Foreclosure Prevention Questions, Two Year’s Too Late
Really, what took these guys so long to start asking some pointed questions?
That’s my reaction to the news that some in Congress are starting to get ornery about the absurdly slow pace of the nation’s foreclosure rescue programs.
Members of the Senate Banking Committee took aim last week at the Obama Administration, angered over the painfully slow progress of the president’s much touted, $50 billion foreclosure prevention drive.
The money, as you may recall, goes to lenders in various incentives to prod them into modifying mortgages and prevent yet more foreclosures.
But after months of efforts, just 160,000 homeowners have had their mortgages modified – hardly enough to start putting a dent into the nation’s foreclosure rate, which continues to skyrocket.
“Pathetic’’ was the word used by Sen. Christopher Dodd, (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, to describe the lack of results in the government’s battle to stem the rising tide of foreclosures.
Too bad lawmakers weren’t asking the tough questions two years ago, back when the federal government and various states, including Massachusetts, starting launching various foreclosure rescue programs. (The Bay State’s $250 million “Homesaver” program, for example, has refinanced just 40 troubled mortgages, totaling $9 million, in two years.)
Back then there was a real chance of at least saving a significant percentage of the millions of homeowners who signed onto crazy subprime loans during the boom.
At this point, many of those homeowners have already lost everything.
The economy, not bad loans, is fast becoming the primary driver now of the seemingly never ending foreclosure crisis.
And what’s even more pathetic is that Congress is just now waking up to this debacle.
Source: Boston Globe
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment