Bill-Austin..............its interesting you do not place our elected in this at all. They,all of congress, with the backing of lobbyist money from the financial industry, allowed the banks to create the loans that brought this mess on. Why is the bailing out of banks surprising , since tons on money has flowed to congressional members to make sure that the bailout happened. Even more to consider, the banks were handed this money with the idea of helping the home owners..that did not happen..the banks are still sitting on tonsof money....and loaning very little and helping very l;ittle..but not one politican has done a thing. Also consider...all the big time investors have been helped in some way...either by the banking groups or by your government, congress, while forcing small investors out. The general public is left in the dark with all the bills from the mismanagement by our elected and banking as a whole. Wall street is doing well..bankers are doing well, so far, and your elected are doing well...on our tax dollars. And lets not froget that your elected also want to cut taxes for the wealthy and big business even more. I guess not enough of them got tax returns to go with their millions in profits.

Republicans on the housing crisis: "Let if Fail, Let it Fail, Let it Fail"

The trap you'd like to propose, "If everyone is responsible, then no one is responsible" is a recipe for more gridlock. It's obvious to everyone else that the right is COMMITTED to protecting the wealthy from any and all accountability, despite the fact that they have benefited beyond all fairness. Throwing the Tea Party out of Congress with as many of the Republican apologists as can be found . . . and then squeezing the surviving Democrats to respond to the people may be the best solution for now. The Republicans with common sense are under siege from Dick Armey's Tea Party, and they need to feel the heat from ordinary people. Right now they are simply looking to their "investors", the wealthy businessmen. That has a price, and we need to make them pay for it.

As usual most of the candidates are avoiding the real issues. The only one addressing them is Ron Paul and the press just ignores him. As it stands it's going to be another election with no good choice. We the people and citizens of the United States have lost again.

Bill, Ivan & Eric, I agree with all three of you. I'm an umemployed 58 yr. old bricklayer that made my living in the housing industry. I don't know what the solution is to this problem but I do know one thing, the republicans and fat cats are more to blame for this than anyone else. I do believe that we Must Vote every one of them out of office next year and I am sick and tired of this Congress that is bought and paid for by the 1% on Wall Street not acting on any of the Job Bills before them! All they are concerned with is making Obama a one term president!!! They must go....the sooner the better. Another thing is the 1% like the greedy corporations and the Koch brothers should be payiing their fair share of taxes to help this country out of this mess, but no, they scream and holler anytime anyone mentions that...aw hell, it's Clinton's fault! How stupid...these clowns must be voted out before this country can ever begin to heal! One more thing, let's leave Cain alone, I really want to see him win the GOP so Obama can make a fool out of him in the debates....go Cain
Obama/Biden 2012

Eric, the economy will be saddled with the load of these underwater mortgages until the free market is free to operate.Unless the government will write down everbody's mortgage to a decent loan-to-value ratio, the only way forward is to stop propping up a dead horse. The horse died four years ago. It stinks. Put it in the ground already. Move on.

What is the point of blowing on one end of a popped balloon? All real estate economists agree, good real estate is being buried by the bad paper in the market. Let it fail, pick up the pieces and move on. If it sounds harsh, it is actually less harsh than crushing tens of millions of innocent homeowner's market values. Why should some poor bastard who paid cash for a house get his value crushed by the market forever?

The reason the housing market is taking so long to correct is banks stalling in the hopes of more government handouts (aka assistants). Personally, I think not attempting to get involved is the right move for government.

I also think we should have let the investment banks fail (well...step in for an orderly wind-down, but still fail in the end), and I the government involvement in housing is just making the same mistake again. We now have zombie institutions and zombie homeowners. Until the zombies go away, the economy will continue to stall. Look at Japan over the last 2+ decades to see what happens with excessive government "help". Take a look at their debt to GDP ratio...

The reason the housing market is taking so long is that the banks don't want to spend any of the money they got from their greedy housing practices in the past. Plus they need that money for their bonuses.

What can the Republicans or anyone do? Hand out money to those underwater? To the banks? Romney is right; govt can't stop housing's downward spiral. Jobs should be the main focus. If you have a job, you're less likely to default. Less defaults, less competition from foreclosures, more home value.

What the GOP has concluded is that the GOP is useless !!

.

I actually have to agree with Romney on this one. The issue was that housing values vastly surpassed average income levels... which remained stagnant or fell for middle class people. So when the prices are so much higher than wages, when looking at ratios, it creates an unstable market.

One of two things need to happen: (1) Home prices continue to fall until they are more in line with average wages, thus increasing the demand to the point where it meets the current supply of homes. Or (2) average wages will need to increase to the point where they are in line with current home prices, once again bringing demand up to supply.

Either way, it is simple supply and demand. Currently there is an over-supply and available homes and little demand to buy (because of unemployment, wages, etc.) Until demand meets supply, home values will continue to drop. There is little the government can do to stop this.

Crazy: You might want to check your source again. It appears that a Mexican National was shot. Not any Americans. And he was shot either by a Mexican Fed or one of the Drug Cartel. Stop with the "Sensationalism"!

Once again, the republicans (especially those teabaggers) talk a big game, but do ABSOLUTELY nothing. They know there is a problem, but instead of addressing it, they sit back, whine and complain, and say "the market will fix the problem" when it's the "Market" that got us into it in the first place.

