who got in over their heads with mortgages only serves to keep prices artificially high by not dumping those homes back on the market, thereby prolonging the inevitable price drops and keeping responsible would-be borrowers on the sidelines, renting.

Don’t bail anyone out and let the chips fall where they may!!!!!!!!

You have the mortagage companies offering bad deals (ARM’s) to people who can’t afford a home. The same company is selling you a second mortagage to pay off your credit cards.
while another bank is shoving credit cards down your throat. And the stock market wants us to spend more money that we don’t have. It does not surprise me that this country is in a debt crisis. My daughter’s Barbie Doll even has her own credit card. With no credit card debt I have more money to spend then when I had my credit cards. Now I pay with cash or debit only. I should not be punished for getting myself out of trouble. Don’t fix it by paying off thier debt. Send them all to a finacial planning class on how to manage thier money. The U.S. Goverment can go first!

Makes sense since accountability went by the wayside years ago. I looked at the ARM option but decided that what goes down will come up. I’ll keep my fixed 5.8% in a modest house and keep my money in the bank and someday buy up foreclosed property. Let the stupid people suffer-thin the heard and put the mortgage greedy industry behind bars-smells like “Junk Bonds” in a different suite

Sign me up…I’m trying to figure out if I should refinance. I’m paying down on my loan, which you would THINK would get you a break; not paying seems to be winning out.

Anyone who did not see this coming should not be drving a motor vehicle. I had to re-finance because I expected no help for what i had opted to do. It will not matter in the long run if they are that unaware. They will go down.

Not all of these loans are the fault of the buyer. the fbi is looking into mortgage companies that were looking for fees and didn’t care what the consequenses were for the buyer and some loans were doctored, ie; stated loans, where the income of the buyer is bumped up so that the loan can be approved, thus more fees for the mortgage broker as well as the lender.

Let housing prices come down as they should so that the rest of us responsible people who have been saving for a home can actually afford to buy one!

Hey I sort of feel like a chump. I refi’d in 2005 and took fixed rate mortage. I could have taken an ARM and gotten cash back and all that good stuff, but I knew there would be a day-of-reckoning. Now its here and guess what- I was stupid. I could have the low rate, all the extra equity money and been bailed out in the end. What kind of lesson is this for young people?

Is anyone surprised by the potential bailout? Our general society has accepted the “It’s not my fault” mentality hook, line and sinker. Why should this issue be any different? Own up to your mistakes people!

The real story here is that the banks are able to discount the rates so steeply for their troubled customers — it exposes just how much they have been raking in at the expense of the consumer. A 30 year T Bill is at %4.8, so anybody stuck with a 30 year fixed at %7 should feel like a chump. Home loans are secured by the value of the house, so anybody paying %2.3 for the bank’s “risk” (and that doesn’t include points and fees) is being taken to the cleaners.

All the banks are doing now is letting some people be cleaned out a little bit less than others. It is a bad strategy for the long run, because once we realized that they can offer lower rates relative to prime, the consumer will start demanding them. I hope…

The amazing thing is that everyone on this blog has been saying the same thing since mid October and the bailouts happen anyway. Your elected officials are obviously listening, but not to you. The corporations are not going to lose money and they run the country. Quit griping. Whether it’s junk bonds or junk mortgages, bailouts are going to happen when the big boys get caught in the cookie jar. The real fallout will come when the foreign investors don’t get paid for the mortgage loans they purchased expecting to get rich on the ARM re-sets. I wonder who will bail them out. No tax adjustments for them.

While I am a responsible individual who does not have an ARM, I believe that we have to help out those having a difficult time. Otherwise, our country is going to go into a deep recesion, making 2000 seem mild. We have no choice at this point.

This is the problem with the entire country – no one wants to be accountable. If you screw up you have to pay the consquence.

I am currently paying on a 6.75% fixed-rate mortgage. It makes me really angry to see that irresponsible lenders and borrowers will not be held responsible for their own poor decisions/judgement. This just just continues our spiraling national acceptance of irresponsible behavior…and I have to pay for this??!

Those who were responsible in taking out mortgages they could afford must be upset at the bail-out rates being offered to the less responsible folks with risky exotic loans. The exotic risky loans are just that, more risky, and they must own up to that risk.

I bought a home during the housing peak and now could not sell it for what I paid but I was smart enough to select a 30 year fixed rate. I am not asking for help from the US government or Countrywide. If Countrywide wants to prevent foreclosures by restructuring loans that is commendable but the taxpayer should not bear any of the cost. All cost should be incurred by the lenders and there irresponsible consumers.

Perhaps there’s another way to look at this. Instead of whining that your neighbor “got away” with something at your expense, take a good look at the bigger picture. If a bailout saves a homeowner from default/foreclosure and allows the loan to stay in place, that’s one more home in my neighborhood withough a foreclosure sign to drag down “MY” property values. It also one less family uprooted from the community and the potential negative impact on the services, schools, businesses,etc. Each family’s situation is unique. A little less arm chair quarterbacking and a bit more empathy might be in order.

Who is really getting bailed out? The mortgage company!!! They believed sucking bad credit risks in would work for them. The numbers of defaulters is low, less than 3%. Excuse me but why I am I paying for bad business policy that isn’t even going to come close to breaking the bank.

These same people who are crying they can’t afford their homes are the ones that were living it up during the boom. If I bought a stock that was volatile and made tons of money on the upside nobody would be there to baby me on the way down. That is exactly what these bailouts represent. You are not teaching people any kind of financial responsibility by burdening me with their problems through a ridiculous waste of tax dollars. When these people were living it up during the boom and responsible folks were living within their means the government didn’t handout out large sums of money to help people with reasonable loans with a down payment for the over-priced housing. So tell me what entitles these individuals to this reward. I wish someone would have said the government would keep me on training wheels in the beginning of the boom I would have bought a mansion and just waited for my nice government security blanket to catch me.

Aw gee, I am going to get on the phone with Countrywide right now and see what they can do for me. To me this is an outrage — people who were prudent, who didn’t overextend themselves to get into a home that was over their heads (no matter how much nicer it is) are being sent to the back of the bus in favor of the greedy and stupid ones who took the risky loans – probably in expectation that corporate America and the government would bail them out.

Countrywide is going to do what they think is best for Countrywide and wants eveyrone to believe they are the humanitarian here too. I’m in the mortgage industry myself and I can say I have always advised fixed rates for my clients whenever possible. Having worked on a wholesale level with Countrywide, I can say they bite the hands that feeds them every day and relish in doing so regardless of the propaganda they put out there to the contrary. But If I were in their position and wanted to protect my portfolio I would do what is ethical and legal to attain this. You cant please everybody and you cant blame them either…My house is financed with Countrywide and they solicit me constantly for a refi to take business away from the wholesale partner who sent them my loan in the first place. The fact is that even though it ticks off people they can play “let’s make a deal” with whoever they want. Sure I want a lower rate too but I hope nobody purposely misses a payment to try to get one. Protect your credit and make your payments on time….

I have a fixed rate loan on my house I bought about 3 years ago. Common sense tells you that if the bank is the one who adjust rates on the ARM, which way the rates will swing. Too many people were trying to live beyong their means with no thought of the future. Those of us who are more conservative paid a little extra for the security of a fixed rate loan or bought something within our means are the ones paying the price now. If these whiners with high rate ARMS and interest only loans get bailed out now, when will they ever learn? They will constantly take advantage of those who are more responsible. I say “chop wood and let the chips fall”.

Sounds like Class-action lawsuit material if you ask me.

I guess my feelings are much the same as the rest of the people on this board. I put 20% down, bought a home that I was comfortable making payments on and of course used a 30 year fixed loan. This was back in the mid-90’s. I believe my income and credit rating qualified me for much more but my wife and I knew what we could handle and were happy with that. Now these criminals in congress (note lack of a capital letter) want ME to pay for the excesses of the Fed, Banks, Mortgage Companies and ultimately stupid Consumers. Honestly, anybody who believed “Buffy Bighair” the Realtor that this was a “perfect” investment deserves bankruptcy. Go read your history! I swear, people spend more time shopping for an mp3 player than they do a house. I have no sympathy for these people and for what it is worth I vote…including tomorrow, November 6th.

