Say hello to 12% 30 yr fixed mortgage interest rates. Tell your rep – NO!

acedebase you’re so misinformed. This only applies to existing mortgages. Also a Georgetown law study concluded that it’s impact on future mortgages based on historical data would be negligible, about .1%. Grow up and learn to read before you comment.

I would try to solve this problem by limiting the Bankruptcy change to loans made between mid-2004 and mid-2008, the so called “toxic loans.” The exception for mortgage loans has been in the Code for a long time and caused no problems. It does not need to be changed forever. It just needs to deal with a particular crisis caused by a short departure from traditional underwriting standards. This will help those who need help now, but allow the mortgage industry to package mortgage products in the future and sell them to investors without the added problem of explaining a new risk to them. This would help us all since we need those investors buying loans again to make the system work and new mortgages to be made.

I agree with you that the change should only apply to the subprime mortgages of the past few years.

Update: As presently written, the bill would only apply to loans originated before the effective date of the changes if they are passed. This should prevent impact on future loans.

There is another pony in that pile – the increased rate argument does not hold water IF you look at the current Rate situation. The savings in rates ARE NOT being passed onto the public. As a matter of FACT – currently the issue under scrutiny, is that the margins and spread between, what the rate being borrowed and the rate being lent is the greatest margin that has EVER existed.

Translated – The banks are currently taking less risk than ever before, getting their money at the lowest rate in history, taking Billions of dollars from the taxpayer, spending Billions (18+) on bonuses and then lending that money to “insiders only” at the highest profit margins.

The “interest rate” fear tactic just does not hold water.

If you take the time to become EDUCATED on the subject – you will find that:
Collectively – the banks have spent more on bonuses and acquisitions of foreign banks then they stand to lose in the mortgage modification process.

Currently a person could Write down their Yacht, RV, 2nd Home, ATV in a Bankruptcy (but not their primary residence.) That is the equivalent of telling a parent that you will give them the money to buy candy, cokes, manicures, pedicures and spa treatments BUT THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SPEND ANY OF THAT MONEY ON THEIR CHILDRENS MEDICINE!

Now, I am all for pretty toes but c’mon?

The one that really strikes me as “Business as usual” in Washington – The banks are dictating the legislation.

The biggest and MOST IMPORTANT change the banks want is that they still have a claim “If they violated consumer protection laws.” <—Please read again.

Stephen King would not include that in a book it is so unbelievable.

Translated – “We know we have been doing loans in violation of the laws designed to protect the consumer, we also know that as Bankruptcy Judges and Attorneys start looking at how BAD we have been that eventually they will figure out that a LOT of the people in Bankruptcy have loans that are / were in direct violation of the laws that were designed to protect them. They might even discover that the reason these people are in Bankruptcy in the first place is because of the Bad Loans (Toxic Loan) that we charged illegal fees and rates for… PLEASE just let us get away with that?! It really is not enough to give us billions, require no accountability and then prepare to give us more so that we can use that money for litigation against those we are foreclosing upon – Could you, would you PRETTY PLEASE Give us a get out of jail free card too?”

• That is a rough translation and has been edited for those under 18.

this would also put out of business all of the so called loan mod specialists that are stealing from people dont get me started they take money from people claiming the can get a loan mod give me 3500 and 600 per month and i will try to mod your loan it never happens

This is great approach to a key trouble in the banking system. Once the loans are “re-set” with lending terms, a bank can now assess its balance sheets and begin loaning moneys out, or re-selling those mortgage backed securities – the bane of all the troubles we have.

There was a similar event in the 1980s with farms. Many farmers had bad loans, plus bad economic times with farming goods. And the bankruptcy code was re-written to make a “chapter 12” to help farmers. Not all farmers used it. But it was very successful and was kept permanent in the bankruptcy codes.

With all frankness, we need to make a STRONG effort to help the common person in our country. Our representatives are quick to help those citizens with means and wealth. Those citizens are getting government help for making bad business decisions!!! Wow. I hope the change happens faster – in one or two months.

PLEASE help explain this to me??
It is my understanding that JP Morgan / Chase, had the Government negotiate a deal (force a Sale of Washington Mutual) for 20% value of assets (estimated at MUCH lower cost after Tax Incent’s, Loan Discounts, etc.) – THEN we actually giuve them the money for the purchase and NOW Jp Morgan Refuses to participate in the Hope 4 homeowners program – or discount / modify mortgages BECAUSE OF A LOSS? WHAT?
Seriously – How is this missed in Congress?

They bought the Assets at 20% of value or less – IF they modified EVERY single Washington Mutual Mortgage to 30% of the Value of the Loan they would make enough profit to pay back EVERY SINGLE RED CENT OF TAX PAYER DOLLARS and since there are so MANY Wamu loans – could single EASILY change the face of the economic landscape.

WHY (as the single largest shareholder of JP Morgan Chase) are WE THE PEOPLE not INSISTING That this be done?

IF we do end up with a Bad Bank and we Give more than 20% (the value of which JP Morgan Bought the assets, with our money and which we negotiated for them) THEN there is ISSUE within the Legislative bodies that MUST be addressed at the highest level.