Why can't these candidates actually take a stand for once and show us what they have in mind, instead of "Nothing".

AG999 - yes, having jobs are a key component to resolving the housing crisis, but if you or Romney think that's all its going to take, you need a basic course in economics.

The housing market was set up to fail by Wall Street Bankers with the assistance of the Republican Party. Any comments by a Republican would be very risky for them because if they said the wrong thing about a problem they created it could potentially put some of them behind bars.

Let's face it over the last thirty years the GOP has morphed into a criminal organization and continues to get more evil by the minute. I check facts on political issues and without exageration I have not heard one Republican politician speak the truth in a VERY long time. Lying to the American people on ALL issues is now standard operating procedure for them.

Asking one of these candidates about the housing crisis, results in the same outcome as knocking on the front door of one of the millions of houses foreclosed on. No answer.

So Romney understands part of the problem, but has no solution except 'let them fail'. It doesn't matter if your house isn't worth the mortgage you took out, unless you bought it as an investment only, in which case you bet on the wrong horse. What really matters is the ability to renegotiate mortgage payments in the case of owner unemployment. Not a good investment for the bank? That's where the govt steps in, and makes those renegotiations connected to bailout money. Who to trust, the govt or a bank? And who does Romney represent, bankers or the people? He's the epitome of a fat cat.

"But five years into the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression, there’s been very little discussion from the presidential candidates on the real estate crisis that’s battering millions of American families."

Bunch of pus.y.

No one seems to ask the right question... how did we get here? The popular myth seems to be that the very poorest part of the working class, folks who basically live paycheck to paycheck, destroyed the world economy by buying homes they could not afford. On it's face, that is a ludicrous assumption, but it has become the accepted fact.

The reality is that home prices were driven up well ahead of inflation by speculators, misusing the mortgage system as a gambling tool. It was an open secret that (especially in the hot markets of Florida, Las Vegas and Phoenix) "investors" were buying and flipping homes without even closing on them. Faced with this double digit price rise, many folks came to believe that they would be priced out of the market forever, and took some risks. I doubt that any of them, however, bought a house knowing they would default or that they would have if they had not lost their jobs courtesy of the recession. Even then, the damage to the economy would have been mostly confined to the housing industry and to the banks that made risky mortgages. Last time I checked, Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns and Lehmann Brothers were not listed as mortgage bankers. The collapse of Wall Street was caused by these firms taking these so-called toxic mortgages, repackaging them into unrecognizable "investment vehicles" and peddling them (with the assistance of Moodys and S&P, the rating agencies) as valid investments. Rather than blaming the poor, who have taken most of the hit for the collapse of the economy, we should be looking to hold accountable the wizards of Wall Street and their political allies. These are not hard to find. They are the Republicans in Congress (and their presidential candidates) who are now peddling the snake oil that what we need is to remove all financial regulations and to reward these scoundrels with lower taxes. Sure, let's give them another shot at finishing us off.

AG999 - yes, having jobs are a key component to resolving the housing crisis, but if you or Romney think that's all its going to take, you need a basic course in economics.

So what's your answer then? It's easy to criticize; not so easy when someone hands you the reins.

There is nothing the government can propose to help the current housing bubble which has already popped. All than can be done is to prevent it from happening again.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of people who bought homes that were overpriced based on historical trends. The bubble was created when new mortgage rules were put into effect by the government which forced banks to make loans to individuals who previously would have been unable to qualify and with lower down-payments. This created a demand for housing that drove prices higher than they should. Reality has now caught up and the buyers have to deal with the consequences.

AG999: "If you have a job, you're less likely to default. Less defaults, less competition from foreclosures, more home value."

=========

..........Sounds great, unless those are the Perry type of jobs (read minimum wage) that he boasts he used to create employment in Texas. With that kind of job, you're still going to default. Could you give us the details of Romney's jobs creation plan, I must have missed it.

By the way, is the "999" in your handle a tribute to Cain? If it is, then those working class people will be paying more taxes and more likely to default, unless of course you're a hedge fund manager, in which case you're not working class and your taxes (a whopping 15%) will go down.

Yes, I agree jobs are an essential part of the solution to our economic problems (I am also a former GOP), but they must be good jobs and not the low wage kind offered by those taking advantage of desperate people, as is the case all too often. You have to prime the well to get something back, and American business had better realize that, as Henry Ford did. Unfortunately today, our Congress people are all talk and no action.

Wrong! RON PAUL talks about this all the time and how IN DETAIL to fix it. He gets ignored is because the media doesn't want him to educate the general public on our failed foreign policy. Don't believe me?

Think the people who support him are, as Rush says 'kooks and nuts'? Well ask the kooky, nutty military who overwhelmingly support Ron Paul about that. The media doesn't want to discuss that either. RON PAUL gets more money from active military than all other candidates COMBINED. As of October he had $37,000 in military contributions, compared to the $15,000 to all other candidates combined.

We need to quit spending money over seas and bring it back here (with our troops of course).

Could you give us the details of Romney's jobs creation plan, I must have missed it.

