Solving the Foreclosure Crisis

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For the last decade, home buyers and owners have enjoyed the fruit of a very sweet housing market. Owning a home is an American dream for most. However, the disparity between those who own homes and those who do not grows bigger every day. This all changed with the help of our government and it is time for a reversal.

I find it very disturbing as I drive down the road and see the foreclosure signs in the windows of houses someone used to call home. It makes me wonder about their situations. Was it a lack of responsibility? Did they lose their job? Was there an illness or other tragedy in their family? Where do they live now? Are they homeless? Are they renting a house at a price higher than their former house payment was because of the high rental demands?

Let’s take a step back to see how this downward spiral started. I remember when we could not turn on the radio or the television without hearing ads asking you to refinance your existing home or take out a loan for 125% or of the homes appraised value. Or ads asking you to take out a third mortgage or a revolving line of credit based on the equity of your home. And, if you had excellent credit you could walk onto a car lot and walk off with any car on the lot just because you had excellent credit. I remember when we got credit cards randomly sent to us through the mail telling us to sign the back to activate the card and it was ready for use. Income to dept ratios were not even thought about years back. All these things marked an era that encouraged middle class and lower income Americans to live beyond their means.

Now there are many people without homes because they have gone into foreclosure because they are not making house payments due to extenuating circ...

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...t with people just hoping to get out of it before foreclosure.

The possible outcomes of a rehabilitation program; families will be restored to the American dream of homeownership and develop confidence in their buying power and the stability of their families. Banks would have a consistent funding stream because of the direct deposits on actual customer paydays; and homeowners can pay their bills and banks can pay their staff so they can keep their jobs and help restore a large part of the economy. Home owners have peace of mind knowing their bills are paid automatically and on-time and that no one is going to snatch their homes from underneath their families and sell it for a portion of what is owed on it. The pricing on housing will once again rise in a controlled environment. Also, we can assure ourselves that this particular crisis never show its face again.

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