We knowingly took an ARM when we bought our home almost 3 years ago. Our rate has increased BUT my loan was not predatory. I have paid the increased rate after adjustments and am disgusted that, yet again, people are looking for a hand out. They got themselves into the situation, let them get themselves out of it. I teach my 4 year old to take personal accountability – I wish someone could reach this class of adults.

It’s really funny. The organizations who are responsible for making decisions of who to loan too are not taking responsibilty for their lack of oversight. It is the American dream to own a home but not a right.If you can’t afford to own one ,you shouldn’t. Most people love pets but if you can’t afford to put food on your table then you should not own one.Everyone can be an armchair quarterback but not not manyhave what it takes to do it professionally. If you can’t afford a home; rent. Get an apartment.These companies saw a chance for a quick buck; going against their own lending rules and guidelines. Those who bought homes to “flip” them are responsible also. Maybe help them out with their primary home and let them worry about the rest! Now the rest of us who have paid for years and have goo to excellent credit should get breaks too.

I have EXCELLENT credit … and worked hard for 30 years to get and keep it that way. When I purchased this home about a year ago, the best rate I could get then was 6.25%. And now these deadbeat morons are going to get 5%?

Please, where do I sign up to get on the deadbeat moron list?

In the late 1990s I was laid off and almost lost my home. No one came to help. In 2001 I was laid off again and almost ended up pushing a shopping cart on the street. No one came to help. I have fought my back and restored my credit. I bought a home in 2004 with a 30 year fixed at 6.8% I have never missed a payment. I struggle monthly to get by. No one is offering to help me! I can not find it in me to rationalize how we can justify bailing out multi-billion dollar businesses that got greedy. I have used my 401K savings to finance my wife in a small business endeavor. If it doesn’t work who will bail us out? Again, No One will be knocking at my door.

There is an old saying, “The bad dog gets two bones”.

So goeth
America at the moment!

I have no problem with people who really couldn’t afford to buy a house, but did so anyway, getting help from the lender who let them buy the house in the first place, assuming that lender doesn’t use my money to help the other person.

Caveat Emptor (buyer beware) is a fairly simple concept – if you, as the buyer, make poor decisions or bad choices than you, and you alone, bear the burden.

From the finanical institutions and mortgage brokers to the borrowers themsleves – all of whom made some extremely bad decisions – the responsibility for their actions rest squarely on their shoulders.

Where was their alleged concern for the long range economic impact of risky borrowing and lending practices when they were signing and counter-signing the morgage contracts?

If we let them off the hook this time, we’re just asking for more of the same irresponsibility going forward. While I empathize with those who will loose their jobs or their houses as this all unfolds, I have little sympathy for them and have yet to hear one legitimate argument for why I, as a responsible borrower, should bear any responsibility for their ignorance and/or greed.

I believe that there are people who didn’t have a clue as to what the terms of some of these “subprime mortgages” could create. I have some “smarts” and I was shocked when some of these financial vehicles were described. The lack of basic financial literacy among a significant segment of the population is dismaying. That said, whatever help is given must exclude the “house flippers”, “condo contract flippers”, and the so-called “real estate investors”.

I paid off my house this Spring in 13 years. I was responsible and I blame the mortgage brokers and lenders…greed personified. Best news I had last week was when my hair dresser told me about all lthe mortgage brokers she knew who lost their jobs…boo hoo. Time to take back your new toys.

Someone has to pay the piper. We can’t all get a free ride. In this case, it’s the banks that are taking the hit. From an aggregate point of view, it’s still better for the banks to see margin contraction as opposed to complete margin obliteration (which may be the case if they have to absorb mass foreclosures). So while I shake my proverbial finger at the over-extended borrowers who took the bait, my discontent is somewhat alleviated by the fact that someone, other then the government, is taking the hit. In addition, if my neighbor is in jeopardy of foreclosure I would rather see his butt bailed out than a real estate fire-sale. And finally, I’ll continue to begrudgingly make my monthly mortgage payments in order to preseve my credit rating.

This is not about belittling people who took out ARMs. This is about accountability – EVERYONE who took out a loan was given the chance to read the paperwork thoroughly and signed at the bottom – which means they knew what they were getting into. These rate adjustments should come as no surprise to anyone who took them. They knew whether they could make the payment at the lower rate or at the higher rate, gambled, and lost. No one should be rewarded for this. Those of us who live within our means absolutely have the right to be angered by this situation.

I am a mortgage broker and have been for over 17 years. I do not and have not “placed” a borrower in a loan, just to make more money for me. I am an honest, trustworthy person and have always counseled people who are considering ARM’s to take a second look and make sure they know ALL of the facts. READ your disclosures at application AND at closing, as there are unscrupulous brokers/bankers out there that do and will continue to “bait and switch”, without the borrower knowing about it. When people don’t read the fine print, it is their own fault, whether they feel like there was fraud among their banker/broker or not. True, I do take sympathy in those people who were taken to the cleaners, but when do they take their own responsibility of what they chose and signed up for?

The people that I have assisted were ALWAYS informed about the truth AND the consequences of ARM’s, so with that being said – I agree that they took the chances and shouldn’t get “bailed out” by anyone, especially when we don’t truly know how much of our hard-earned money will be spent and how many years this is going to take. Let the lenders that gambled and made billions of dollars in profits take the losses in their risky loans, the borrowers face the consequences of their actions, and everybody take their own responsibility. Let the people that made wise decisions all get what is deserved to them. I have had both types of mortgages, knew the gamble and was lucky to come out ahead. Don’t ever assume or predict what our real estate, financial markets, or your income MAY become. Nobody has a crystal ball. I’m all for the class-action lawsuits and am confident that many will happen. Where do I sign up? Hopefully, the lenders and not the tax payers will have to bear this financial burden.
P.S. To those of you who owe less than $417,000, have good credit (good FICO scores), job stability, income, assets, low debt to income ratios, etc., note that the current 30-year fixed rates are at around 6.0%, depending on what area you live in. Also, compare closing costs and learn what the true meaning of A.P.R. is so you can become more empowered and knowledgable in what you will be paying for over the short and long term of your loan.

i have always paid my bills and have a 6.87 fixed rate but now that i am on social security and higher taxes and insurance it is a burden to make the payments especially due to my wife having colon cancer but we are giving up a lot of things so we can continue to make our mtge payments tried to refinance for a lower rate but no luck my fico is 910

“You’re all just jealous because you didn’t come from an abundance and risk-favoring mentality and jumped into the speculation either. I have friends who have made millions.”
Posted By Brian, Los Angeles, California : November 5, 2007 2:34 pm

Privatization of profits and socialization of loses? I don’t think so. Otherwise the IRS should cancel all exceptions on sales profits, so profits would be also shared by all.
I’d also be content if the IRS starts taxing borrowers based on their income “stated” on their loan applications. Let’s be honest, most of the subprime borrowers committed fraud.
The best outcome will be lower homes prices. A 50K annual income cannot afford a 300K house, a 100K annual income cannot afford a 1M house, it’s that simple.

I am NOT happy with the government even thinking about bailing out anyone who has an adjustable rate mortgage. Let them do what I did. REFI TO FIXED!!!!!!

“I was well aware of what an ARM meant, and was staying far away” so began the gripe about helping the folks who had been scammed by a loan shark. I agree if people knew “what an ARM meant” I would have no sympathy. BUT the bailout is for the poorly educated among us who were easy prey for loan sharks-who the venom should be directed toward.

I am calling Citimortgage today.

And Countrywide on my HELOC.

I dont like the terms I agreed to…they seem too rough. I dont want to pay %6.5 fixed anymore…I would like %5 or maybe 4.5%…because I want it.

