At lunch today I was listening to several people talk about California’s new foreclosure prevention act. You should have heard the people talk about how unfair this new law was! I heard words like moochers, freeloaders, bozos, crooks and the list goes on.
Why is it that every time the topic of helping homeowners comes up there is someone insinuating that the homeowners are getting something for free or they talk about how unfair it is that the homeowner is getting some sort of help.
Facing the loss of one’s home (foreclosure) has a debilitating affect on a great number of people. Thinking that they have 3 months free rent is absurd.
There is nothing “free” about facing the reality that you have no where to go (bad credit often means no rental available).
There is nothing “free” about losing a job or having your hours cut.
There is nothing “free” about closing a business you worked years to build up.
There is nothing “free” about the diminishing balance in your 401K/retirement fund.
Sure, the homeowner needs to take a share of the blame, after all they made a decision to purchase or refinance a home. But what about the banks? Aren’t they the ones who really created this mess by instituting loan products that made it too easy for people to participate? They are the ones who created a loan program that made it possible for anyone to get a loan with no financial verification which led to this financial debacle!
Was it is okay for them to securitize our loans (both credit cards and mortgages), rate them as “Triple A” then sell & resell them to the highest bidder, knowing that these type loans were destined to fail from the beginning? Shouldn’t that be considered “FRAUD”?
Why do they deserve a “pass” from our wrath? Surely everyone understands that if they had not let their greed overwhelm their logic we wouldn’t be in the economic predicament we find ourselves in today.
I say Congrats to California for taking a stand on the side of the homeowner! It may not be the cure all for this problem, but it makes the banks as least “try” to work through this problem before closing their door on a homeowner in distress.
