Posted on 05/08/2012 10:05:22 AM PDT by edcoil
Bank of America has started sending letters to thousands of homeowners in the United States, offering to forgive a portion of the principal balance on their mortgages by an average of $150,000 each.
The reduction for qualifying homeowners could amount to monthly savings of up to 35 percent on mortgage payments, Bank of America said in a news release on Monday evening.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Guess my wife and I should stop making payments on the house we both work hard to pay for. Stupid us.
I’m still paying mine every month. I feel like a sucker.
Makes my blood boil!
This is it right here. Once anyone or any organization acquiesces and/or otherwise shows signs of weakness, the thugs become emboldened and never, ever stop.
You can't go soft on these kinds of people.
It’s good to write down the debt if it makes good business sense either tangible or intangible.
The banks should take this loss without taxpayer help. Insurer’s who have insured the mortgage should also be on the hook for the write downs.
IIRC forgiven debt is taxed as income.
The Domino principle is in effect. A rampant panic attack throughout the markets — if left on their own course would break the government. That would result in all sorts of changes to the U.S that would be very bad form of socialism.
Wow I have an underwater mortgage through BoA ... you mean to tell me if I had quit paying my mortgage around Thanksgiving I would have been rewarded by having a large part of my principle waived?
Yep. The IRS will regard that as income and tax accordingly.
While its a feel good moment for the homeowner, the homeowner will have exchanged 1 creditor for 2 creditors.
Sort of like having Godzilla knocking at the door being joined by Dracula. LOL
I didn’t, the bank did.
they’re ‘forgiving’ up to $150k ... which would reduce mortgage payments by 35% ??
wouldn’t that mean the mortgages are $450k???
wth?! they’re forgiving mortgages for people with mcmansions??
(i realize they are really just giving money from the taxpayer to those banks that helped them drive the real estate market into the dirt)
I bet lots of people feel the same!
I guess I’m a sucker too - have a mortgage from BofA, and had diligently saved enough to put 50% down. Plus, I always (always, always, always) pay on time. My property’s value is down 20%-30% from when I bought in 2008.
I don’t qualify for a principal reduction because I held up my end of the deal. However, BofA will helpfully refinance the loan at a lower rate - if I go through the same process that a non-customer and new-applicant would, including paying all application costs and closing fees. Such a deal!
Punishing responsibility and rewarding irresponsibility - the Obama way “forward”!
Well should we expect BoA stock to plummet?
After all they have just announced that millions of dollars of assets can be expected to disappear off of their books.
The opposite. They are already carrying these assets at zero.
i wonder if a gun owner would qualify.............they recently refused to do business with a company that introduced guns to their production line...
suggest we read the fine print...just sayen.
Bank of America = Bank of Obama.
Debt doesn’t go away unless it is paid off.
This is just shifting the debt around.
Eventually it will land on us hidden in the tax code somewhere.
And this is shocking, how? :)
“Yes, this is a better arrangement... More just.”
Not shocking, more like moral hazard.
It’s like making the punishment for hit and run small compared to drunk driving, or even lawsuits over accidents.
moral hazard.
I’m afraid I will.
Mr President?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.