Erin Burnett on MSNBC just now said that 95% of mortgage holders pay their mortgages.

[Skidmore]

So why are mortgage holders made out to be the bad guys when the lenders are the problem? Why not renegotiate all those variable rates loans to fixed rate mortgages? How much of that bad debt is interest not yet paid being figured into the calculus?

[ContinentalOp]

1. I was wondering the same thing. Isn't there a way to lower interest rates...

for some of the people with predatory loans? Lock them into fixed rates rather than just handing out cash to the industry?

[Skidmore]

4. It would seem to me that it would take a fair chunk of the risk

they are referring to out of the system and do away with some of this "toxic debt" they keep referring to.

[TexasObserver]

2. Why does FEMA blame the hurricane victim? Same thing.

These business goons do not want to admit they totally screwed this up, and that their precious deregulation became the monster that ate them.

[NotThisTime]

3. I think she said 90% anyhow, problem is the house is no longer worth the loan on it, therefore can't

renegotiate the mortgage on it with the homeowner, unless the bank is willing to take the loss of the equity of the home, which may cost less than the alternative, but that's not what banks are in the business of doing.

And for the record, if they try to give us the line that this 700 billion dollars is money we will see again when all of a sudden these homes ARE worth what people paid for them and they get sold, I've got news for them. It AIN'T gonna happen. That timeframe will be ten years from now and those homes will be in complete disrepair, not to mention the interest paid to carry this crap.... We'll be lucky to get a third back IMHO

[Skidmore]

6. Perhaps they should take a loss on them.

Some communities have grossly overvalued real property any way to the point that even renters can't afford housing. Perhaps the property values need to be brought more in line with the average person's income, which hasn't advanced that much over the past 8 years.

[Skidmore]

7. self delete ..... double post

[ContinentalOp]

8. So what?

Can't we force the bank to take the loss on the equity? Isn't that just an incentive to keep people in their homes? If the bank can't sell the house for what the price they paid, then they should be in the business of making sure people DON'T default so they can keep the monthly payments rolling in.

[Skidmore]

9. Exactly.

Since when is a dollar in hand not better than one hoped for?

[NotThisTime]

12. A-M-E-N

[NotThisTime]

10. And that my friend is why regulation is VERY important. Every loan they write they bundle with other

others and sell them as a commodity to some Wall street investment firm, and the next thing you know, people start defaulting, they no longer belong to banks, they belong to investment firms, the investment firms aren't liquid enough to make good on the losses they have taken on, they can't write more loans, thus your local bank can't write more loans to businesses, home owners or anywhere else...

Banks should work more closely with homeowners, the banks who do own homes being foreclosed on, but they don't do it, I have no idea why, other than they don't want their bottom dollar worsened.

This is why the Senate and Congress need to stand up and say NO MORE, people need to be put back into their homes even if there's a loss to do so because at the end of the day, it's cheaper to do THAT, than to take this debt on and then throw these people out on the streets. You will then have to somehow find a way to house them & the house goes into disrepair, which is cheaper?

[mckara]

5. Does Anybody Know How Many Mortgages There Are?

i.e. 95% of ??:think:

[NotThisTime]

11. 90% of some number for which we are unaware...

[curious one]

13. As suspected this is a scam!

[Supersedeas]

14. Biz Chicks with stats to make the Shock Doctrine look good