Didn't say he had one. Probably doesn't. My point was the GOP is silent on housing because there's nothing they can do about it. They should be talking about jobs instead.

By the way, is the "999" in your handle a tribute to Cain?

Uh, no. That never even occured to me. It doesn't mean anything. Perhaps I should change it to "666." ;)

Bill-Austin

Why would you expect Republicans to have a solution for the housing crisis? They have NO solutions for anything else....let the poor suffer. We need only worry that the "job creators" stay, well . . . wealthy. This is the America of the conservatives. Screw the 99%.

Bill, well said!

The GOP does not have nor does the party want to have - any solutions to the problems that the majority of Americans face.

The GOP and The Tea Party view the problem as:

How do their 2 parties lawfully and unlawfully - allow the 1% and Super Wealthy elites to continue to financially, politically and socially squeeze and demolish the 99%.

For these Fascists - it is perfectly fine for Americans who lost their homes due to fraudulent lending practices - to live stacked up with their relatives, to sleep in their cars and to sleep and die on the streets of this country.

These Fascists freedom snatchers will completely annihilate the middle class and the poor if one of their GOP candidates lands in the Oval Office.

Vote Democratic in 2012 - the lives of the 99% will literally depend on Obama being back in the White House in 2012.

Sad to say, it looks to me like corporations shipped millions of middle class jobs overseas, gamed the real estate market & government spent trillions on wars and other mistakes. Government and millions of us borrowed money we could never pay back; we lived like crazy hogs. Now the hollow shell of our nation lies failing and bankrupt...many areas look like a Third World country. Democrat or Republican, Indpendent or Libertarian, Occupyer or Tea Partier, surely we all feel grief for our dying towns, the failing bridges, the skies turned brown,...and the realization that our wounds may well be too deep to heal.

How right you are Celticone2! We can't listen to crazy uncle Ron he is a kook. He predicted this would happen. He knew forcing banks to give loans to people less likely to be able to pay them back or for amounts they shouldn't qualify for would burst the bubble. He voted against the government forcing the banks to do this but of course that doesn't matter at all.

Of course they skirt the issue...that's what they do...it isn't their house that's being foreclosed. They only do for themselves and theirs.

Wake up sheeple of America...you have a chance to take your lives back from the corporate elite and their bought and paid for politicians. When will you wake up?

don't forget: clinton left behind the last "balanced budget". no deficit! !

They skirt the issue just like the Democrats. But look who got us here and ask Barney Frank and Harry Reed how to get out. Since they got us in this mess they should come up with a way out that does not raise taxes.

No one expects to default, but even knowing the housing market was overheated, the poor were sold a bill of goods by those who had the starry eyed notion of "EVERYONE deserves homeownership". To say they are responsible is just plain stupid, but to lay it at the feet of the current Republicans is just as stupid.
Carter's policies, bolstered by Clinton, put pressure on lending institutions to consider things other than someone's simple ability to repay. To make sure that "everyone" could obtain home ownership. At one point, pressure was needed so that people of minority weren't ignored simply because of that. But that in many cases became the reason TO lend the money, regardless of ability to repay. Once the market realized money was there for the taking, because the government would ensure these people would have houses, values were inflated slowly but surely. And in an effort to keep selling that false bill of goods, companies and lenders kept lending to people they knew couldn't repay. And no, I don't hold those folks responsible; the banks use crappy jargon and complex paperwork to obfuscate what it is that they are doing. They were in many cases lied to, told they could afford something they never really could.
The same thing is going on with education. Generations of kids are told "College means you'll always have a job. You'll make good money. You'll have security". In the name of securing this for everyone, the government steps in and starts paying whatever it takes to get some of these people through. The schools realize this is happening, they start upping the rates. Suddenly, all of this money is flowing into the schools, tuition is priced out of reach of those who would have otherwise supported themselves, its now getting priced out of reach of the government to continue to offer for everyone and so everyone who "qualifies" for aid is getting less, and now the colleges use the excuse of falling enrollment to justify increasing rates.
Meanwhile, the hopes of people are raised and dashed in the same breath, as the promise of easy government money is too much for the greedy corporations to pass up. Think about that. All of this government support isn't going to the betterment of the people, the people are a flow-through mechanism so that the government passes taxpayer money back to the corporations. As painful as it is to say it, the best course of action IS to let the whole system fail. Crash and burn. Yes, some people will be hurt, but then its over with. Bandage the wounds and move on. Right now, we're dying the death of 1000 cuts, with just enough hope extended that it will be better while they set us up for the next bloodletting. Pull the life support, let the leeches die, rebuild a better system in its place once they're all gone.

Most of the people responding to this do not understand finance or economics but neither do our political electees of either party. You don’t understand what is happing to our nation all you want is more money from the government. Are you prepared for a dictatorship? It is only a short distance down the road you are traveling.

WOW! I'm an Independent but it sure seems like there's an awful lot of partisan bashing on here. What has the current administration done, except for the announcement a week ago, to assist the housing market? GOP doesn't have any answers? Guess what, the current administration doesn't either and hasn't for about three years now. And the value of homes has taken a dive again recently?

