Bush's plan doesn't really do much, it's for show. For openers, to qualify you have to have a good credit rating and homeowners that are behind on payments don't.
This is absolutely true. It is tough to say this since I usually like the Dems a bit more the the Republicans, but the Dems are complete morons on this one. They want to setup a trust fund to help families who might lose their home and what not. Are you kidding me, here is 100k to Joe Jack@#@ for over borrowing complements of the Dems and the US gov. What is wrong with a family losing their home and then they are now forced to rent? It isn't like there aren't other options out there then just "owning your home." By the way I support Ron Paul for Prez, all the rest of the candidates are commie bastards.
One of the OPs said essentially that Bush bailed out his savings and loan buddies. I realize the Bush-haters like to re-write history, but the savings/loan debacle was in the late 80's/early 90s - Bush's dad was in office, I believe W was part owner of the Texas Rangers at that time. Incidentally, the federal govt. had a FEDERAL OBLIGATION to honor FDIC deposits - so that had to be done. However, bailing out people for making bad business decisions: how about reimbursing me for losing 40k in QCOM calls I bought back in early 2000?
Bush has another brother, who was a big shot at a savings and loan. It came out that he had enriched all of his friends with bullshit loans and then the bank got reimbursed by the Feds. They all made out like bandits. The Bushes come from a long line of crooks, the family made it's money on Wall St. W's father was about the only one of them who is not a complete rat.
Most of these folks were buying their own homes, not investments. Since lending standards so eroded prices rose until this inevitable crash. If you wanted to buy a house you had to pay the price which usually meant getting one of these mortgages. The place for the government to step in is to regulate lending practices since this could have and may still destroy the economy. Let the market fix itself and enforce some standards on the lenders to keep this from happening again.
Isn't this a good thing? What is the cost of paying a lawyer who can explain these documents for you to sign? people always point fingers and blame others for their own stupidity.
The laws are very strict. Hundreds ofdisclosures are given the moment some one makes a loan application with a mortgage broker or lender. Than an additional sets of disclosures follow given by the investor buying the mortgage, stating exactly what kind of a loan you are getting etc etc. During signing off on your principal residence there is usually a 3 day right of recession. No loan can be funded without that 3 day period. The homeowner has plenty of chance to escape any fraud, distortion or abuse. Than the loan funds. Still at this stage if the homeowner stages an objection the loan is rescinded and the lender stops the process. But you know what? When a spendthrift homeowner is getting 100K cash at the day of closing he rarely backs out. In fact he is licking his chops like a hungry kitten looking forward to his check. He will circle the escrow office and waits outside, before they open the doors at 9:00 AM. Once the loan closes, his past excesses are paid off, his old debt is vanquished and he becomes a free man. Now he goes back to the same old ways of spending and spending, buying boats, 4 wheels drives, jet skis, gold necklaces and hocks himself up in year or so. He is in fact burning candles on both ends. There are no bad mortgages, just bad borrowers. Once the real estate values stopped jacking up higher, the house of cards fell on these homeowners. They are done for now. Unless the US treasury and Feds extend an arm and pull them out of the quicksand these people are going down to the auction block.