Chief
08-31-2007, 06:45 AM
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070831/bush_housing_slump.html?.v=3
Bush to Offer Federal Help for Strapped Mortgage Holders, Aid Borrowers Hit by Housing Slump
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Offering federal help for strapped mortgage holders, President Bush is proposing to aid hundreds of thousands of borrowers hard hit by the housing slump.
The president on Friday was to talk about several initiatives and reforms to help homeowners with risky mortgages keep their homes, a senior administration official said Thursday. Bush also was to discuss efforts to prevent these kinds of problems from arising in the future.
he official said Bush will direct Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson to work on an initiative to help troubled mortgage holders get services and products they need to keep them from defaulting on their loans. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the initiatives ahead of the presidential event.
Bush also planned to:
-- Urge Congress to pass Federal Housing Administration overhaul legislation that would give the FHA more flexibility in assisting mortgage holders with subprime mortgages.
-- Pledge to work with Congress to reform the tax code to help troubled borrowers rework their loans.
-- Call for rigorously enforcing predatory lending laws and strengthening lending practices.
Foreclosure and late payments have spiked, especially for so-called subprime borrowers with blemished credit histories or low incomes. Higher interest rates and weak home values have made it impossible for some to pay or to keep up with their monthly mortgage payments. Some overstretched homeowners can't afford to refinance or even sell their home.
**SCHNIPP**
I would really like to know how many of these supposed victims of “predatory lenders” have at least one bankruptcy on their credit reports. A previous bankruptcy tells me that someone who is in financial straits again with a sub-prime mortgage ought to be ineligible for any assistance, other than to expedite the foreclosure process.
I have said before that the most charitable thing that can be done with some of these mortgages is to foreclose them promptly, and get someone in that house who is responsible enough to make the payments, and live within their means.
It is far too easy to blame the industry and give the irresponsible borrowers a free ride, again. That does not mean I am giving the lenders a pass, we need to purge them from the system as well.
Bush to Offer Federal Help for Strapped Mortgage Holders, Aid Borrowers Hit by Housing Slump
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Offering federal help for strapped mortgage holders, President Bush is proposing to aid hundreds of thousands of borrowers hard hit by the housing slump.
The president on Friday was to talk about several initiatives and reforms to help homeowners with risky mortgages keep their homes, a senior administration official said Thursday. Bush also was to discuss efforts to prevent these kinds of problems from arising in the future.
he official said Bush will direct Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson to work on an initiative to help troubled mortgage holders get services and products they need to keep them from defaulting on their loans. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the initiatives ahead of the presidential event.
Bush also planned to:
-- Urge Congress to pass Federal Housing Administration overhaul legislation that would give the FHA more flexibility in assisting mortgage holders with subprime mortgages.
-- Pledge to work with Congress to reform the tax code to help troubled borrowers rework their loans.
-- Call for rigorously enforcing predatory lending laws and strengthening lending practices.
Foreclosure and late payments have spiked, especially for so-called subprime borrowers with blemished credit histories or low incomes. Higher interest rates and weak home values have made it impossible for some to pay or to keep up with their monthly mortgage payments. Some overstretched homeowners can't afford to refinance or even sell their home.
**SCHNIPP**
I would really like to know how many of these supposed victims of “predatory lenders” have at least one bankruptcy on their credit reports. A previous bankruptcy tells me that someone who is in financial straits again with a sub-prime mortgage ought to be ineligible for any assistance, other than to expedite the foreclosure process.
I have said before that the most charitable thing that can be done with some of these mortgages is to foreclose them promptly, and get someone in that house who is responsible enough to make the payments, and live within their means.
It is far too easy to blame the industry and give the irresponsible borrowers a free ride, again. That does not mean I am giving the lenders a pass, we need to purge them from the system as well.