No mention of the Senate Housing Committees part in this mess by the libs. I voted for Obama last election and will not make the same mistake the next go around. With little to no good choice on the other side America is going to have to accept the best of two bad choices once again. Once again, us Independents will lose again since it will be either a spend like a drunk sailor (no offense to our men and women in uniform, I served in the military myself) candidate, or snug up to big business (although both parties are pretty good about doing that when it benefits them) candidate.

Judging by the comments on here the middle is a place most of you are unfamiliar with.

The "road block party" has NO answer to anything. Deregulate, cut taxes, and spend more on Defense? Unless you band of fools have real plans, help to get this country back on it's feet by standing with the President.

@calmbeforethestorm...

Sure you're an independent...all independents use the term "the libs"........hmmmmmmmm.........

Forget the housing market, you can not base an economy on the housing market especially where there is a stable or decreasing pouplation....it won't work.....there is not enough turnover. Thus the prime mortage disaster they there was no demand so the crooks created it by giving people money they could pay back to build houses for the "housing market"....disater waiting to happen and I predicted as such 10 years ago.

The economy needs a manufacturing base of turnoverable goods.....but oops Romney and his ilk have sent all that business to places where people will work for a dollar and hour. Until the US get it's manufacturing base back the economy will always be in trouble....So buy American (or in my case Australian) and demand an end to the "free trade" BS....if you can't make it you don't need it.

Of course the Repubs do not want to talk about this issue they are part of the problem not part of the cure, and the Unions have to take some of the blame for this as well....part of the problem not part of the cure.

How many homes does Romney own? Cain? Perry? Bachman? Gingrich? Paul? and the other guy...oh yea RIch Santorium? Let "them" fall indeed! Them who? The poor working schnoks and their family's who live in these underwater houses, or the Banks who hold the paper on these house, and won't renegotiate the inflated loans? I'm betting on letting the poor working schnoks and their familys fall, be crushed, driven out in the streets is Romney's plan while he puts a new million + addition onto one the "family vacation home" "LET"EM WATCH US EAT CAKE!"

Caligula, I guess my voting record would stand on it's own. Don't expect that you'd take anyones word for anything on this site but that's alright. Just trying to make a point that those of us in the middle are going to get screwed again. So speculate all you want and good luck to you. BTW the middle isn't bad you should try it sometime.

Here's the Romney estates:

Romney and his wife, Ann, have put their 9,500-square-foot Deer Valley, Utah ski lodge on the market for $5.25 million, and are also selling the suburban Boston home where they raised their five sons. The 6,400-square-foot
Colonial on 2.5 acres in Belmont is expected to fetch about $3 million.

Spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said the Romneys are "downsizing and simplifying."

The Romneys still own a $10 million home on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, N.H. and a $12 million beachfront compound in La Jolla, Calif.

@celticone2 Here is one problem with your post. Foreign aid makes up less than 1/2 of 1% of government spnding. It is NOT foreign policy that is the problem. It is DEFENSE spending and corporate welfare. When we spend more than double what the rest of the world combined spends on defense, there is a problem. When we are lied to about getting into war and then continue that war for a decade there is a problem. When our politicians continue to ramp up fear in order to continue that spending, (ie, Iran is going to hit us with a nuclear weapon), there is a problem. When we have 30 of the richest corporations in the world not only not paying taxes but getting BILLIONS of dollars back, there is a HUGE problem. That problem is people being duped by the right wing into believing that the tax breaks actually help small business and that the right wing CARES about it! They don't, the only reason the include small business and people making over $250,000 a year in these "anti-tax" sound bites is that there aren't that many of them. The tax breaks are for the G.E.'s and Exxon's of the world. Those are the guys calling the shots through their puppets in Congress. Ron Paul has some interesting ideas but he falls short on more things than is acceptable for someone looking to run our nation. $37,000 is great but it doesn't exactly show a huge base considering the number of military out there it's not even 1 penny per active military person. Granted, it is certainly more than the rest of them but it doesn't mean they are behind him.

At 50 years old, I remember history and how it effected me personally.

In the mid 80's, the economy took a sh!t. I was there, it was real. Who was President? Hmmmm, a Republican, Ronnie Reagan.

In the early 90's, the economy took another sh!t. Who was President? Yup, Bush Sr., another Republican.

Let's move on the the last time the economy took a sh!t. Can we remember that far back? Who was President? Funny how it's the same answer, Bush Jr., another Republican.

Coincidence? I'm not sure, but it sure is kinda suspicious if you ask me.

So tell me, why would I want to elect another Republican? And with these thoughts, I am partly at fault here, I voted for Reagan, both Bush's once, but finally started thinking about it, and couldn't (and don't understand how anybody could) vote for Bush Jr. a second time.

sorry my correcter is not working.....that should be could NOT pay back, not to mention the spelling.

I don't believe it's "your" home until you've paid it off. Just like the bank still owns my car while I'm making payments. I don't get the "Title" until the last payment goes in.

There's no logical reason for the GOP to avoid the issue, if that in fact is happening. The government juggernauts Freddie and Fannie are responsible for extending credit to people who couldn't afford it, and allowing access to such easy money, phenomena like "Flip that house" became commonplace and inflated the huge bubble.

Big government is the start and end of the "housing crisis." If not for government ineptitude and corruption, house prices would have been stable for the last 10 years instead of experiencing their meteoric rise and fall.