Hey…you person in San-Fran calling us babies….get a life…your half the problem….er…you ARE the problem.

Did I say I am calling Citi and Countrywide today…I might call them several times….It seems like something fun to do…im sure I will get ahold of someone finally who will help me.

I am really tired having to pay for the financial mismanagement of government, private industry, and individuals alike. It is no surprise to me that this loan debacle has occurred, and it is no surprise that suddenly everyone is worried about credit card debt. Yes, I feel like I’m being had for being financially responsible the way my depression-era parents taught me. I’m trying to plan for a retirement, but all this will surely impact my investments for some time to come.

Demanding to be bailed out by the government for choosing a risky loan arrangement is about the same as home owners on the Gulf Coast sueing their insurers when they in fact failed to cover themselves with both flood and wind damage insurance. You hear not a peep from those of us who properly insured our propeerty and recieved payments acordingly.

I own a 5-1 interest only ARM that will reset in Jan 2009, and took the loan because at the time I had very little savings and rates were low etc. As I have started to make more money I now put down extra principle on my loan every month so that I won’t get stung on a reset as badly as could happen…. And it really annoys me that other people who didn’t have the foresight to start protecting themselves should get a get out of jail free card at the expense of the rest of us

For us in CA waiting for the market to come down, it is troubling that these ARM users are getting bailed out and prolonging my wait for me to get into my first home. I had a condo in 2003 and sold in 2005; saw the writing on the wall. I had a fixed 30 and then at the end a ARM, both were paid on time and in full. It’s unfair that the people that pay on time and in full don’t get a break but people with bad credit get helped out because BofA and Country Wide over extended them selves. Frustrating…

Let the foreclosures start. The lenders should’ve known better. The lendees (and some lenders) can go directly to jail and not collect $200.

Lambert Denver, CO

Do not refinance! call your ARM lender and ask for a restructering, they will lock your rate in for the life of the loan, you will save thousands and no closing costs.

No they should not. They should be appreciative that they have a fixed rate. What is their problem? they have a fixed rate. They come across as whining brats and greedy.
Yes, there are many people who got into the mortgage deal knowing that based on how much they make they whould not be able to afford the payments and hoping they can make a quick buck. I see some that have 500K loans and make 60K a year. It is obvious they cannot afford it.
Ther are some folks who make good money but got stuck in this ARM mess. Many are not able to refinance because they are upside down. Nothing to do with their ability to pay but the state of the market. Their rate is increasing making it practically unsustainable to make the monthly payments. In California, for example, home ownership will be only for the upper middle class and upper class and no one else can afford 20% down payment on homes that average at 600K; so, the low or 0% down helps.
Banks are greedy and don’t want to help out borrowers that can afford payments at a fixed rate of 6.5 or 7% as a result they bring the market down. Locka all of these sub-prime borrowers at 6.5% for 15 years. If they really cannot afford it, then, so be it.
And to the complainers who have fixed 30 year rate, please be quiet and understandin of other peoples problems; one day you may experience a similar prob and what would you say? Stop being greedy and thank God you have it good.

No tax-payer money should be used to assist the institutions who approved all those sub-prime loans nor the irresponsible borrowers who obviously can’t manager their finances properly. A bail-out eliminates the incentive for responsible borrowers to “do the right thing”. STOP THE HAND-OUTS for this latest group of “victims” and concentrate on helping those who really need help!

What a conflict of ideals. Gone are the days where a mortgage meant you were buying a home to live in for decades. Interest-only, teaser rates and ARMs made no sense back then. Then came the concept that houses are an “investment” that somehow magically always goes up. The function of a mortgage changed from a long-term loan in order to buy a home to a leveraged investment with no risk! Everyone who leveraged themselves into a short-term real estate “investment” needs to also accept the RISK that investments also go down. They do not deserve a bail-out. Since houses have become “investments” they should be treated as such. You never hear about bail-outs for individuals for any other kind of investment. Imagine how ludicrous that would sound, “Oh my stocks just went down, give me a bail out!!” The real estate market is over priced and needs a correction. Just let it happen.

I had a loan wiht country wide untils last month, they sold my 30 fixed loan. maybe i should file cry and get a better loan.
YOU CAN’T FIX STUPID ! BUT YOU CAN GET BAILED OUT IF YOUR ARE STUPID.

The whole thing makes me wish that I’d taken out an interest only loan to begin with. I would have save thousands on interest, because I would have had a lower rate for a few years. Then I could play the system by not making few payments and going on vacation instead, then call up Countrywide and as for a deal.

I’m going to call Countrywide and complain.

I agree…

An organizatio of responsible borrowers should be formed and we shoud strong-arm the lenders. Subprimers are doing it now

The current plan will NOT prevent 2 million foreclosures….its all publicity stunt, and does NOT fix the underlying problem.

Unemployment is rampant, regardlkess of official numbers….all the people building homes were 1099 contractors…and they dont show up on the stats…

Help only those who have lost their jobs, and only for 6 months.

Give the rest of us 3 or 4%, and I then I will shut up, until then, I say we ALL make noise….and lots of it.

How do we band together and form a coalition to demand lower rates for us?

Anyone current on your loan, Call your lender and request a review and re-set…everyone do it…..lets see what happens.

First, the tax law taxing a loss as a gain should be repealed. Only, in a America can this happen. Second, the only ones that should receive assistance should be those in the the lower income tax bracket. They usually are the ones that the mortgage companies trick into getting a subprime. For the rest, you knew what you were doing and what you were doing. The first step should help in the refi, where you will not get killed because of the house depreciation.
I never buy a house on subprime, it is risky, and not worth the worry. Best of wishes to all and God Bless.

Lambert in Denver is right; not everyone who used an ARM is irresponsible.

However, by definition, Lambert’s situation is not representative – it it were, then most folks would NOT be in trouble during the resets or would have the financial situation to refi.

Let’s face it; if even half the ARM-holders were in Lambert’s situation, we wouldn’t be having this blog so active and energy-charged (hey, I’m having fun – are you?).

We seem to be destined to drive everything down to the protection of the lowest common demoninator. We should consider the pernicious lack of gumption and failure to accept responsibily for one’s own actions as a very bad sign for the U.S.

So typical in the age of Bush that the irresponsible get bailed out by the government. Conversely those who live by responsible standards, make sound decisions, pay their bills on time, live within their means get left with the tab.

If a lender changes conditions to the better for a borrower, that’s OK with me, even if I don’t get a break. It is when any tax money is used to bail-out irresponsible lenders and borrowers that my rage is incited. Why should the responsible people pay for anyone who gambled on never ending house appreciation?

I am growing so tired individuals in our society who lack the ability to take responsibility for their own actions. We are living in a world where we consistently look to blame others for our problems. What happened to “buyer beware”?? UNDERSTAND what you are purchasing BEFORE you buy it!!

Frankly, it’s no different from raising children. If you never learn to take responsibility and accept the consequences of your actions, no lesson is ever learned.

These problems began from our society’s sense of entitlement. I am “entitled” to the home, the car, the tv, etc. Why worry about living within my means and making responsible purchases when there will be someone to bail me out!

I don’t want an economic collapse as a result of this fallout, but I’m sure that a bail-out is not the answer!

I think some one should take the banks to court, sue to get the same loan relief for people who invested responsibliy as for those who took out ARM loans. It’s not fair for the banks to only bail out their own, ill-advised loans. It would probably stand up in court that if the banks are breaking their own contracts, that they should do it for all customers, not only a select few.

We refinanced out of our ARM last summer because the rates were starting to go up. Yeah, we took the teaser rates to get into a home and then we refinanced as we had planned. We got stuck with a high interest rate.

So, we paid attention and corrected the problem before it went too far and we could not afford the payments.

Now people who were not responsible are getting a break where those of us who did what were supposed to do are stuck with higher rates. We have tried to get a lower rate with our mortgage company, they won’t do it.

