It seems like everyone is caught up in the moment and no longer looking at the big picture, a bunch of chickens running around clucking the sky is falling. Numbers are bigger because more people are involved. Jan, hold on to your house, who knows what 5 years will bring and you have to live somewhere, maybe turn off your cable or limit or turn off your cell phone, prioritize and cut out the fat, do you really need the $600 a month car payment, $5 lattes and $10 packs of cigarettes? The sense of entitlement is incredible. A large percentage of Americans have been living on borrowed time and money and now the call has been made, either you have the cards you’ve been playing or you’ve been bluffing and those who bluffed know the house always wins. Take a deep breathe, take a look around and be thankful for what you have left, there’s billions of people in the world far worse off than you!!!

The house values in California were inflated anyway. A house that fell in value from around $500,000 to $355,000 should be expected. I’m not happy with the people that get loans for houses they can’t even afford. That’s why there’s foreclosures. Stop living beyond your means.

I Can’t believe the people who blame Real Estate Agents for this! I spend over 1/2 the money I make back on expenses for the business and the lookie loo buyers. It is not our fault you took a bad loan you could not pay for. I send my buyers to the bank to qualify them for a mortgage they can afford, I don’t have anything to do with that it is the buyer/bank decision. Blame it on the “INVESTORS” like Stephan who says we “SUCKERED” him into buying all those over-priced homes and drove the market up. Blame it on the home-flippers who paid 300k for a dump and put in only 50-75k and all of the sudden it appraises for 500k?????????? We List at current market value which is determined by prior sales that the appraisers determined value of and the banks loan on that current market value… WAKE UP… This is all fabricated to put us against each other.

I need a bail-out!

The bankers, brokers, and realestate agents made deals and made a great deal of money. They suckered people with lower incomes into interest only loans and told them they could refinance to better rates later, also the people were told the interest rates on those loans will only move up slowly, the Fed screwed everyone by raising rates by 8 points, bringing the housing market to a halt and forcing people out of their houses. This bailout is for the rich, the government needs to force the banks to rework these home loans to keep people in their houses. The bailout works for the banks and will keep the regular people on the hook for these huge mortgage payments while allowing the banks to recieve money (your taxpayer dollars)from the government as well as the person on the hook for the loan. Where is my relief? I had good credit and can’t get a loan, upside down on the house, I owe more than the house than it is worth, I have investment properties that have lost over $100,000 dollars in value, I cannot sell the houses for what I paid for them, I cannot rent for what the mortgages are on the property. If I short sell I will get a 1099 to pay the taxes on $100,000.00 loss that is passed to me by the bank as a profit. It is a no win sitution, I guess I will see my creditors in bankrupcy court. Think I can get any of that $700 billion? I need a bailout!

The current forclousure crisis is something that has loomed over the horizon for many years. This did not start with unetical loans or predatory lending. This started with people putting themselves in finanical bind my mismanging their assets and money. Those poeple were so desperate to maintain their lifestyles that they were willing to do anything to stave off the credit woes or tried to over sell their homes to offset the debt. At the same time many families including myself were trying to buy a home for the first time. As far back as 2001 many homes we liked we could not afford because the bids were much higher than the listing price. My wife and I were patient enough to find a home we liked and could afford well within our means. In the next two years houses in our neighborhood were being sold for $30,000 - $50,000 more then they were worth and the only way these families were able to obtain a loan was with an adjustable rate or a sub-prime mortgage. Also my wife and I not only invested in our 401Ks respectivly but we also invested privatley to build our nest egg for the future. Now due to this crisis we our now penalized twice. By spending those millions to bailout my fiscial responsible saving have now been devalued but by living in New York State which dependes on wall street profits for tax revenue puts the state’s budget in jeopardy. I feel there are many citizens like us who chose to be responsible but in the end will pay the most for this manufactured crisis. It a good thing that we did not approve the Bush social security plan or we would be in a big hole that we could never get out.

I just think it is ironic that the bailout money sum is $700 Billion and the total cost of the War in Iraq is approaching $600 Billion. I have been foreclosed, repossessed and am just starting to get back on my feet. But guess what, it’s a lot harder for me to seek forgiveness for my real estate endeavors since the wonderful tightening of bankruptcy laws in 2005. Bottom line is we have made bad decisions as a people both personally and whom we have chosen to lead us whom has also made bad decisions, clearly. I seem to be becoming an expert now in Robbing Peter to pay Paul, and it just seems to me that it all adds up….. Peter eventually gets robbed, if you know what I mean.

One thing I would like to get a better understanding of is this:

Most, if not all, of the low down and zero down mortgages would have required PMI (private mortgage insurance) so what is the purpose of those paying into PMI if the PMI’s will not cover the defaulting home owner?

Can someone explain this to me? I do not want my taxdollars wasted on those that made bad financial decisions.

Just take a quick look at WaMu. Here in CA they went out of their way to encourage illegals to come to their bank and get loans including home loans. Now they reap what they have sewn. I hope the execs of WaMu go to jail.

It seems to me that our elected representatives, which typically are in an income bracket far above the typical citizen, have lost touch with reality.

The idea that the US Government is now considering ‘bailing out’ corporations who failed to act responsibly is un-imaginable. A free market economy is only as good as it’s oversight and regulations. Instead of trying to throw cash at the problem, the government should strongly evaluate implementing strict controls over this industry.

In short, I don’t see the US Government running to bail out individuals with bad debt, why should corporations be any different? Kill a finance firm, save an economy…

Definitely the homeowners need help from being foreclosed. My understanding is that this bailout will help the homeowner and not just the Banks? Could you clarify via an article exactly where does the public will be if bailout is approved as is? I feel very strongly that the citizenship of this country needs help and should get it.

Thank you,
Raul S.

This is a wake-up call. Perhaps we should look at all this as an opportunity to get our priorities right. Stop fighting expensive unwinable wars. Stop paying huge amounts of money to the wrong people. Stop worshiping money, celebrity, fame, bankers, property. It is an illusion to think anyone is in control. Keep smiling and do your best.