I moved out of my home and the state of California 25 months ago for a job that paid less than half what I used to make. I offered the bank a deed-in-lieu at that time, and they rejected it. My home has depreciated $166,000 since then.

Last week Bank of America sent me an Email telling me they have approved my deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. Then they sent me a contract to sign that was back dated to Christmas last year. The contract tells you to read it carefully, because it will impact your rights. Then it spells out a bunch of requirements that were not met until May of this year when the bank really took possession of the home.

If I sign the papers to get the deed-in-lieu I have worked so hard to get for two years, I will technically be in breech of contract because all of the requirements were not met on the bogus date they put on the contract. Then there is the issue of tax liability for last year.

I called the bank and asked if they made a mistake. They said HUD told them to date it that way because the approval they gave for my short sell would have expired by now. I don't know what that has to do with anything, but they were going to give me an answer last Thursday if there were tax implications. I still have not heard anything. No one answers the phone or returns my calls.

I'm not a lawyer, but something is real fishy here. Why can't they give me paperwork that reflects the reality of the situation, instead of inaccurate boiler plate with bogus close dates? They know I'm too poor to afford a lawyer.

Can someone who understands the law give me some advice?

Not entirely true. Ron Paul has spoken about the housing crisis for some time. Here is a video of Ron Paul with Herman Cain defending his ignorance on the problem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvDtAoICoaE&sns=fb

The reason you don't here from the other guys and the reason they aren't doing anything about it is because the lunatics in power caused the problem. Ron Paul is the only candidate offering a real solution that will make life better for you. You won't hear a real solution because the people that are put forth as candidates are in the pocket of special interest and corporate interest. The same corporate interest that helped cause the economic collapse and that received billions upon billions in your tax dollars after they did. And don't forget these banks had record profits after collapsing the economy and after getting bailed out and they still own all the property they took.

They don't talk about it because they don't care. Their financial backers are corporations which don't stand to lose their homes. They don't care about working class Americans which is why the Repubs in the Senate just proposed decreasing allowable itemized deductions (something the middle class home owner counts on) to pay for a tax decrease to 28% for the wealthiest people in the US. This story is currently running on the MSN home page.

The Obama administration's efforts to fix the housing crisis may have fallen well short of helping millions of distressed mortgage holders, but they have led to seven-figure paydays for some top executives at troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, the government regulator for Fannie and Freddie, approved $12.79 million in bonus pay after 10 executives from the two government-sponsored corporations last year met modest performance targets tied to modifying mortgages in jeopardy of foreclosure.

Fannie Mae needs 7.8 billion more taxpayer money, and Freddie Mac needs 6 billion more. Let's reward these idiots for their failures!

Here is my simple solution to the problem. REQUIRE ALL mortgage lending companies to adjust those homes which are either in forclosure or the folks who are in houses that are upside down in its value by doing the following via a law:

Have a real tax assesment done on these homes and adjust their loans to the new home value. If the homeovwner sells the house within 10 years of doing this loan modification then the Mortgage Company gets any and all profits from the sale for assuming the risk of refinancing folks. If the homeowner sells the house after 10 years then they get top keep any and all profits made from the sale of the home. To me both parties are taking equal risks by doing this.

What we really need to do is to kick out all of the self serving representatives now in D.C. and have a single leader take the country over for a set number of years. Yes, a King. But only for 5 to 10 years. After that the whole country must approve his continued stay in power or we restore our government after a great many new changes are made.1. No more life time pay for congress members with less than 30 years of service to the nation. 2. All members of congress would have to be fully supported by those they represent, ONLY. 3.Establish a tax system that will equally yoke everyone. And yes this means EVERYONE. Even the big money people like bankers and corporations. The King will own everything until the country is ready to be governed by people who are upright and honorable. We don't seam to be protected by men or women of such a moral makeup at this time. If I were the King, all persons of able body would be required to join the Armed Forces. All persons incarcerated for killing another, sex offenses against kids, drug dealing to kids or in drug free zones, or repeat rapists: I would have the law changed so that if you are found guilty of these crimes, you would be executed within 48 hours of conviction. No more costly appeals or long stays as a guest of the state or of the federal government. At any rate, HOW BAD DO you want things to change? You can't keep doing what we've always done and expect them to change. That would be insanity. In the BIBLE, even God said to kill certain types of criminals and to do so with expediency. Any thing less is cruel and unusual punishment and therefor ungodly. Let all of D.C. stick this in their mouth and see how it tastes.

Simple -- bankers today aren't your father's bankers. Today they're gamblers and investment risk-takers, playing with vast sums of money and don't give a damn about "the little guy". Some cocky manager thought he could get more out of it, after it had likely all ready been written off. Now your friend's credit is screwed and mortgage rates across the board will suffer.

They've already accounted for this loss against expected earnings so its already water under the bridge. Now they will write the actual loss off against their taxes.

We should do away with laws that allow the banks to "write it off" then.

And the folks that made the decision to pass on the $115K got their bonus and moved on to a new job. The new guy inherited the transaction and he will get a nice bonus for getting rid of the problem.

GREED has been the downfall of this country...that and the Republicans!!!