That is simply not fair.

We are being punished for being responsible.

We all need to step and take responsibilites for our actions. You have to take the good with the bad.

Enough of this “entitlement” crap.

You make a bad decision, you should suffer for it.

I lost everything once, even had a foreclosure on my credit. Why? I made a bad decision and I suffered for it. I paid for it. I have worked very hard to get back to a good place, to recover from my mistakes.

Now, me and my wife both have credit scores of 700+ and we can’t get a lower rate on our mortgage becase we were responsible.

Obviously we want people to waste money, make bad decisions and abuse the system.

That’s the message this bailout is sending.

The new definition of chump: “Someone who actually takes the time to think through a financial decision and doesn’t blame someone else (government, the market, etc.) for their idiocy and look for a handout to fix their mistake.”

The real crime here is the fact that these type of loans have kept home prices artificially inflated for so long. While the current crisis is short-term pain, it is a clear path towards making homes more affordable for everyone. Any artificial help given to those who resorted to these risky loans simply delays the return of housing prices to a reasonable level.

CHECK THIS OUT MAJOR CREDIT CARD COMPANIES PROFIT ON AVERAGE 63 MILLION A YEAR OIL COMPANIES PROFIT 39.7 BILLION A YEAR BUT END UP PAYING LESS IN TAXES THAN AN AVERAGE PERSON THAT MAKES 50 G A YEAR BECAUSE THEY ARE IN THE LOOP THE PIRACY LOOP QUIT YOUR CRYING TAKE AN ARM OUT ON UR HOUSE GET THE LOOT AND HAVE FUN

What I find horrible is that government and big business doe snot care to help anyone until they (gov’t and big)business are the ones taking the financial loss.

The lenders do not care about the actual people losing their homes, but rather finanical loss resulting from the foreclosures. Government only seems to care now because the numbers are staggering and they are in fear of a recession.

Government should stay out!!
let those who took loans they can’t afford suffer their own fate. Let the lenders who granted these loans suffer their own fate as well.

It is just the same as the immigrant issue. Most people do not have an issue with others coming here for a better life. The issue is how the costs associated with their arrival are being burdened. Big business has been the ones benefiing from the cheap labor but the costs associated with their arrival are being felt by the “blue collar” and “poor” neighborhoods where the new arrivals can afford to live. Should the tax burden of the new arrivals be born by the weatlthy neighborhoods than I believe their existence here would be much more welcome.

So back to homes. Big business is fearing taking a loss on their mortgages. Oh well, isn’t that the price of doing business? they were not complaining the past 5-10 years when they were making huge profits from loans that they should not have granted.

The american was trying to take advantage of something like this a few years back. Remember when government altered the bankruptcy laws? Enough of the public finally was fed up with both government and big business and the public as a whole did not feel ashamed to file for bankruptcy. In fact, I believe many were happy to do so. It was a way of telling the big guy that, “ahh, I got one over on you for once”.

And remember that enough people did that so big business complained to government, so the rules were changed. Unfortunately, if enough of responsible individuals complain that others are now being given better mortgage rates than, I do not see big business or government caring about us.

All you can do is keep complaining, and if you want to try, well you can call your lenders bluff. Tell them you are unable to make your payments and unless the rate is lowered dramatically then they will have no choice but to forclose on you. But be prepared to have that happen too.

No Bail OUT! You hear me… NO BAIL OUT! Any candidate running for office that is even considering offering these so called “suffering” homeowners a bailout will not get my vote… ever. My husband and I make $200K+ a year and sat on the sidelines because we believe realestate in our area is highly over valued (San Diego) and come to find out we should have just bought that million dollar home and waited for the man on the white horse to run in and save the day. What a joke. Let these people loose their homes, we sat back and watched them buy boats, RV’s go on vacations etc. with their HELOC and now they are crying???? Maybe the next time I loose my money at the casino, if I go and cry to them that I didn’t realize my mistake they will refund me all of my money?

Instead of getting made, I say we get even. I liked the post by John regarding a class action law suit.

The way I see it, if I call my mortgage lender to demand a lower rate and they refuse me, I’ll simply say “you’ll be hearing from my lawyer”.

I’ll bet somewhere, someone has already begun legal paperwork against banks who refuse to adjust ALL loans (not just the bad ones).

As always…If catastrophy is to befall you, have lot’s of company. If one experiences disaster along with sufficient number, help is on the way. However, when people get picked off one at a time, their families are on their own.

42,632 people died last year on US roadways, about 116 per day. Group the daily average into the same accident, and the story would be all over CNN and the nation would be there for them. Separately lose one hundered fathers of four at the hands of a drunk driver on some back road and the nation shrugs…Always been this way, always will.

As for the loan situation…bankruptcy attorneys need to eat along with the rest of us.

I currently have a 2 year fixed ARM I hope by year when i will refinance for a lower rate with a 30 year fixed that that I will have the opportunity that these people are getting.

Tim in Dresden – AMEN! I was just thinking the same thing, should I get close to foreclosure so I can get a 5% interest rate or refinance and then stop making payments?? Save the $$ since I can make more interest on my IRA for a few months while I wait to get close to foreclosure…

Not everyone who took an ARM is a irresponsible person who is living beyone their means. I purchased my home two years ago and have made every payment on time and my LTV (Loan to Value) ratio is very good. However, I knew when I purchased this home that I intend to refinacnce it before the rate adjust and I am doing so right now. If you are complaining because you didn’t make this decisions than you are no better than those who complain becuase they did.

Look at the credit industry in general. Credit cards preapproved for my family dog? My dead uncle getting a preapproved car loan? My ten year old gets cards in the mail on a regular basis. Lets put the blame where it belongs! The banks and mortgage company presidents should go to China – where they behead these crooks!

Of course I’m a chump. That’s if being a chump means having equity in my house and 10 years to payoff when I’ll actually own it. That’s right… own. This entire mortage meltdown has functioned on the greater fool theory. Well the rules are recalibrating…risk must be carefully assessed. Credit will again be offered to those who pay back what they borrow under the terms agreed. These folks who took out exotic mortgages weren’t babes in the woods. In my decidedly middle class neighborhood, many of my younger neighbors had a Lexus and Jag parked in the driveway and their passports had some lovely ports of call.

Money for the kids education… none…savings….none….restraint….none. Remember when Doctors drove Buicks… I do and I’m not that old. Bailouts, no….hell no.

I fully agree, I also have a 30 year fixed loan and live well within my means, I am a Mortgage Banker here in Washigton State and I see all the time clients that live WELL outside of their means, they will take a NEG-AM loan just to live in a better house that the “Jones” drive nicer car and have clothes or fancy vacatons placed on their credit cards, I don not know about the rest of the country but out here people were using their house as “ATM” machines to pay for a life style that they simply could not afford. So, let the Banks take the hit, knowbody mentions the fact the profits made on these loans being sold was HUGE! When I make poor decisions I have to pay. Let the forclosures happen, It will help correct the economy and strengthen the dollar at the same time.

how about all the reponsible mortgage payers and tax payers, declare a united revolt, and STOP PAYMENTS ON THE MORTGAGES and see if the banks and government will give us the same deals the sheisters are getting

It never ceases to amaze me that nobody will really step forward and say: “We screwed up”. People who signed on the dotted line for these loans were adults. It doesn’t matter what the mortgage broker or banker said, it’s what is written in the loan documentation. If you can’t understand the terms of the loan, seek professional advice. If you didn’t, well, shame on you.

I am a good consumer. As much as I would love a home, I sat here watching homes inflate to ridiculous amounts. People bought homes for $400,000 that was only worth $150,000. Everyone who took out mortgages that they cannot afford should suffer.

