1. I’d like to know if there is help for people like me, who sold their house at a loss of 40%, and made good on all my financial obligations. How ’bout letting me write all that loss off on my taxes??

    • Feb. 9, 2012 at 6:43 a.m.
  2. This one sticks in my craw.

    26 billion to bail out people who bought houses they cannot afford? Each person may not get enough for them to draw the inference “let’s live irresponsibly” again; but collectively it creates a whopping shot in the arm for for the careless, ‘enjoy now-pay later’ crowd. Is there a chance these derelicts could now be emboldened to buy a car, a RV, or plain jewelry they cannot afford and blame the market later?

    To the framers of this bail out: thank you for penalizing those that live within their means. We will remember who you are in November. Those you bailed out wont be voting; what with now you having liberated them, they are out there spending.

    Kalidan.

    • Feb. 9, 2012 at 6:45 a.m.
  3. My story is, I’m sure, quite typical:

    In April 2010, we applied for a mortgage modification to our lender – One West Bank (formerly known as IndyMac). Over the course of 18 months, we sent, re-sent, and re-re-sent some 150 pages of paperwork in the (vain) hope of getting a lower mortgage payment.

    I’d call the lender at 11:00 in the morning to confirm their receipt of paperwork. Then, I’d call again the same day at 2:00 pm and would get an entirely different response. A call at 4:00 got yet a third answer.

    We were ultimately declined.

    But wait! We were then directed to Fannie Mae who, we were assured, would review our application and approve it, no problem. Risibly, Fannie accepted the application, only to turn it over to One West who, surprise!, refused it again.

    So, while I’m delighted to read that the banks are now going to be held accountable [sic] for the hardship they’ve imposed – for me and my family, it’s too little, too late.

    We were foreclosed in October of 2011.

    • Feb. 9, 2012 at 6:51 a.m.
  4.  

    This is a solution that is inappropriate, unfair to taxpayers, and helps no one more than the banks that caused the problem it purports to address.

    The class of homeowner that deserves to be helped are those who are making every effort to stay in their home and make their payments – make it open to everyone. What they should get is very low-interest rate refinancing on their existing mortgage. The country would benefit from helping an entire class of deserving consumers and the banks will find some other place to make the big profit.

    If those foreclosed upon were wronged, let them participate as part of buying another, more affordable home.

    Most responsible homeowners would use this assistance to reduce their monthly payment, freeing up income and increasing demand.

    • Feb. 9, 2012 at 7:38 a.m.
  5.  

    Money in lieu of criminal charges for bank fraud is never a good idea. Two thousand dollars is a crumb considering the pain and suffering that was caused by the banks. And the press wonders why people are unhappy with their government. Politicians should top patting themselves on the back for doing such a great job.

    • Feb. 9, 2012 at 7:54 a.m.
  6.  

    So instead of buying the kind of house my wife would’ve liked and taking out a huge mortgage, i buy responsibly, make my payments every month early, pay my kids college tuition bills, get caught in the AMT so that i don’t even get to use my deductions and people who behaved irresponsibly get my hard earned dollars from Uncle Sam. Yeah, i have seen how that’s fair.

    • Feb. 9, 2012 at 8:16 a.m.
  7. We have seen these headlines before and, time and time again, the banks find a way not to execute on the process. Just a few days ago, we read a story on how bank attorneys in New York are playing games in the courtroom to prevent homeowners from receiving needed relief. I’ll reserve judgment on whether anything meaningful actually happens.

    And speaking of meaningful, I side with other posters who hope that only the most deserving homeowners get some aid. There are extreme cases where neighborhoods will decay or simply vanish if something isn’t done to keep people in their homes. However, I’m among those responsible Americans who always pay the mortgage, credit card bills, taxes, etc. If we’re going to bail out everyone, I’d like to see my mortgage principal and interest cut, too. For that matter, I’d also like the government to reimburse me for all of my stock losses, not to mention that useless $5 lottery ticket I bought last week. I mean, where does it all end?

    • Feb. 9, 2012 at 8:37 a.m.
  8. It sounds like you are still in your home, still working, and still helping your kids with college.

    Please! Have some compassion for the less fortunate among us.

    Realize it or not, if you are middle class, you are only one or two misfortunes away from suffering the same fate as these fellow citizens.

    Picture this; you lose your job or business, can’t afford your medical insurance, a family member gets a serious expensive illness, you lose your home and, finally, others show no sympathy for your problems.

    Are we in this together, or what?

     
     
    • Feb. 9, 2012 at 9:01 a.m.
  9. This irritates me to no end and no, it’s not because I’m a homeowner who has paid off my house and think I’m better than anyone else. It’s because I had the opportunity to buy and nearly did about six years ago but decided that prices were too high and despite assurances from the bank that my income could easily cover the freight, I felt I would be skating on thin ice and that was not something I wanted to do.

    Fast forward to now. Six additional years of rent payments, saving and hoping that prices would deflate to an affordable level have passed and I get to watch people who overbought get reductions and people bending over backwards to keep them in their homes. I feel stupid for not taking the plunge because had I done that, I’d have a home now and if I couldn’t pay for it, I’d get relief.

    I understand that job losses are devastating and it’s very sad when one can no longer pay for their home. What I don’t understand is why homeowners are a protected class now. Years ago, I lost my job and my apartment. Just about all of my furniture was left on the street in the garbage because I had nowhere to put it and could not afford storage. It was the worst time of my life. Stuff happens. You deal with it the best you can and start over. Not anymore. I wonder what the reaction of underwater homeowners would be if the situation was reversed and their homes doubled in value and the bank was at the door looking for a cut.

    • Feb. 9, 2012 at 10:04 a.m.
  10. I lost my job in 2006 (re-structuring….), but have somehow managed to keep current on my mortgage (thanks to my wife’s job) and our retirement savings. We have tried to refinance to a lower rate but do not qualify because our value to income ratio doesn’t satisfy the requirements. We tried to have our loan modified and again, we didn’t qualify because we are current on our loan. I went to the HUD financial counseling…….. I was told that the only way to qualify was to be able to show financial hardship?????? How is it fair or legal for those who stopped paying their mortgages; some of whom, still live in their homes to get $2000 because of the way their mortgages were written. I hope that by the time this is posted we are not living in a cardboard mobile home…..By the way we were advised to withhold payments in order to show that we are “really” struggling financially
     
    • Feb. 9, 2012 at 10:50 a.m.
  11.  

    Lost my home in 2002 – due in part to fraud by the last broker I used to refi and his appraiser girlfriend. However, no one put a gun to my head and forced me to sign anything. I was stupid and greedy and refinanced for more than I could afford. At that time, my behavior was considered dumb, now that behavior is considered to be worthy of a bailout.

    Lots of people make bad investments and have them go south. Yes, the banking industry played a part in this but so did the people who received the mortgages. If at the time these loans were being made someone had said, “No, you’re being dumb and you can’t have the mortgage,” people would have considered that discriminatory. Since when does being dumb or having a lender lose your paperwork or whatever excuse, let you out of paying a bill you made. Many of these people enjoyed the proceeds from these loans (as I did) and now will have part of the loan forgiven.

    No elderly person who was scammed, no one who is truly disabled, chronically or terminally ill should be put out of his/her home but the others…well, they should take their medicine. I did.

    The people who have my sympathies are those who didn’t refi, who paid their bills and now are going to be sitting next to people who have lower principals on their loans. When the time comes to sell, two houses sitting right next to each other can have two different sale prices based on lower principals. How does this solve anything? it just rewards stupidity and greed.

    • Feb. 9, 2012 at 11:42 a.m.

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