Mike you really show a lot of ignorance or lack of sincerity. Take your pick. The GOP is the punching bag, while Chris Dodd, Barney Frank and Clinton were the actual culprits. See Community Reinvestment Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Act

John: Anyone who doesn't sit in the banks pockets is the culprit. Nonsense, public legislation is necessary when corruption and greed take over.

It goes like this...While you are not paying your mortgage/property taxes the bank has time to assess the true value of your home. Now if they beleive that it will continue to hold some value through this economic downturn then it is in their best interest to let the home go all the way into foreclosure/OR even better tax foreclosure because then they send a representative of the bank to the sheriff sale and buy the property back and a disgusting bargain.

Building on the fact that they can write this debt off and that they have already been bailed out big time they now have the privilige of waiting out the economic downturn. When the time is ripe they will sell the home to some other sucker willing to pay 7 - 13 percent interest. (they will not hold interest rates low forever)

Also, they have the ability to pick and choose demographic and geologic areas of their choice. They can totally disrupt a housing market say in Ohio. Then while they are holding all of these properties in "pre-foreclosure" and no one is paying the property tax the governments of these locales end up in dire straights. This is how they 'justify" stripping bargaining rights. We just don't have the money...really ask Fannie, Freddie, BOA, or Bernanke for those greenbacks you A**clowns.

Accounting 101

B of A 2010 net profits 80 billion, write off bad debt for mortgage forclosures, get 400 million tax refund pay ZERO taxes

John - The CRA rap is hilarious. Yeah all the defaults in Vegas, FL, Scottsdale AZ are CRA communities. The sub prime was just the tip of the iceberg as poor always default first. However it quickly became a prime rate problem. The banks willingly lent money to anyone because they could package any sh1t mortgage and sell it. The demand was insatiable so they lent to anyone by their own doing. Not forced.

Here is your explanation Maurice.....Watch this video.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJmjf_gZOUs&feature=channel_video_title Its very profitable to the banks...Your President as well as all the Republicans and democrats don't care..... No Obama bank reform touched this... Only took the lobby money and said American suckers..... We need a man of moral.....We need a man who is educated in history... We need a man who loves his country even when his country is too dumb to love him... We need RON PAUL 2012

Maurice - do you think your friend would have stayed in the house if he was able buy the property as a short sale?

*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office

and receives no pay when they are out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All

funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security

system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system,

and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for

any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans

do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay

will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the

same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American

people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.

The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen

made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor,

not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours

should serve their term's), then go home and back to work.

Bachmann's plan = bring back $2 gas so its cheaper to live in your car. (kidding)

vermontguy
The GOP candidates understand that the free market solution ("let them eat cake..and lose their house") is not something that will get votes, so of course they are doing their best to avoid any widespread talk. And given that the housing bust started under bush its not easy for them to criticize. (yes, I know the dems contributed to it too, but its a complicated subject).

They would rather talk vaguely about jobs where it is safer to criticize obama on.

more politicians.

Bush was left holding the flaming bag of dog poop Clinton, Dodd and Frank left on his front porch.

And Bush just added more gasoline and passed it on to Obama who has actually been trying to put it out.

Please leave a flaming bag of 86 billion dollar surplus, full employment, booming economy and no wars on my door step.

and bush made it worse..as I posted below. lol. nice try john. maybe some googling would make you smarter. :)

so if it started under bush ,it was way before the tea party movement was even heard of.am i correct?

Clinton brought on subprime. Clinton signed the derivatives bill. Clinton failed to protect the country from terrorism........thus 9/11. The surplus of the late 1990's was related to the winning of the cold war, low oil, tech, and baby boomer demographics. No matter who was president the budget would be balanced. The government always takes in 21%. If Gore was president 9/11 and the financial crisis would have occured because all our trouble came out of the 1990's. usa1998.com

Things just got a hell of a lot worse since the Tea Party came along.

Rich, did things get better after OWS came along? Things will get better if I start attacking businesses and hope the whole financial system collapses. Then everyone will be poor and under water like me.

I know I'll get some hateful responses for this, but did any of the evil bankers FORCE these people to take a loan? Was this the best loan available? Could they really afford the homes they tried to get without it being on an interest only or discounted price for the first few years? My guess is the answer is no. I would love to own a house right now, but I know I can't afford one at the moment. I think most of America got swept in the idea that owning a home is a right when its actually a privilege. You have to earn most things in life, including a home.

I like to also note that bankers don't just have Republicans in their packets, Democrats are there too.

Dick-2100935

Not true, Clinton was to busy to get Osama bin laden with a bj from Monica even though Ollie North warned him and then he failed 3 times to take him out. Clinton himself admitted it at a Convention in NY.

Clinton then borrowed money to post a surplus, its called creative accounting. Since Congress has been in the hands of Democrats its been a down hill stroll. The republicans came out and tried to force Fannie and Freddie to regulate, but Barney (I know nothing Shultz) Franks, Boxer and a few others cried nothing is wrong with the program, we don't need any more regulations. You can look the Youtube up of the event or I cn post it. So who you going to blame with visual facts in front of you?

Considering I am an independent and don't care for the Reps or the Dems or Libs. Why is there more millionaire Dems in office then Reps?

