A way to save those in the process of foreclosure, if the banks and congress will listen

What I am about to propose will make many of those in the financial industry chuckle or scoff out loud, it will make many others probably cheer and think that it is a great idea. However, I am saying all of this out of ignorance or to look for approval. I am sending this idea in a proposal form to my own lender and to my state representatives.

Right now it is obvious that times are pretty tough. Especially for those millions about to be forced out of their homes. Foreclosure is not fun. Believe me, I willingly admit that I have experienced it. Went through it almost 12 years ago. It sucks.

You see, I lost a well paying job. I had a new child (3 months early so the medical bills were atrocious to say the least), a new car and a new home. All of that to go along with a fairly new marriage. Times were good. But then the call came and our lives changed drastically.

Well, I'll leave it at that. Here is what is important. Much of the financial meltdown we experienced could have been avoided had the lender decided that they would work with us instead of against us.

Many people are faced with this situation today. They face the loss of their homes, maybe their families (the stress on the marriage is extreme), vehicles and much more. They face the loss of their dignity and self confidence along with their confidence in the system.

I love this country. If any of you have read my many replies you may think otherwise because I call out this corrupt administration all of the time. However, I do believe that there are good people in Washington. People that are really there for us.

The proposal I would submit is this. That the lenders of loans that are in trouble suspend payments on those loans for 12 months. They will need to meet with and work with the home owners to come up with a plan for them to pay down the other debt that they have. A contract would need to be signed ensuring that this plan will be followed through with by the home owner. That they remove a certain amount of their monthly payments within that 12 month time period. That they CANNOT add to their debt in any way. That they will also seek and attend financial counseling for the 12 months on a bi-weekly basis.

I believe that if the lenders were willing to simply put everything on hold for these few people for 12 months that they would end up saving themselves millions in the costly foreclosure proceedings. Because we all know that once someone loses their home to foreclosure that trying to get the balance of the loan after selling the house from them is going to be kind of like squeezing blind from a turnip. Simply not happening.

Instead of allowing the further decay and destruction of this housing market, they could begin to change their perceived image in the publics mind. They can show that they too are human and understand that hard times affect us all.

I understand that this may be a pipe dream but I also believe that EVERYONE involved would benefit more from a plan like this than the current system in place. One that destroys and harms all involved.

Your thoughts are appreciated but again, I'm simply sending this off regardless of what anyone thinks. I am hoping to gain some support from our lawmakers but don't know if it will happen.

Good luck to anyone out there that is struggling with their home payments right now. Know that there are people that care and hold out hope that something will happen to help you out.

Damn,

I guess since there isn't a conspiracy attached this this topic that it doesn't fit well with the people here. (that was sarcasm)

I know that it is an important topic and would hope that it is important to many others. I beleive that if it does sit well with you that you would write to your representatives and let them know that you believe it would be a good plan to help save many families in this country from more hardships.

So what about the people who didn't take out a mortgage they couldn't afford, or have children they couldn't afford or go into debt to fund "bling"?

You know, the 25 years I lived in America I was constantly bombarded with companies extolling the virtues of their credit cards, told by the media how being a "homeowner" was the end all and be all of exsistence, and pushed by the educational system to take out a huge loan to further my "education" . I CHOSE not partake in the free for all and now me and untold others who CHOSE not partake are going to be ignored and asked to pay for the crappy decisions of the vast majority who did.

No offense to the OP, I don't know what your individual circumstances are. I'm just pissed off that for years I was looked down on because I CHOSE to rent and CHOSE drive a car a I bought with cash and CHOSE not to take out huge student loans and CHOSE not to have children and now it turns out I probably CHOSE correctly . Whilst a lot of the people I know are stressing because of their portfolios and retirement accounts are going down the tubes I'm buying a big screen TV ( cash of course ), planning on a long holiday ( again cash) and generally not giving a damn about the "economic crises".

Of course, come next week ( as we seem to have had a reprieve this week) it might not matter anyway - Hopefully the aliens will have spread all their "love" around )

But yeah, on it's merits I guess your plan to bail out the irresponsible people who bought into the "American dream" is a good one.

Hardly. You're suggestion seems very humano-centric. I agree it will not be well-received by those who operating mantra is "Profit profit profit."