IF we buy these at a premium (if JP Chase refuses to sell them for less than a premium) the SAME WOULD HOLD TRUE – and then IF we as a People do not Modify the Mortgages to 40% (which would be 200% return to the taxpayer PLUS with interest approx 600% return) THEN Sadly – the writing on the proverbial wall will be easy to READ in Bold Green Letters of the rampant favoritism and Business as usual stance – where the Banksters are just TOO embedded and too Influential to be subject to the rules of Justice as the rest of us.

How can JP Morgan / Chase get away with NOT modifying EVERY Washington Mutual Mortgage to less than 50% of the value when they paid 20% of the value?

JP Morgan is my lender on a 30 yr fixed mortgage and they won’t even work with the people that got their loans from them to help them stay in their homes by modifying their loan terms due to hardships like being unemployed all because the investor of these loans are Fannie Mae and Fannie sets the “so called” rules. Who did the government BAIL OUT?

Makes me furious as hell! These crooks need to be put away! Shame on them!

This should only apply to existing loan mortgages that are under water and not for future mortgages. This bill needs to help current homeowners and not future ones because there should be no future ones that should get through this mess again…meaning lenders should not offer toxic loan mortgages again and lure people into buying one.

Greed…there’s so much of it to go around these days. Mortgage bankers, brokers, fund managers, and of course those stupid home owners…

Look…real estate may go back up, but when…4 years, 5 years? Corporate planners I’m talking with don’t see this stablizing for a long time. And those who think I’m wrong…fine…my peers didn’t believe me when I said the DOW was headed for 7000 either…but they’re all now having a nice helping of crow, and wished they’d listened.

First, adjustable rate instruments should never be offered on primary residence first mortgages. Period. Also, the rates should be capped at 5% and qualification should be against PITI with mortgage insurance. In other words, these instruments should be one of the most dependable and stable out there. When you look at the stats, FICOs mean nothing with regard to a home mortgage on a primary residence. People will default on everything else before they’ll lose their home.

Second, if a person files a Chapt 7, there’s no recourse for the note holder except to take possession of the property, rehab it at their expense, and sell it for CURRENT MARKET VALUE (BIG LOSS!). No note holder is going to hang on until the property value rebounds…that’s just stupid.

IF the home owner actually has an income that will qualify at the lower rate and market adjusted principal, then they should be allowed the new note terms. And please, no windfall profit c**p…if not the current owner, then the next buyer will reap the gain, not the note holder. And besides, this MESS isn’t the fault of the homeowner alone. In a traffic accident, the person with the LAST CLEAR CHANCE to avoid the collision bears the lion-share of responsibility…therefore the lender is getting their just desserts for allowing these stupid loans in the first place…and that, my friends is who we should blame for our RETIREMENT ACCOUNT DISASTER. Investors, through greed, took chances with our money on risky instruments, that the government did not care enough to regulate. So I don’t fault the homeowner, I fault the the people who made the loans and should have known better.

HR 200 and S 61 should be supported, with modifications, to allow homeowners who got an adjustable rate mortgage within the last 4 years and whose principal amount conforms with the new temporary FHA limits to file for court modification, unless the note holder is willing to come to the table in fair and honest talks. Unfortuately, the way notes were packaged as investment instruments, lenders may not have the legal right to negotiate, except through a bankruptcy proceeding.

BUT WE HAVE A CONTRACT…is one of the reoccuring battlecrys….DANG…Renegiotiation of contracts is not sacreligious people. It’s not the 11th commandment. Some of my friends do it every single day for a living. It’s all about business, leverage, and profit. But given these times in which we live, we need to be pragmatic as well as prudent. It’s in everyone’s best interest at this time to see a reasonable amendment to the Chapter 13 code so that we don’t all end up in the bread line.

The HBA and MBA…the most staunch of opposition…don’t have a good arguement anymore, and the general public is fed up with greed. So the best strategy, if anyone is listening at this point, is to find a middle ground, such as a limited application of the bankruptcy code, as opposed to an unfettered use. Total opposition just paints those supporting it as complete greed freaks and they will suffer the rath of Congress and the Obama administration.

Bottom line, banks of any kind (including the credit unions) are not stepping up to the plate. They ARE NOT working with people in good faith and could care less ~ all the while they are being bailed out! How is this okay but helping those that have been forced into bankruptcy (because the lender will and/or are not been working with people.

Lenders have reaped the benefit for years, now it is time for them to suck it up and be the “fair” trade that they are suppose to be.

Tonyca2009

Very well put! another page of the American facination with GREED

What allot of people are not noticing to are the notes that are now held by private funds. These where bought from the banks at a fraction of the cost. My home loan was bought by a company called G8Capitol from Litton who had at last agreed to modify my loan. But when we where supposed to get the modification papers instead came a notification of sale. My current loan is for $272k at 9.09%. When they were asked about the loan modification the VP I was working with told me he looked at it and laughed and then threw it in the trash. He offered to sell me my house back for $180k if I could get a loan. Now if they were willing to sell me my home back at a lower rate why not modify the loan. All I wanted was a lower interest rate. Now I am in a Ch13 bankruptcy trying to save my house.
Something needs to be done about these companies that are doing nothing but trying to profit from other people’s hardships.