Why did 20% of the waivers provided to companies for the HCB in the entire USA go to 1 California district? Which is Pelosi's district.

Apparently no one has an answer to the obvious hard questions and they all tend to shovel it underground.

Well Obama can't hide from Solyndra and a half billion dollar mistake as their is no Execuitive privilage given for this.

Sorry Obama is not a leader then again in my opinion none of them are. Especially the career politicians who have been in office and bought off long before Bush became president or Obama.

But Obama had a 10.1 trillion dollar debt when he arrived in office and when he is booted it will be 16.5 trillion a 63+% increase in just 4 years and there will still be no jobs created and that will represent more debt carried by either party combined in 30 plus years.

This problem didn't start with Bush and it won't end with Obama.

It will end when the people of this country say enough and get tired of paying a government that has promised more to the lobbyists then its a$$ can cover and when that happens both sides will be scurrying like rats from a sinking ship as there is no difference bewteen either party.

Its all about putting an argument up for the poulous to debate while at the same time screwing the nation.

Both sides are complicit and the American citizin is waking up to that fact.

George Papandreou & Silvio Berlusconi to resign, Who will resign in the USA for their failure? NONE!

The investors will make out like bandits...picking up homes at bargain prices, renting them out at impossibly high rents.

Kelly! The ability to but homes is not the problem. The problem was greed and banks making loans over and above what the property was worth. Dems were not the cause of this.

So Bush had to, in his words, "use the mighty muscle of the federal government" to meet his goal. He proposed affordable housing tax incentives. He insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac meet ambitious new goals for low-income lending.

Concerned that down payments were a barrier, Bush persuaded Congress to spend as much as $200 million a year to help first-time buyers with down payments and closing costs.

mike the vet
stay in your homes pay nobody make them drag you out WHAT other options do we have? Oh I guess we can vote and hope for some kind of relief RIGHT we are the 99% occupy everything.!!!

If everybody bails out everybody, who pays the bill if nobody has any money?

vermontguy
So Bush had to, in his words, "use the mighty muscle of the federal government" to meet his goal. He proposed affordable housing tax incentives. He insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac meet ambitious new goals for low-income lending.

Concerned that down payments were a barrier, Bush persuaded Congress to spend as much as $200 million a year to help first-time buyers with down payments and closing costs.

Are you sure? Did you cut out Clinton and paste in Bush?

yes, john, i'm sure. Bush and the repubs are partly to blame. You know its all there in the record, for anyone not too lazy to spend 15 seconds googling.

President Bush Signs American Dream Downpayment Act of 2003

Remarks by the President at Signing of the American Dream Downpayment Act
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Washington, D.C.

The reason that is so is because there is renewed confidence in our economy. Low interest rates help. They have made owning a home more affordable, for those who refinance and for those who buy a home for the first time. Rising home values have added more than $2.5 trillion to the assets of the American family since the start of 2001.

The rate of homeownership in America now stands a record high of 68.4 percent. Yet there is room for improvement. The rate of homeownership amongst minorities is below 50 percent. And that's not right, and this country needs to do something about it. We need to -- (applause.) We need to close the minority homeownership gap in America so more citizens have the satisfaction and mobility that comes from owning your own home, from owning a piece of the future of America.

Last year I set a goal to add 5.5 million new minority homeowners in America by the end of the decade. That is an attainable goal; that is an essential goal. And we're making progress toward that goal. In the past 18 months, more than 1 million minority families have become homeowners. (Applause.) And there's more that we can do to achieve the goal. The law I sign today will help us build on this progress in a very practical way.

Many people are able to afford a monthly mortgage payment, but are unable to make the down payment. So this legislation will authorize $200 million per year in down payment assistance to at least 40,000 low-income families. These funds will help American families achieve their goals, and at the same time, strengthen our communities.

"

Thanks Vermont, how refreshing to read something not parroted from Fox or Rush

VTguy..Thanks for the heads up. Bush's enabling the housing idiots doesn't change the fact Clinton, Carter, Dodd and Frank put the wheels in motion with CRA and other legistlative Acts. Politicians find it too easy to just say yes. We all are paying through the nose now.

you get bits and pieces and hints from the GOP candidates from some of them..but like afghanistan..they are either being vague or avoiding it whenever possible...because there is no good, obvious solution to the housing bust, nor afghanistan, so like all good politicians (of both parties), they stick to criticizing the other party, and pandering to their base.

Come on now, you are making pandering sound sleazy.

Pandering = the great american political tradition. Its like apple pie...kickbacks...pork...

Yeah Kellysview, if you happen to be the 1%. The rest of us can't afford the friggin' gas to get to the bank, much less any money to buy property! What the hell is wrong with you...I hope that was sarcasm otherwise, you're a smartarse.

Trust me...I'm NOT one of the one percent. We are lower middle class.

or............simply diversifying ones retirement funds and trying to get ahead for him or her self. If you don't plan and take some risk... a person will never get ahead. It sure beats sitting around and waiting for the feds to give a handout so they can remain in control of you.

Kellysview, OK, it's clear now that you weren't joking! You are just one more republican fat cat that don't give a damn about the rest of us working class people that have lost everything to this economy! Oh, the Feds haven't given me any handout, I've always worked hard for a living.