Carl above has it exactly right. Why are you so offended that a bank would re-write a deal it has on its books. As a corporate lender it is something I do every month. The alternative is for that bank to own a pile of houses that are at a historically low sales level. So, their option is to foreclose on an asset and take a guaranteed loss, or re-write the deal on a payment plan that will allow the borrower to bring the value of the home down over time, back in line with the value of the asset. This process does not cost anyone posting on this thread $1. The sense of entitlement in this country frosts me. You made your deal, and congratulations for living up to it and acting like a responsible human being. But to suggest that you deserve a rate reduction because someone else’s deal is rewritten is ludicrous. The companies that are refinancing these deals are only doing what is in the best interests of their shareholders, it is called capitalism. If you don’t like it, skip some payments, ruin your credit, and see if you can get the same deal.

If you think its bad now, just wait for:
a) The next $400 Billion in resets for Oct-Dec 2007 (only $200B have been reset so far)
b) The $600-$800 Billion resets in 2008
and…drumroll……….
c) The Neg-Ams where people owe WAY more on the principle than they originally bought the house for to start resetting in 2009.

Bail-Out now is a scheme…its gunna help 80,000 people…then they will realize they dont have the money or resources to help the next 1,920,000 people.

Be Mad..be very mad…

But maybe next year a new law will erase late payments from your credit history…then all us responsible people can stop paying too..

“Free House for Everyone” I can see it now….Presidential election 2008: Free houses, plus a free Hose (to water the lawn)

Where are the goverment regulators? They sent Enron to prison, why can’t they go after the finacials?

How about going after the companies that wrote the loans, it’s CEO’s, Shareholders and the Loan Officers, who raked in huge profits on these now defuct loans…They untold millions and yet are not liable for 1 dime of the bailout…and thier still out there writing loans, jerk their licences and shut them down

Should those who enter and play poker cry foul when they don’t have 2 jacks to open? NO! I say, tough luck to the ones who gambled on risky mortgages.
Where does it say, “life is fair” or “everyone must own a house”?

Listen to these hostile people making blanket accusations over people they never met! For shame. Grow up and stop putting people down. Sure there were some cheaters but thats the minority. Blame the mortgage companies and brokers for lying and get Congress to punish the quilty banks! A new tv cant bankrupt the unemployed or uninsured any quicker! You people are such buffoons!

sure they have the right to be ticked off. they also have the rights to the same deals (and even better) the banks, with a nudge from government officials, are giving to the irresponsible, greedy, people who always seem to cause problems and get rescued to go ahead and do it again. why wouldn’t they, if they are aware of bailouts down the road, that somehow is always taken from the goodness of the responsible citizens of this country. I have often met people who talk the big talks and always spend outrageously, and way beyond their means… their answer is why not, i cna file bankruptcy, and all be forgiven, to go ahead and do it all over again. this type of behavior has cascading, destructive effect to our economy and our country. people are now more aware and better informed.

Do you really think Steve Baily cares about the value of your home? This move is about the preservation of his company. It’s better for them to re-write the loans at a lower rate than to have them sitting in default. Lower rates just lowers his profit margin, letting the home foreclose puts him out of business. This is not about the greater good as he says

Even if you’re a “responsible” borrower, you still have the right to demand a lower interest rate if your credit is good. I was able to do that recently on a house I’m buying; you just have to be firm and willing to haggle. And, shop around if you have to. In this market, it’s a lot easier to do.

You also have to understand that people who are irresponsible with money, even if they get a break, will eventually do themselves in anyway if they don’t change their habits. Putting a moratorium on ARM rates is just postponing the inevitable. The “bailout” is more aimed at the corporations than the consumers; it’s unlikely this will impact the growing foreclosures we’re seeing.

Rewarding the people that are the cause of the problem seems to be the American way, It’s Just like re-electing the same worthless non producing politicians over and over…

I think everyone with a fixed rate loan should refuse to make any more payments until we ALL get a 3% cut in our interest rates…

why help, when they knew what was going to be.

Yes, Lex – they do have a right to be ticked off – because one way or another, the costs to support a troubled borrow (who, in many cases, should have been more prudent, and who in most cases could have been more prudent) must come from somewhere. Remember value doesn’t materialize from nothing – Adam Smith understood that 4 centuries ago.

“Some People were misled” GIVE ME a BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

maybe 1 or 2 out of 100…the rest wanted to take out…what is it? Oh yeah 125% mortgages….because they wanted that Plasma or that new truck!

Then there are those of us who SAVED $20K, $30K for 2 or 3 years to PUT DOWN on a home because we grew up being responsible (well you can re-define responsible as ‘Stupid’ now) knowing that a down payment is needed.

Let the foreclosures go up, there are already 4 times as many vacent homes as homes for sale…2 million more, so what. Prices are gunna tank, and they should….they were never $500K for 1500sqft anyways peopel, that was a pipe-dream due to borrowers getting loans they shoudl not have gotten….

Once prices moderate, and us Scmucks (read responsible) ones are left standing, which we will, we will be able to buy houses for “affordable” prices once again.

And remember…we havnt even seen the Reset problems from Sept-Dec 2007…which are 3 times the resets as we are currently in a mess from Jan to June 2007…but thats another story.

Oh yeah….dont forget the Neg-Am loans where people defere their interest and tack it onto the principle…those start resetting in late 2008 and 2009…

Thats yet another story.

i didn’t know i was a chump, but i sure do feel like a chump. i have a modest 7% locked in rate and have paid on it on time for 10 years. i emailed countrywide this morning and told them to change my rate to 5%, since the ARM bandits are getting it, why can’t i. i asked them if i should be late with my payments for the next 2 to 3 months to become eligible, and to please make the change before my next payment is due and that i would not sent payment till either i get the rate reduced or met the new qualifications by being in delinquent on my account.

You bet we have a right to be ticked off. What’s next – auto leases? College loans? Credit cards? More punishment for those who do the right thing and pay their mortgage

If enough of us complain, (as I see by the number of responses to this article, we are) then we can attempt to force the lending industry to offer those who did the responsible and grant us the same rates they are now offering those who were either irresponsible or just plain greedy.

If you wish to take the chance, you can just call your lenders bluff. Tell them you can’t pay and that unless you are given a rate of about 5% that they will be forced to foreclose on you. But, be prepared to be foreclosed upon.

Those stupid people did stupid things and should have stupid consequence. I will do anything to prevent anybody from using my tax money to bail them out.

I do not have any issues with a lender wants to make concessions to keep a borrower out of foreclosure. I do have issues if the government uses tax payer’s money to keep the borrower out of foreclosure. The lender, the borrower or both needs to take on the financial burden of their stupid mistakes.

If you don’t like that Countrywide is bailing out people who were greedy and stupid, then vow to never do business with them. Let them keep the irresponsible customers and lose the good ones. Without good customers, they will surely die.

As for the government, there is not much you can do. Unfortunately, in a democracy, the masses tend to control the legislature and thus things like taxes. That is why people who make more money pay an increasingly higher percentage of their income in taxes — their so called “fair share.” How many of you have gone out to dinner and split the check with your friends based on how much money you make. Doesn’t happen, right? Here, the government will save the masses once again, and shift the burden to people who are responsible. It is the penalty for allowing everyone have an equal vote.

Absolutely they have the right to be ticked off. For years my wife and I have wanted to buy, but instead of taking a teaser-rate subprime ARM we have done the responsible thing and continued to live in a studio apartment so we can save money. Now these people who bought McMansions knowing full well they couldn’t afford them, are getting government bailouts and allowed to keep living in their undeserved houses. It just doesn’t make sense to be financially responsible anymore.

Listen to the media set us up! “Are you a chump?” Is there already a bias in the question to get us upset? YES! They want news. They agitate for the stock market to go go down. They agitate to show a housing “bust” before it happens so we stop buying. What happened to real news and less bogus sensationalism. Blame the “Britney Spears headline” media who make the stories up and slant it all!

Not only NO, but HELL NO!!! I am a responsible homeowner with a 10 year mortgage, and even though my payment is higher because I opted to finance a shorter term, I take my obligation very seriously and make my payment, on time, every month. Why should those who thought they could get a free ride working the system now get a break (with rates as low as 5%?) at the expense of those who work and live by the rules of society?