A majority of the bad loans were to people that knew exactly what they were getting into. This country is comprised of people that want to “keep up with the Jones” and we’re now ALL paying the price. Move them into a more affordabe home.Otherwise, they’ll end up in the same situation, not because of the lack of money or the economy, but because of their own budgeting and spending habits. Lets hold them accountable for their actions just like the banks. Both helped put us in this near depression out of pure greed.

When you have a defective product on the market and it hurts people, the maker of that product is held accountable. The mortgage industry and lenders offered products to the American public that have been disastrous to countless lives and economy of this country. It is the responsibility of our government to rectify this calamity swiftly and fairly and one way would be to allow passage of the Help For Homeowners bill.

With this bill the people will still have to qualify for chapter 13. This will just change the chapter 13 laws so that a primary residence can be modified within a chapter 13. Why should this be any different then your car or rental property or business property? You can cramdown or modify any of those under the current law. So why not fix the law so that your primary residence can be adjusted as well? This has only came into light becuase the current economy. This should have been fixed a long time ago but when houseing prices where high there was no need for it.

Not so,
In 2005, Congress eliminated the power of bankruptcy judges to modify auto loans due to increase cost to borrowers.

What a way to encourage people to file for bankruptcy at the expense of their neighbors, then years later sell their home at a greater profit than someone who continued to meet their obligations. I purchase 2 years ago at a inflated price, however I signed the up for the loan it is my obligation to pay back the money I borrowed. I sure don’t expect banks and my peers to bail me out. Home ownership is a privilege not a right. I believe something needs to be done to address the issue, however this is not the solution, contact your representative and senator!

Folks, things aren’t going to get better UNTIL homeowners get really help with this change to the BK code. Anonymous of Feb 27…please try to grasp this. If the bank, investment firm / mortgage company “moves them (the current homeowner) out” instead of reworking the current loan, it costs us even MORE. The bank still loses principal, plus the cost of rehabing the proberty for sale, plus the cost to market the property, plus the negative impact due to a glut of homes for sale further depressing the values. Please people, don’t be so shortsighted. We need to SUPPORT this NOW.

Part 2:
The DOW broke 7000 yesterday…and it will continue until this issue is finally addressed…like it or not. Homeowners on the verge of losing are huge consumers for improvements, upgrades and maintenance, building supplies, etc. IF a homeowner HAS SUFFICIENT INCOME to modify to the current market value…get it…HAS SUFFICIENT INCOME…then modify the darn loan and stop the market slide. The other piece of this is that the way notes were carved up for investment, the holder may be “BY LAW” unable to make the degree of modification necessary to achieve stability. Therefore, ONLY a change to the BK CODE will allow judicial modification that would otherwise be unavailable.

Part 3:
Obama said it in one of his talks…basically…people need to get out of the mentality that “I’m not calling the fire department because my neighbor caught his house on fire and it’s his fault”. You call the fire department ANYWAY. To do otherwise is immoral, not to mention your house may catch fire too. IF we stablize this situation, people will quit bailing out of the market and yours and my IRAs will level out. PLEASE PLEASE don’t cut off your nose to spite your face here. Handling existing toxic loans through BK IS the answer and the longer we wait the more the situation will drag everyone down.

I agree that the mortgage companies should be regulated & required to work with homeowners. But also regulations on requirements that homeowners HAVE SUFFICIENT INCOME for the home they want to buy. Putting a stop to ALL the greed will help us out of this mess. My question is to tonyca2009….you seem to have a vested interest in this. Were you only able to qualify for one of the “toxic loans”? And if so, why?

My Opinion to Anonymous, no TonyCa2009 just happens to be able to correctly and without malice, try to explain, JUST THE FACTS.
I don’t think Tony has a horse in this race. He or she is just a good “handicapper” with a good word of advice for the market and nation as a whole.
Did anyone with this kind of misjudgement, ever think that maybe, the home owner could afford the house when he bought it…BUT..he and his wife lost thier jobs, in this “economy from hell”.
Let’s hope it doesn’t happen to you or one of your children. I wonder if anyone will be left to call the fire department.

I tend to cringe when I see a bill with a heading that purports to help the public, and as I start reading down the page, it begins to sound like:

You can renegotiate and get a lower payment for your mortgage and protect your primary residence during a bankruptcy proceeding, provided that this, and that, with the exceptions for this and that condition, and so long as something else.

Since nobody explain what will actually happen in a real live case, I can only assume that all the provisos are just a way to reduce the full benefit of of the intent expressed in the explanation and title. It becomes a form of deception. So when I’m through reading I ask myself, when all is said and done, is there at least some minimal benefit for anyone at all?

If I am reading this bill correctly, it is an indication of slight of hand.

If the bank actaully committed an offense of the Truth in Lending Act, and a bankruptcy reorganization takes place, the bankruptcy chastised person can NOT file a suit against the bank for violations of the TILA.

How sneaky.

It sounds like a “I know I did wrong, but since you want assistance, I am willing to give it to you providing you do not take action against me for intentionally violating the law.”

How bankish.

Eric.