My wife and I both are employed and over the years sometimes each took a second job. We set goals 20 years ago and now seem to have to work longer and harder so that we might achieve them. We're fortunate to live in a conservative state that is doing well and we have saved over the years. If that's the definition of a republican... then YES I am one. I believe in taking responsibility for myself, working to achieve the American dream and I don't believe the government is there to "take care" of us.

Skip the evict step. Just do a paper deal and rent it to the owners. You'll have an instant renter, you'll get your loss behind and you dont have to worry about the place being empty for years. Eventually the bank can bundle them up and sell to landlord/investers. Banks are good at bundling (slight sarcasm there at the end)

It's like even if you're lucky enough to manage to cling to the middle class there's this undercurrent within our system that discourages upward mobility and anything that may assisst with that. I come from poverty and have yet to feel like there isn't a constant force trying to keep me back. Now being in the middle class I feel like we're getting nickle and dimed to death to give the wealthy another hundred dollar bill to light cigars with.

Our income ranks in the 85 percentile(about $150K) and jointly my husband and I paid more in taxes last year than my personal income actually brought in which was still about $40K. The message this under 35 y.o. has learned is that the decked is stacked against everyone trying to improve their postion in life. Why try when between student loans, heavy taxes on the middle class, declining job propects and wages, inflated housing and communting costs, you still end up as broke as the guys at the bottom? But what can I say, I guess I got caught in the middle class indentured servitude trap.

It was better being super poor. At least then you had good company and they can't take blood from a stone.

and what would you do to correct the housing market?????

Force the banks to eat the losses by restructuring the mortagages to make them affordable. Homeowner's have eaten the losses through job losses, declining home values and higher property taxes based on old inflated home values.

Folks should be able to bring in two appraisals, foot the refinancing costs and refinance their mortgages at whatever the going market appraisal is. Shady appraiser undervaluing homes? Nothing more than what bankers did for the better part of the last 15 years.... just homeowner's RECLAIMING some of their wealth.

what about those who bought houses when their income to debt ratio was beyond the comfort zone....but went ahead and bought a home anyway. Nobody forced these buyers to purchase anything..

“Let it run its course and hit the bottom. Allow investors to buy homes, put renters in them, fix the homes up and let it turn around and come back up.”

Typical GOPTP. Turn home owners into Rental Chattel.

Let the house of the 99% burn while protecting banks, corporations and Wall Street. (The GOPTP Base.)

Peter............ now you reminded me about the obamacarter stimulus package....

The opposite of "silence" isn't "more government programs". "silence" in this case is avoiding the issue, either entirely or by vague statements.

so, no, "silence" on this issue is NOT welcome. If the candidates firmly believe that the gov't should get out and stay out, let them broadcast that from the hills so that everyone knows their stance ("too bad for you, you blew it!") ..not hide behind silence or weasel words ("I will not fail you on this issue").

Remember the banks didn't hold anyone at gunpoint and make them take out the mortgages. Many buyers should have been very nervous about their income to debt ratio.... but weren't. Everybody, including the homebuyer in many cases can be blamed.

There were also no guns pointed at the banks! I worked for a lawyer processing foreclosures for chitibank, so please do not tell me that I don't understand the situation.

Kelly's a bankster fatcat. The squeezing and suffering of the middle class have probably been profitable for him. It's a good thing all you people are getting kicked out of your houses, get it?

No, no, and no. Letting "the housing market correct itself" is doublspeak for "let the banks take all our homes" and re-sell them at OUR loss. Bankers, investors, and Wall Street are responsible for this mess. Let THEM take the hit this time.

good one! No bank (except for freddie and fannie, two friends of the democrats) forced anyone to buy a home.

but you don't think some lenders were at all deceptive...or hard selling..or confusing? lol. yes, there were homeowners who should have known better..but anyone who has been through the process of buying a house knows how easy it would be to be sucked into doing something they shouldn't.

but you keep beating that "its all the greedy, stupid homebuyers fault" drum if you want to look like a partisan flack.

Lets face it..there are MANY culprits here, and anyone who doesn't recognize that is fooling themselves.

Look above about 5 posts....... I said blame can be found everywhere.

It is a buyer's market. Too bad more people don't have the means to buy right now.

Just curious, no sarcasm or meanness...how much of the repairs did you do yourself? I would love to buy a foreclosure "fixer-upper" but being significantly untalented in the home repair area I am concerned it would wind up being a money pit. I rather suspect that those who are able to successfully do as you did are only able to because they can do the repairs themselves for cost. Which would put me out of the running, but good on you for being a skilled carpenter! Hopefully I can find a market for my talents :-)

Home prices are still a bubble compared to historic norm. According to case shiller index, we are still 20% above long term averages. Typical bottom comes at 20% below average. But this is not your typical recession. This is a deflationary crash. This is Great Depression material. These averages themselves are based on a money supply that was inflated by borrowing for many decades. When the money supply deflates, existing prices and salaries cannot be sustained:

www.kondratieffwavecycle.com/housing-bubble-bust/

Whatever you do, do not get into debt. If you want to buy, buy cash down. Even if prices do not fall, in many cases, rent is cheaper if you consider mortgage interest, property taxes, condo fees, maintenance, lost interest/investment income...