Please, please, please pass this article on to others, this is getting to be a fucking outrage at this point in the game....More free fucking money to struggling homeowners, they are doing anything they can to prop this housing market up, its disgusting what they are doing. Where are the free markets, enough, enough, enough already. When does it end, when do the bailouts and free handouts stop. I have never seen a system that rewards failure, what the fuck is going on with this country. Why dont they just write a check for everyone at this point bail out everyone who has credit card debt, student loan debt, auto debt, just give the entire population a free fucking bailout....if you own a home or a condo or what ever you own stop paying your mortgage, default and let the system bail you out....complete fucking joke this has become..... More Money for Struggling Homeowners by AnnaMaria Andriotis Wednesday, June 29, 2011 provided by SMlogo A new federal program is offering aid with a sweet kicker: It doesn't need to be repaid. For the roughly four million homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, the federal government is offering yet another remedy: free money to catch up on their loans. The effort, called the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program, is the latest in the federal government's efforts to slow down the flood of foreclosures a necessary step to a meaningful recovery in the housing market, says a Department of Housing and Urban Development official. For people who have lost their jobs, the $1 billion program offers loans of up to $50,000 that don't actually need to be repaid, if applicants meet certain requirements. The goal, says HUD, is to offer short-term aid to people who look like they'll be back on their feet soon. But critics say the loans may leave homeowners worse off in the long run. "This is a short run band-aid, a modest attempt to grapple with the severity of the situation," says Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at the University of California, Los Angeles. Rolled out by HUD and the nonprofit housing advocacy group NeighborWorks America, the program is making loans with far better terms than anything on offer at a local bank. The loans are interest-free. Payments go directly to the lender for a portion of the borrower's monthly mortgage, including missed payments or past due charges. And when the assistance period -- which runs for up to two years -- ends, 20% of the loan is forgiven with each passing year. In other words, for qualified borrowers who stay in their home for at least five years after the assistance period and who don't fall behind on their mortgage again, this money doesn't have to be paid back. But some critics say that's where help for consumers ends. By taking this loan, borrowers risk falling further into debt. If they sell their home before the entire loan is forgiven, they'll be on the hook for the remaining amount. The same holds true if they fall behind on their mortgage payments again: they'll need to repay the remaining balance of the loan when they sell or refinance their home. Separately, borrowers aren't required to have equity in their home to receive this money, so someone who has to repay this loan risks owing more on the home later than they do now. For homeowners who are significantly underwater now, the loan may only delay foreclosure, says Gabriel. While the limit each person will get is up to $50,000, loans will average about $35,000 per person, according to NeighborWorks America. Others say the program doesn't go far enough. The loans will be made available to around 30,000 applicants -- "a drop in the bucket," says Stu Feldstein, president at SMR Research, a housing and mortgage research firm. It's helpful, he says, but it won't be enough to seriously boost the ailing housing market. Roughly 4 to 4.5 million borrowers are behind on their mortgages by at least 90 days or are in foreclosure, accounting for roughly 8% of all mortgages. Housing analysts say the loss of income is the primary reason why borrowers are in danger of losing their homes. Those behind the program counter that the help will be significant for some. "If you are one of those 30,000 people, I think you should be very excited to get this help," says a NeighborWorks America spokesman. The program started last week and will take applications through July 22. Many experts say it's still too early to say it will be successful, and so far federal assistance programs haven't impacted a significant number of borrowers. The government's Home Affordable Modification Program, which started in 2009 and was projected to help up to 4 million homeowners lower their mortgage payments has so far only permanently helped around 700,000 homeowners. To be eligible, homeowners must have lost income and be at risk of foreclosure due to involuntary job loss, underemployment or a medical or other economic condition; details on the application process are available online through NeighborWorks America.
That's Odumbo's style... (1) Give money to the greedy, reckless and irresponsible.. in order to curry political favor, and (2) make the hard working and responsible pay for it. Can we afford 4 more years of this ASSHOLE??
NO, we cannot AFFORD four more years of Odumba. If he were to be re-elected, THAT'S when he will unleash ALL of his "tactics" that will basically enslave the working class, and reward the worthless. We already have a sh*t sandwich on the table, but re-elect this guy, and it will be an 11 course meal of sh*t to swallow. Btw, I have a mortgage on a home. Where do I go to get some of this free cash? Do I qualify if I work, and pay half of what I make in Fed and State taxes?
That's just it -- if you're responsible, pay your mortgage, didn't buy a house you couldn't afford you don't qualify for a "handout". This pathetic program is a band aid that won't have any impact on the housing problem. All it will do is let people know there's always more free $$$ from the government.
Once they started by bailing out failed banks, there is no stopping it. And the banks still don't have to mark-to-market. If they let homeowners claim their home is worth whatever they want to say, maybe it would fix their problem too.
Exactly right. And it falls under the "kill two birds with one stone" mentality that politicians absolutely love. They can market is as a "benefit" for the masses, while creating a backdoor bailout for the banker class. All bailouts and "stimulus" type of spending benefit their biggest contributors.
exactly, we should have let the stock market collaspe, but then the job creators would have had to create jobs for themselves, there money is tied up on wall st. To much wealth tied up in speculating and not enough in wealth creating.
1Billion dollars in total aid? you call that a remedy? 90% of that money will be wasted in administration and processing......so basically, more people will waste their time with this crap......