The process you theorize would threaten their profit margin, and as a result, I think it would be fought tooth and nail by the bankers.

reply to post by dariousg
Your plan is worth a try. It is a lie that only irresponsible people will suffer because the stock market and banking industry are as crooked as the back legs of a dog right now. The laws are not being enforced and every country that allows a few to steal without suffering consequences experiences poverty. Families with children and old people with clean criminal records should not be forced out onto the street. Your plan is sensible.



"For Iron -cold Iron- is master of men all!"

So what about the people that want to altogether do away with leaders and middlemen dealing life to beings who are already freely graced with exactly what they are buying?

So I guess we need government in order to live. We need banks. We need people in power to always have the potential to become corrupt and use and abuse us.

What I'm proposing is an idea as well: WE ALL NEED TO GROW UP!!! No mama or dada to keep us cuddowy and safe anymore. We need each other, not some #ing state.

[edit on 9-10-2008 by dunwichwitch]

reply to post by Merigold



I agree with your sentiment. Why should those who didn't do this get punished by having to pay taxes for such a bail out package as was signed last week? It's not about that now.

I believe that a much quicker fix for this struggling economy isn't to reward the financial system that acted like preditors and talked many into the situation you have smartly avoided.

You see, you said it yourself, it was 'glamorous' to own a home and a new car. It was part of the American dream. Well, we can't fix that. The problem with this current situation is already here. No getting around it.

Why should the taxpayer's be forced to bail out these financial institutions that did this on purpose out of greed?

Are the people to blame for their actions? Of course. However, if the lending institutions were to take this approach to help rescue these people and help to 'educate' them on their finances and how to budget (must be part of the stipulation), then WE the people wouldn't have to bail them out. They wouldn't have to foreclose on all of the mortgages in threat right now. They would still accrue interest on these loans so they would actually end up making more on the loan than they would have originally.

And, it would keep the taxpayer out of it completely. People would learn the errors of their ways without destroying their families and the economy would be better off in the long run with stronger home owners.

I hope you understand what I am saying here. I'm not saying that it is right what these people did by putting themselves in this credit crunch situation. But, would it be better to 'punish' them because you did it the right way? Do you really think you will benefit from that more than having to pay all of these massive bail outs? I mean, another 40 Billion was just released to AIG on top of the 85 Billion they got last month. It's a joke right now and we're paying for it. Mostly people who CAN'T afford to pay.

This plan will not save all. There are those that are simply in too deep. It's unfortunate but the idea is to save as many as possible. To teach them how to avoid it in the future. Thus teaching their kids thus creating a credit smart generation.

You see, I didn't have that with my mom. I was in a family of 4. Three kids and a single mom. She was on welfare. She didn't understand money and never educated us. Thus when I lost my job I was not prepared with a back up plan. I was told to go to school, get an education, that's the only way, and now, unlike you, I have 80k in loans that must get paid back. Sure, I'm smarter today than I was back then but times are hard for everyone. I just feel that now is not the time to stand up on a pedestal and say, "Hey, I was smart enough to avoid this. You deserve what you get!" Instead, we should come up with a fix that will make EVERYONE the better for it.

Just my thoughts.

reply to post by eradown


Thank you. This is what I was aiming for with it. I have sent off letters already and hope to at least receive a "I'll look at it." If not, I will call next week.

It's not about blame right now. Right now it is about saving as many livlihoods within the middle and lower class as possible. Sure, they made mistakes to get themselves into this position (or, as I have seen more and more, it's not about making bad choices but more about bad times), but we cannot sit back and point fingers. I'm glad there are some that have not falling into this trap. I am very happy for them. They are one more that will not fall victim to these criminals.

It's about the people, people. Not about right and wrong.

reply to post by dunwichwitch



Very much so. We need to cut our ties to the apron strings of mama and papa government and the big bad central bank (fractional banking) system.

Yes, I do believe that some form of government is important. There are still those out there that would like what we have here in the U.S. We need that protection. However, we need to remove the special interests from government. Period.

The focus needs to be on the people and SERVING THEM again.

reply to post by dariousg


In general, I like this idea. One part I have some issue with is the (what seems like) mandatory financial counseling. Unless said counseling is targeted towards helping the immediate situation, I'm not sure it would have value. Clearly, some people need education about not spending beyond their means, but not always.

Take your case for example. I clearly don't know anything about the details, but from your story, it sounds like you were living at least close to your means, then those 'means' were removed, through no fault of yours.

What sort of counseling do you feel you needed, beyond again something targeted towards the immediate problem?

But maybe that's what you mean...