[fightin bronco]

I saw the Administration talking how about bad it is to be under water (or on the verge) on a mortgage. For the majority of people, this is not any big deal. I am probably 25% below my mortgage, however, I still make my payments, that hasn’t changed. As long as people don’t have to move, shouldn’t they just continue to make payments. It’s funny how no one in the press asked why homeowners having their home values fall (when they don’t have to sell), is such a crisis.

[originalbuckeye]

Because everything untoward since November 4th has been a CRISIS! Haven't you been listening?

[livius]

Somebody on another thread pointed out that 90% of mortgage holders do pay their mortgages and that the fact that 10% do not is hardly the stuff of crisis. But if you listened to Bambi and Friends, you’d think the statistics were exactly the reverse.

This is being manipulated.

[Belasarius]

What I’m gathering is if you lost your equity then you won’t be selling your house and trading up. If you are 25% down you won’t be doing that for years and years probably if ever. Since so much of our economy seems to be based on churning the real estate market having people sit on a house isn’t going to put any money in anybodies pockets.

[Dianna]

As long as people don’t have to move, shouldn’t they just continue to make payments.

I would say that there are probably some people who expected to sell out and retire to a cheaper home. Now they can't sell, and are stuck continuing the payments on a fixed income when they never expected to.

There are probably also some people who have lost jobs specifically because of the economy or have had a catastrophic illness and can't get out from under a payment they can no longer afford because the house won't sell.

I feel for people in these situations. They've been screwed. If they were the only ones we were going to help, I could agree with that. But this is a tiny percentage of the problem, and $8000 isn't going to help them much anyway.

[dandiegirl]

I’d like to know what O pays for his Chicago “mansion”. I bet he doesn’t pay a dime. Someone has taken care of that for him.

[cc2k]

fightin bronco wrote:

---

As long as people don’t have to move, shouldn’t they just continue to make payments. It’s funny how no one in the press asked why homeowners having their home values fall (when they don’t have to sell), is such a crisis.

---

Well, one problem is that it hurts the economy. A lot of our "economic activity" for the last few years came from people refinancing and "pulling cash out" of their homes to pay for cars, big screen TV's, cruises, or whatever they wanted.

Now, when they can't do that, demand for goods and services is down because they don't have the money to buy stuff.

[an amused spectator]

It’s funny how no one in the press asked why homeowners having their home values fall (when they don’t have to sell), is such a crisis.

No, it's not - the press was told not to ask that question in the FAX from the White House. ;-)