As far as I am concerned, the banks who granted these creative loans and the people who can’t afford to pay the new higher payments need to pay the price for their poor decisions – I don’t know why anyone in their right mind would think that those of us who are responsible, credit-worthy individuals should carry their burden.

Boy, you couldn’t have said it better. My feelings exactly!

There is a process for what many are going thru today, its called bankruptcy – I have stared it in the face myself and would not wish it on anyone.

It is rare that a bankruptcy threatens your home, but it does provide the slap on the wrist and limitation to other forms of credit for a while.

I am still buried in debt from going 15 months without a paycheck (single income family, no less) over 5 years ago. No matter what, I paid my mortgage. I am a charitable person, but we have gone too far in this country excusing personal irresponsiblity.

I was going to refinance my ARM, one week before the closing on my refi, I got a letter from my ARM lender offering a no cost restructering. All I had to do is Write a B.S. letter and now I have a 6% fixed rate.

This saved me thousands!

I make more money than the average American, but cannot afford to buy even a tiny home in the city I live and work in because of the run up in real estate speculation brought on by cheap loans given to everybody and their dog.

Now people that couln’t afford the homes they bought are getting loan rates adjusted to “what they can afford”? What about what “I” can afford? What about the thousands of other Americans with good credit that can’t buy a modest home because of current prices?

Oh, wait…..they get to contribute their tax dollars to government assistance programs for people that borrowed more than they could pay back.

And you can be sure they won’t be getting a loan rate based on “what they can afford”.

Let them default on their loans, it’s their own fault.

I think it is disgusting for people that are in a position to make on time payments to whine like this. Shame on them!

Posted By Sonja Little Rock, AR : November 5, 2007 2:38 pm

What planet are you from? I think it is disgusting that irresponsible people made a losing bet, and now look to those peolpe who resisted the “siren’s song” to bail them out. Shame on them!

You can’t stop private companies from restructuring their own loans. It’s their choice and it won’t cost the responsible people anything.

But if the government gets involved with tax dollars paid by everyone (at those of us working), then I have a HUGE problem.

Bull@#$%! I am not a chump.

Those folks who get a break (i.e. low interest rates) should be required to forfeit a certain percentage of those gains further down the road when they are realized (sold or transfered in inheritance). No ifs, ands or buts. The bailout should include as much discomfort as a loan readjusting under the terms, only in this case you get to keep your family off the streets. After all isn’t that what buying a house is suppose to be about? SHELTER!

And what do you suppose global investors will think of our financial institutions now? What is the saying? Once burned, twice shy.

YES – we should be MAD!. I hate to see the foreclosures out there people, but were all be DUPPED…fact is there are approx 2 million homes for sale and 18 Million VACANT homes allready.

You need not fear for the value of your home, it WILL go down no matter what, and do not be tricked into thinking Countrywide is “Helping” anyone my friends, they are trying to help themselves period.

All of us people who are smart enough to have not gotten into Neg-Am, or 2yr ARMS deserve the LOWEST interest rates. period.

If you lost your job, sure, have CFC extend that teaser rate 6 months…then reset it.

And if you cant re-fi into a lower interest loan because you took out $80K in a helow and spent it..

SELL THE HUMMER, the TV, the DVD player, Pay off the HELOC, and make your house payment. and if that means eating Top-Ramen, so be it.

How many of you out there remember growing up in the 80’s….Ataris were for the rich kids people…now everyone has Playstation 3’s, and X-Boxes…

And your gunna pay for your toys.

No Breaks for the people who should have never gotten a house in the first place.

This is a kick to the teeth for responsible people who are trying to save 20% for a down payment and buy a place within their means…. while these fool bid up the prices for everyone else … I feel sick

I actually know someone that has always had bad credit and they took out this ARM and now they are in trouble as I knew they would be and now they are blaming it all on the lenders and wanting the goverment to use our tax dollars to get them out of this mess. I have always been responsible for my borrowing and all others should be also. My house hold has never made more than $40,000 per year and we have always paid on time and lived within our means. So should everyone else

Next time one of these “to good to be true” things come along I’m getting on board. I can get a low rate until rates go up then the company comes through with a “deal” to lower my rate ever more. I must have been a fool to only take on as much dept as I know I could handle.

The homeowners were sold a pig in a poke! Can anyone read the fine print and undersatnd adjustable mortgages? I’m tired of the nerds who get upset if other people get help! Grow up. Put the blame where it belongs – on greedy realtors and mortgage brokers and money hungry mortgage banks! Gig em!

yes they do. These people understand the risk and decide that the best way to have mortgage load was to go with a fix rate. These people should get the help when needed. Not hte dead beats.

What goes on between the banks and their “troubled borrowers” does not prevent me or anyone else from continuing to handle our finances responsibly. All this talk about government involvement, however, is a reminder that we do not live in a market economy! The government does not even have to consider tax breaks or a flagrant bail out with taxpayer dollars. The government is considering allowing people to refinance through the FHA a government-funded tax payer supported agency. Let’s be clear here. People have been losing their homes to forclosure for decades. The availability of cheap, easy money with no fiancial education has put us in this mess and put foreclosers on a scale not seen before. Additionally the creation of secondary markets by Wall Street has allowed this mess to mushroom and spread like a cancer to other banks, pensioners, retirees many of whom own their own homes. To truly take responsibility for and contain this debacle, banks would have to hold the paper they created, service the loans, take the write downs, there would be NO FHA involvement through loan refinances. If all that occurs, banks do, in my opinion, have the right to restructure loans…that is simple asset protection. I DO wish that banks would be honest. They don’t care about neighborhoods. They care about profits. Agreeing to accept 5 or 6 percent on a loan they were expecting to receive 9 percent on is a reduction in profits to be sure but it still gives them a profit margin of 200 to 300 percent given that my current interest earnings at the nation’s second largest bank is only about 1.5 percent.

I know I worked amn hard to get my credit score for over four years to get it over 720 to qualify for a decent fixed rate that I knew I could afford. So now that people went for these hybrid ARM Loans, that had warning signs all over them about resets that would increase more and more, now can get a fixed rate close to 5%, BS!!! In one way I am happy to see the families not loose their homes, and companies working with them, but it does make it seem that all the hard work and acrifice my family went through saving for a down payment and doing with out for those years seem like a they were robbed from me. Work hard, sacrifice and live within your means as I was taught since a very young age!

Stop blaming the homeowners with financial problems and start blaming the mortgage companies. These are the companies, along with the brokers, who sold mortgages without qualifying people. The get a fee for every loan and then sell the paper to Wall Street! Lets force the mortgage companies to help their customers and not get their tax breaks. They dont care if the housing market tanks cause they already got their money! Congress needs to help the homeowner by forcing the mortgage company to do what they were paid to do!

Let’s face it – even if there is no “offical” government money being “given away” to help, the firms that are making the deals ARE incurring unexpected and unrecoverable costs.

At a minimum, this will ultimtately reflect in lower returns for shareholders and mutual fund holders of those firms.

Worst case- the government spends time and money bailing out the firms, whether just with cash or with guarantees and other diversions.

Yes, the fixed holders, the prudent ones, are chumps – but only if we let them get away with it.

Do responsible homeowners have the right to be ticked off? You bet. I am not about to give my tax money to subsidize someone who cannot live within their means. If a massive amount of foreclosures and a collapse of the credit markets is what it takes to get people in this country to start saving and living within their means rather than living paycheck to paycheck in order to “keep up with the Jonses”, then let it be. By not letting the real estate and credit markets overall keep from correcting themselves, we are just perpetuating this behavior and making the eventual correction much worse. Plus, this will just add to the inflation problem that the government says we don’t have.

Why do you think so many people cheat on their taxes? Because they are cheated by the tax collectors, that’s why.

The responsible home owners who are making their mortgage payments on time
should be the same benefits the ‘free loaders’ are getting.

