Rescues for Homeowners in Debt Weighed

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Prodded in part by some of the nation’s biggest banks, the Bush administration and Congress are considering costly new proposals for the government to rescue hundreds of thousands of homeowners whose mortgages are higher than the value of their houses.

Not since the Depression has a larger share of Americans owed more on their homes than they are worth. With the collapse of the housing boom, nearly 8.8 million homeowners, or 10.3 percent of the total, are underwater. That is more than double the percentage just a year ago, according to a new estimate of the damage by Moody’s Economy.com.

Administration officials say they still oppose any taxpayer bailout for either people who borrowed more than they could afford or banks that made foolish loans during the height of the speculative bubble in housing.

But with the current efforts to arrest the housing collapse so far bearing little fruit, Washington is being forced to explore new ideas, among them the idea of a federal mortgage guarantee for troubled borrowers.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/business/22homes.html

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Stuart Breakstone, a lawyer in Memphis, and his wife, Lori, owe about $670,000 on their home.

[Skittles]

1. ?

I didn't buy a house because of the prices, now I am expected to bail out a lawyer who owes more than half a million dollars on his home?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. I hear ya...

...the reason why I added the photo and caption from the story into the "contents" section is that while it may be unfortunate and inconvenient, and while this man and his wife may be honest and hard-working, they owe more on that house than most people will ever afford to spend on one, and maybe looking to the taxpayers isn't the best way to solve his problem.

Because if the government decides to help him with his 600+K debt, they have to help everybody in order to be fair, and they can't.

Maybe this man's agenda could include selling the mansion and investing whatever he gets from it into humbler surroundings.

[NashVegas]

8. Even Worse - Bankers Want the Feds to Help Keep Homes at Their Over-Inflated Values!

In the late 1980s and early 1990's Connolly worked for the European Commission analyzing the European monetary system in the run up to the introduction of the euro currency.

"Avoiding a depression is, unfortunately, going to have to involve either a large, quasi-permanent increase in the budget deficit -- preferably tax cuts -- or restoring overvaluation of equity prices," Connolly said on Monday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSGOR27660220080212

[Hobarticus]

3. Yesh! It's the 'Murikan Way!

Why d'ya hate 'Murika?

:crazy:

[WCGreen]

4. That guy looks older than me and I am only carring on tenth of his mortgage...

Who would loan that much money to someone in my age brackett...

[bluestateguy]

5. I was smart enough not to enter into a mortgage I could not afford

I am also smart enough to read the full text of any contract I sign.

That's all I have to say.

[Victoras]

6. Breakstone, Esquire

If that family is indeed seeking relief,
they both need to exhaust their 401K, ROTH Accounts, and any deferred compensation
they may have in the law firm...IOW they need to be dirt poor

[tanyev]

7. "Not since the Depression...."

I fear we're going to be seeing that phrase more and more frequently.