The Federal Government has several programs under hte Making Home Affordable inititative to help avoid forclosure that are only available to owners, not investeres. They includethe Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP) and the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
Nevada is the epicenter of the housing foreclosure crisis, where 1/79 houses end in mortgage default.
"A recent study found that more than half the Nevadans facing foreclosure didn't know anything about federal and state programs aimed at helping them. Furthermore, almost as many said their lenders were "not willing at all" to work with them."
Why haven't the people of Nevada taken advantage of these programs? What are your opinions of Federal Aide programs to help against foreclosure? Is this an ok way to spend tax payers dollars?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/sc-cons-0407-save-home-20110407,0,5378502.story
I think it's a great way to spend our tax dollars. I believe one of our readings said that home ownership was the backbone of the American economy. By helping these home owners get back on their feet we're helping to build back trust in our economy and government. These alternatives need to be better publicized though, not only so that homeowners can get the help they need but also so they don't turn to predatory services that may promise similar things.
ReplyDelete1/79 is pretty tough to believe, I wonder what the national average and the national low are?
ReplyDeleteI think that is a good idea. This is a large problem and I am glad to see tax dollars going towards helping the people effected instead of the big banks. I would also want to know how effective these programs are. For instance, what type of budget do they have, how many people have they helped, how easy it is to qualify for this type of help, how are they getting there information out there, and it it all enough. I think that is common that programs like these help, but only to some extend.
ReplyDeleteI am skeptical to the extend that these programs will ultimately limit the amount of foreclosures. However the HARP plan does seem worthwhile as it gives homeowners a chance to take advantage of lower interest rates.
ReplyDeleteAs we know the housing crisis was ultimately a result of greed, the desire of banks to make large profits and consumers over leveraging themselves in an attempt to purchase a home they could not afford. Bailing out the banks was the lesser of two evils. I think there is a misconception that the banking bail out only benefited the banks. While it clearly did help them out it also saved jobs, potentially prevented a bank run, and saved the American markets from completely collapsing. Also, studies have shown that the bail out will ultimately become profitable for the U.S.
After having the HAMP presentation in class I think that the education of the people is not the only problem. HAMP has only used 4 out of 30 billion dollars. I think that the governmental programs need to educate the people and need to figure out how to distribute their money. People are in need of help and there is money available to help. Something needs to happen and relatively fast.
ReplyDelete