Some people where mislead into closing on this structured loan. Sadly it’s part of the reality where some people just wanted to push though these loans like cattle in a slaughter house. Unfortunately there really is no way to find out who was deceived into this and who actually full heartily choose it.

The big picture of the issue is not just the bank’s helping the lenders; it’s the bank looking after themselves and protecting their other customers by finding ways to fix this problem as quick as possible. (The bank losses more money by not fixing the issue)

Is it far, not really. BUT! What happens if they don’t? After all, the banks are also to blame for this issue. Many people truly could be affected by this, and enough to make it trickle down into the economy in a very bad way. (Not that fuel prices are not already dragging us down)

One way or another everyone is going to pay for it, honest answer.

So I say suck it up and make sure this never happens again by creating tougher requirements, and weeding out these bogus options. Oh and make sure help is delivered once, not twice.

Of Course we should be ticked-off…and BIG TIME.
How many people were really “Suckered” into that 2yr ARM? 1 out of 100…how many CHOSE to take a 4% teaser rate knowing it resets? 99 out of 100? Why? Because they WANTED to BUY new TV’s, Cars, Beds, etc.
I have a 790 FICO, I cant get 5% fixed right now, and someone who is going under shouldnt either, unless thay BUY IT DOWN.

Or better yet, anyone who is current, well, big banks, gimme a break.

I say its time to start a new organization….its called the 700+club…you join with a 700 or better score, and after 100,000 or 200,000 people join, we collectively go to the bank and say ” Lower Our rates, or else we all stop paying en-force”

I mean…thats really all these Sub-primers are doing…once you mention “Help” or “Bail-Out” all the slime some out of the wood work.

Welcome the the “new” America people. Were CHUMPS!

I too have been responsible and played by the rules. I don’t think that the bailout is fair. Keep government and my tax dollars out of it.

People like Teresa are simply underinformed. Not everyone with an ARM is looking for a “bailout!” I have a good job and no credit blemishes, and am not able to refi my ARM because of the mortgage mess. If I’m able to work out some “breathing room” with my lender, what’s wrong with that? It’s not costing Teresa or anyone else a dime.

The government shouldn’t be bailing out consumers who took risks and paid too much for properties and/or took out ARMs with low teaser rates hoping to FLIP properties in HOT markets that cooled. Let the properties go into foreclosure (so what). Let the mortgage companies forego dividends for a couple of years. The only way some people learn lessons is by facing the consequences of poor decisions made by greed or stupidity.

Why should homeowners who knew that they were getting in over their head get bailed out! I pay my mortgage on time and bought a house that I knew I could afford!

Why should John Doe get a break when they bought a house they knew they could not afford. People need to learn to live within their means. If that means losing a house they can not afford so be it.

I’ve saved 20% for a down payment and I’m waiting until I save another 15-20% before I buy. while I’ve been saving, these people have been driving up the prices making it harder for me… and now I’m supposed to help these people(? ) out with my taxes????

Yes, those of use who are responsible are CHUMPS. Any presidential candidate that supports any sort bailout will not be getting my vote next year… or ever!

But there are already small forms of bailouts… my response to them is this.

If they’re going to refinance somebody with an ARM to a 5.25 fixed like countrywide is doing in some cases, they should allow people with 6.75 fixed to refinance to 5.25 fixed as well. I am totally against helping the irresponsible ones while penalizing the responsible one, which is what that is.

Here here, Bill

I am sorry, but why should the government bail out an industry that made so many bad decisions? isn’t the loan industry still requiring people to purchase loan insurance? I think the lending companies should take their hit and move on.. if they made these bad decisions for the past several years, what is in place to prevent them from doing the same thing again and again? NOTHING. it is another clear case of “we screwed up, now everyone else pay the price.”

I got a fixed rate loan instead of the cheaper ARM which could have ended up being more expensive in the long run. I had to worked hard to get it paid off and now I feel like a fool for doing the right thing with all these people being offered ‘bailouts’ just to save the banks from another foreclosure. Yes, with a paid off house and now money in the stock account (NOT bank!) I can easily get a new house without needing a bank.

Can you say “class action lawsuit”!

So let me get this straight: I took out a responsible fixed home loan (which I pay on time every month)@ 6.5% last year; and now I find out, I could have done an ARM, missed a few payments and still have my interest rate reduced to 5%? So basically, if I’m responsible with my loan, I get stuck with a 6.5% rate, where as if I had been irresponsible and greedy, I get a reduced loan at 5% (and in some cases a reduced mortgage).

If there are any lawyers on here, please let me know where I can start a class action law suit against these miserable low life banks. Can anyone explain to me how this is even legal?

This is ridiculous! These people are grown citizens. At what point do you wake up and take responsibility for your own stupidity???? If you don’t know what you’re getting into before-hand, do the research! As for the govt, let these people fend for themselves. Our economy will take a hit but we’ll bounce back like we always do!

No government money(taxes, bonds, etc.) should be used to bailout private firms and private individuals.
We went through this with the savings and loan deal and now we’re talking about it again. If companes and individuals fail due to their own carelessness and avrice then they should fail. The free market is the best and, as far as I can tell the only, “fair” method of correcting the widespread “mistakes” that are made.
Government intercession only prolongs the necessary cleansing. If you don’t feed’em they’ll go away.

NO! and here is why:
Say You have a 780 FICO score right now, today….you just try and get a rate of 6.0% fixed for a 30-year loan…YOU CANT!
And neither should someone who had a 2yr or 3yr or 5yr ARM….thats the ENTIRE reason FIXED loans were available back then!!!! ARMS were NOT mandantory, and anyone with 1/2 a brain KNEW then and KNOWS now that ARMS are risky..Period.
The problem was/is not lending, or mislead borrowers…the proble is simply: People thought home prices only go up, and a whole lot of people took out loans based on that ASSumption.
If Borrowers in trouble get 5% or ^% fixed rates, then EVERYONE paying on-time should get 4% to 5%…just wait until the recession really kicks in, and us honest people all call up and tell the banks…”Lower my rate…or else”
Were at first base people, this mess is just beginning…banks arent making any $$$ by re-setting these loans to 5%…they are loosing money, and it will bleed through.

I think it is disgusting for people that are in a position to make on time payments to whine like this. Shame on them!

Being in the mortgage industry I have seen how some unscrupulous brokers sell clients an ARM when they would have qualified prime/fixed. Brokers do this because of the greater profit margin. I have no problem with taking the existing mortgages and restructuring them to fixed rates to alleviate further problems in the industry. But they should remain at the same teaser rate they were given and not reduced for affordability and my tax dollars should definatley not be touched. When someone finally tries to make the mortgage industry like the insurance industry, where brokers and bankers get a residual income over the life of the loan instead of making 1 big rip (fees); then and only then will the bankers and brokers be more likely to put the client into the best product they can fit them into with the best pricing.

Countrywide’s Steve Bailey said the greater sin is to let homes go into foreclosure. WRONG!!! Let the foreclosures happen, let home prices drop. That’s the system working as it should. Real estate is wildly over priced, and needs to correct.

I have an ordinary fixed rate mortgage that is current. I do not resent those who are getting breaks. I think is a matter of protecting our national economy and if I were to get into trouble I would like to think that someone would understand my situation.

Of course we’re chumps. That’s the price for being in the middle class and being responsible.

For those of you who feel that mortgage companies for that matter the government shouldn’t help out borrowers on the verge of loosing their house, remember that for every vacant home in the block, it drives down the property values of neighbor houses by 7%.

The Year before the BOOM, I lost my income and my wife asked Countrywide if they had a “payment plan” of some sort to help us cope with a short term inability to pay our mortgage, or if they would release us from a pre-payment penalty so we could sell our home.
a Coutrywide representative Recomended we miss a mortgage payment to qualify for their payment program.
Imagine!
now with a mortgage late on our credit, we were told to come current or be forclosed. That was the payment plan they had in store for us.
Regardless to say my perfect credit is still ruined, and after a rare “short-sale” we are still digging our way out of taxes owed for the shart sale- and our credit does not allow us to make a purchase for another few years.
As far as I am concerned, we received the OPPOSITE of borrower help- So I guess I feel quite offended by any bail-out offerring.

