Mortgage Principal Reduction?

[Piscator]

Originally Posted by spence

Mortgage principal reduction is driven primarily by two factors, to stabilize a weak market and to compensate for abuse by lenders. Ultimately it's a systems problem...this isn't a simple argument of what's fair for some and not for other.

Some might argue that's evidence that the GSE's should be dissolved, but there's a counter argument as well.

-spence

That's BS. You can call it abuse by lenders Spence but I call it abuse by buyers. It’s abuse by people who sign up for something that is out of their means or that they don't care to honor. That’s what is wrong with this Country. I bought when the market was at the highest, nobody put a gun to my head. When I was looking, some tried to tell me I could afford a larger mortgage and tried to sell the risky ARM's, etc. I did the research, was a responsible buyer. When you buy a house, you have to do some research on your own and figure out what you can afford, not what someone might tell you what you can afford. So you say it is a “systems” problem. It’s a dead beat, entitlement problem and now those folks are trying to point the finger at anyone but themselves.

This is craziness and will set a precedence. We no longer have personal accountability. It’s always someone else’s fault.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Piscator

That's BS. You can call it abuse by lenders Spence but I call it abuse by buyers. It’s abuse by people who sign up for something that is out of their means or that they don't care to honor. That’s what is wrong with this Country. I bought when the market was at the highest, nobody put a gun to my head. When I was looking, some tried to tell me I could afford a larger mortgage and tried to sell the risky ARM's, etc. I did the research, was a responsible buyer. When you buy a house, you have to do some research on your own and figure out what you can afford, not what someone might tell you what you can afford. So you say it is a “systems” problem. It’s a dead beat, entitlement problem and now those folks are trying to point the finger at anyone but themselves.

This is craziness and will set a precedence. We no longer have personal accountability. It’s always someone else’s fault.

Bingo.

When I bought my house, I could not believe the value o fthe mortgage that I was approved for, it was three times what I felt comfortable borrowing. The burden is on me, as an adult, to figure out what I wanted to owe, and if I wanted a fixed or variable mortgage.

Spence, it's not the role of the feds to stabilize the housing market. If it was, why limit to housing? Why don't the feds artificially set stock prices to stabilize the stock market? IS that starting to sound stupid yet?

Obama is just buying votes, that's all he's doing. That, and making more people addicted to government welfare, and borrowing more money from the Chinese that our grandkids will have to re-pay...

[spence]

Originally Posted by Piscator

That's BS. You can call it abuse by lenders Spence but I call it abuse by buyers. It’s abuse by people who sign up for something that is out of their means or that they don't care to honor. That’s what is wrong with this Country.

I bought when the market was at the highest, nobody put a gun to my head. When I was looking, some tried to tell me I could afford a larger mortgage and tried to sell the risky ARM's, etc. I did the research, was a responsible buyer. When you buy a house, you have to do some research on your own and figure out what you can afford, not what someone might tell you what you can afford. So you say it is a “systems” problem. It’s a dead beat, entitlement problem and now those folks are trying to point the finger at anyone but themselves.

As we've discussed at length in previous threads, the credit crisis was driven by many factors all around. While there certainly was fraud and irresponsibility, I don't think most people took a mortgage with the intention of not paying it back. Many had the means to pay it back but lost those means because of economic issues, much of which were driven by the investment industry and cheap credit which inflated housing prices.

Mortgage reduction might sound like a give-away, but the analysis shows it would help home owners who are under water continue to make payments...actually reducing taxpayer liabilities.

Here's the rub...as an upstanding homeowner, your net worth is likely going to be higher the more stable the housing market is.

This is craziness and will set a precedence. We no longer have personal accountability. It’s always someone else’s fault.

Sometimes it is. Take the 16 Billion dollar settlement some of which is going towards mortgage reductions. You had major lenders falsifying documentation in order to facilitate foreclosures. Fannie and Freddie appear to have known about these unethical practices and others are calling for an investigation of the GSE's as well.

-spence

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by spence

As we've discussed at length in previous threads, the credit crisis was driven by many factors all around. While there certainly was fraud and irresponsibility, I don't think most people took a mortgage with the intention of not paying it back. Many had the means to pay it back but lost those means because of economic issues, much of which were driven by the investment industry and cheap credit which inflated housing prices.

Mortgage reduction might sound like a give-away, but the analysis shows it would help home owners who are under water continue to make payments...actually reducing taxpayer liabilities.

Here's the rub...as an upstanding homeowner, your net worth is likely going to be higher the more stable the housing market is.


Sometimes it is. Take the 16 Billion dollar settlement some of which is going towards mortgage reductions. You had major lenders falsifying documentation in order to facilitate foreclosures. Fannie and Freddie appear to have known about these unethical practices and others are calling for an investigation of the GSE's as well.

-spence

"Mortgage reduction might sound like a give-away"

It doesn't sound like a giveaway, it is a giveaway...

"actually reducing taxpayer liabilities"

Bullsh*t. Unless I am selling my house, it does not cost me ONE CENT if my house decreases in value temporarily. Not one cent. Spence, please don't try to tell me that this plan will increase my net worth in the long run. There's a southern expression that I picked up in the Marines..."don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining."

"your net worth is likely going to be higher the more stable the housing market is. "

If liberals are concerned about my net worth, how about going 5 consecutive seconds without reaching into my wallet?