The same people that can’t pay an interest increase can’t really afford the place anyway. If they are a few hundred dollars away from losing their home they will eventually lose it anyway the first time there is a ‘hiccup’ in their finances. They should have never received the loan anyway. Just because someone will loan you money doesn’t mean you have to take it. Everyone seems to blame the banks (and they are not blameless), but it is the borrowers that are most at fault. No one forced them to take the loan. I have a MAJOR problem with having to pay for someone elses house. We should perhaps cap the amount interest can raise in any given year, but no bailouts.

You bet! My husband and I both saw the writing on the wall and agreed that we would only finance a fixed amount that we could afford on one of our salaries- IT’S CALLED BEING FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE, PEOPLE! I’m tired of sacrificing and others get stuff for free at my expense!

I think what’s good for one is good for all. Mine is at 9.5%, when do I get my new lower rate without penalty!

I am not a homeowner, and I will just acknowledge that up front. However from where I sit as a complete outsider, I would ask the ‘responsible’ folks if they might like some cheese with their whine. How ‘responsible’ is being such a crybaby victim about things?

You’re all just jealous because you didn’t come from an abundance and risk-favoring mentality and jumped into the speculation either. I have friends who have made millions.

Let’s face it, yes the subprime fiasco is a mess, however with my outsider’s lens I tend to agree with the Countrywide CEO and say that the greater sin is having more foreclosures happen, which in turn lowers the ‘responsible’ folks’ equity.

Which would you rather have, the equity in your home — that you worked and slaved for decades to buy — disappear because the whole neighborhood forecloses around you, or are you willing to forgive and forget and have a giving heart, and lend a hand to your fellow Americans? We’re all in this boat together, folks, and for good or ill.

So quit pitching a whine-fest and just come clean that you wish, in your heart of hearts, you had maybe jumped in the speculation, at all or earlier, and profited.

Let the chumps suffer, the Citi’s, & people who signed on the dotted line, and did not read the fine print. They will all be smarter down the road.

the responsible people have always paid the price for the irresponsible. that’s why taxpayers pay up to support jails. are these people criminals? depends. if they were greedy and got busted, yes. if they were misled and got busted, they’re victims and the loan officers are the criminals. bottom line, if you can afford your mortgage then be thankful and shut up. let the good people in this country fix the mess like they always have.

The use of tax dollars to bail out those who made poor decisions is un-American. What ever happened to free market and enterprise. Those of us with good credit should become the landlords of those irresponsible with credit.

Chumps? I don’t think so. Most of the subprime 3/5 ARM mortgages are people paying on time. They had plans to refinance to a traditional loan; but with the collapse of the credit market they can’t get a loan. That group of people should not be punished for the sins of those that did not pay. It is good for them, good for the LENDER and good for our economy that THE LENDER (not the government) gives them a break. I am not a subprime borrower BTW.

Yes they do have a right to be upset. Trouble is everyone is being affected by the poor lending practices of years past. Now the downward spiral has started and is feeding on itself. As a real estate agent in Las Vegas, I can tell you first hand we have moved from a buyers market to a bank market. Foreclosure properties are setting prices now. The foreclosures are competing with each other with price reductions and driving prices even lower, which will ulimately end up creating more foreclosures. Those who bought in 2005 are now upside-down and are walking away as their loans reset. With the tighter lending policies now in place, many can’t qualify for refinancing or won’t appraise for what is owed.

Bailouts for homeowners are ultimately bailouts for the mismanaged companies who took on too much risk.

Absolutely. Basically, by these people crying mommy, they get an effective discount on their loans. I have a 790 credit score, and am paying full price on my loan (the regular payments), which I chose carefully after 3 years of real estate classes, and these people default and get a discount (breaks). How does this work? If it wasn’t for the sake of saving the economy, I’d throw a fit. So much for being responsible.

I agree. No Federal bailout for loans that are going bad. Let the chips fall as they may with the mortgage companies that pushed the ARM products on people that should not have received them. Lenders do not learn unless the loans they put on the books go bad. I suspect this self created crisis will bring lending to more sane and reasonable terms. Also, for the person in the article complaining that the people with ARMs are getting lower rates, I have a simple response. REFINANCE. If you don’t qualify for a lower rate, then its on your end.

Sure I feel used. I make payments on everything as soon as the bills come. My mortgage is and always has been paid a month early.

The credit cards I have also offer new customers better incentives than I get.

Is there ever a reward for good customers?

Not if I can re-set my rate to one that is equal to theirs! I’m proud of my 2004 5.5% rate, but if they are getting 4.5-5% resets, FOUL!

Yes we have the right to be ticked off!

At what point to people who make bad choices have to live with them? I have two homes and make my payments on time… yet I get no relief and I should NOT get relief. But the same holds true for the ARM chaser’s, they should NOT get relief. Moving people to a fixed rate is fine… but not a better rate then what I am getting unless they buy it down like i could have or did.

No way:

It took me 33 years to pay off a a 30 year mortage with two or two or three
refi’s with rates as high as 10%.

If you over bought pay the piper, subprimes are a trap,should have sought advice.

Why do stupid people making bad decisions must be bailed out by the government? I’m talking not only the borrowers, but the financial institutions that made the decision to loan money to individuals on the brink of finacial instability.
What ever happened to being responsible for your decisions in life.

I think there are more responsible borrowers, therefore, they should all cry “foul” and tell their banks they can foreclose their homes unless they also get, if not better loans than their counterparts got.

Absolutely, people should be ticked off about the special deals for delinquents.
When I took my first mortgage out in 1980 the rate was 11.75% and nobody ever bailed my butt out!!!! The banks were greedy and now people who save money are being screwed with lower than the usual low interest rates.

Absolutely, im one of them. The responsible people are getting handed the big one…again…how about refi’ing both my properties i worked my butt off for to a 5.2 fixed? free hand-outs from the gov from people who dont deserve it while punishing the ones you have diciplined themselves, chalk up another one for the U.S. gov

Indeed we do have a right to be ticked off…just as those who eat right and stay healthy should be ticked off about higher insurance costs due to those that live off McDonalds and other fried foods.

This women in Pinellas is so naive. Im sure if she was on the other side of the fence she wouldnt be complaining. If we did things her way her whole neighborhood would go into foreclosure and she would lose equity out of her house faster than she already is. Also tax payers dont pay for CWBC loan modifications but they would pay for foreclosures.

p.s if you want to refi out of that 7.1% call me and I can get you 5.75%

I feel cheated and stupid, for just that, not being a stupid and irresponsible person. I went with a 30 Year fixed mortgage and saved up as much money as i could so I wouldn’t lose my home. Now I found out that I probably would have been better off going the opposite direction and saving more money each month. What kind of message are the banks setting with this bailout.

When do the financially responsible lenders get a restructure of our loan? If I find that my lender is restructuring loans for those in trouble, I will demand that I get a restructure on my current loan. I haven’t found anywhere where CitiMortgage is offering this.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush? Those of us with one bird will end up with a wing or a leg when the FED is done devaluing the dollar. We’re chumps!

No. Lenders and borrowers should work out their own problems and everyone else should mind their own business. The government should not get involved. Absolutely no tax breaks for anyone, for any reason. It’s a disgrace that the gov’t is even considering tax breaks.

I don’t have anything against people who are victims of a predatory lending policy, but the fact that government is trying to bail out careless people with my taxes is unacceptable. They should try to suit those lending institutions. If these people had enjoyed a profit in their gamble, would they had come forward to donate some to reduce my taxes? Of course not! They would be bragging about how smart they were in taking advantage of the opportunity! Now, they have lost in their gamble and they must take responsibilty of their action.