Hillary speaks out on foreclosure... she is being remarkably perceptive here!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

“Mortgage lenders didn’t have balance sheets big enough to write millions of loans on their own,” she said. “Wall Street originated and packaged the loans that common sense warned would end in foreclosure. Some people might say Wall Street only helped distribute risk. I say, Wall Street shifted risk away from the people who knew what was going on and onto the people who didn’t.”

Clinton repeated her call for a voluntary agreement that would call for a moratorium of at least 90 days on foreclosures of subprime, owner-occupied homes; a freeze on the monthly rate on subprime adjustable rate mortgages, with the freeze lasting at least five years or until the mortgages have been converted into affordable, fixed-rate loans; and an agreement by the industry to provide status reports on the number of mortgages it is modifying.

“If we cannot reach a voluntary agreement [with Wall Street], I will consider legislation to address the problem,” she says...

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7208.html

My Comment: The text in bold is at the heart of all this, and she is 100% correct!

[Dan J 277]

Right. Alot of things that happened in the mortgage market shouldn't have happened. But that said, I'm not sure the government should really step in. I think if the market takes the full impact of its mistakes, its less likely to let the mistakes happen again in the future. If the government steps in, it may create a dangerous precedent, that the market can always mess itself up, and government will clean up the mess. And it will also put the impact of the mess on tax payers, instead of those who profited enormously from the mess.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

goooooooo Hillary!

[JohnK 0]

Great. So now all the losers who couldn't do that math and wound up with 1% or 2% rates that will jump in a few years get to KEEP the 1% or 2% rates for 5 years! Wow, what a wonderful way to reward stupidity!

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Wow, what a wonderful way to reward stupidity!

Are you referring to the stupidity of the lenders and their financiers to hand out mortgages that no person in their right mind could have ever had a reasonable expectation of being repaid? It does take two to tango, doesn't it?

ETA: I ain't no fan of HRC but she hit the nail right on the head here.

Edited December 6, 2007 by Mr. Big Dog

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Wow, what a wonderful way to reward stupidity!

Are you referring to the stupidity of the lenders and their financiers to hand out mortgages that no person in their right mind could have ever had a reasonable expectation of being repaid? It does take two to tango, doesn't it?

ETA: I ain't no fan of HRC but she hit the nail right on the head here.

Indeed, she did.

[Marc and Olga 0]

A lot of the problem was in No Doc loans and the ARMs with minimum payments BELOW the amount of interest.

None of which I want or am going with....we are getting a 30 year fixed!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

A lot of the problem was in No Doc loans and the ARMs with minimum payments BELOW the amount of interest.

None of which I want or am going with....we are getting a 30 year fixed!

Good for you

I bought with a 5 year ARM back in 03. In hindsight, a mistake. I've refi'd since so all is good.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Looks like the Bush Administration is in agreement with Hillary's proposal...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has hammered out an agreement to freeze interest rates for certain subprime mortgages for five years to combat a soaring tide of foreclosures, congressional aides said Wednesday.

The aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not yet been released, said the five-year moratorium represented a compromise between desires by banking regulators for a longer time frame of up to seven years and mortgage industry arguments that the freeze should last only one or two years.

http://www.azcentral.com/realestate/articl...eze1205-ON.html

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Looks like the Bush Administration is in agreement with Hillary's proposal...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has hammered out an agreement to freeze interest rates for certain subprime mortgages for five years to combat a soaring tide of foreclosures, congressional aides said Wednesday.

The aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not yet been released, said the five-year moratorium represented a compromise between desires by banking regulators for a longer time frame of up to seven years and mortgage industry arguments that the freeze should last only one or two years.

http://www.azcentral.com/realestate/articl...eze1205-ON.html

This ####### here is bipartisan, baby.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Looks like the Bush Administration is in agreement with Hillary's proposal...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has hammered out an agreement to freeze interest rates for certain subprime mortgages for five years to combat a soaring tide of foreclosures, congressional aides said Wednesday.

The aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not yet been released, said the five-year moratorium represented a compromise between desires by banking regulators for a longer time frame of up to seven years and mortgage industry arguments that the freeze should last only one or two years.

http://www.azcentral.com/realestate/articl...eze1205-ON.html

This ####### here is bipartisan, baby.

The truth is that if nothing is done to stop the wave, everyone loses.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Looks like the Bush Administration is in agreement with Hillary's proposal...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has hammered out an agreement to freeze interest rates for certain subprime mortgages for five years to combat a soaring tide of foreclosures, congressional aides said Wednesday.

The aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not yet been released, said the five-year moratorium represented a compromise between desires by banking regulators for a longer time frame of up to seven years and mortgage industry arguments that the freeze should last only one or two years.

http://www.azcentral.com/realestate/articl...eze1205-ON.html

This ####### here is bipartisan, baby.

The truth is that if nothing is done to stop the wave, everyone loses.

Agreed. There's a lot of people whining about moral hazard and while I understand their objections, it's all very academic IMO. In the real world, nothing good can come from massive amounts of foreclosures in a short period of time.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

In the real world, nothing good can come from massive amounts of foreclosures in a short period of time.

Exactly, entire neighborhoods will go to hell if that happens.

[GeordieWife 1]

Right. Alot of things that happened in the mortgage market shouldn't have happened. But that said, I'm not sure the government should really step in. I think if the market takes the full impact of its mistakes, its less likely to let the mistakes happen again in the future. If the government steps in, it may create a dangerous precedent, that the market can always mess itself up, and government will clean up the mess. And it will also put the impact of the mess on tax payers, instead of those who profited enormously from the mess.

You make a very good point here...but i'm not convinced that those who profited would be the only ones cleaning up the mess as well. I think eventually gov't would be called in anyway because of the HUGE ripple affect real estate has on the U.S. (henceforth worldwide) economy. Freezing the interest may be the most conservative 'bail out' in the long run for everyone. It probably will save much more financial hardship on this country's economy than it will eventually cost. As for setting a precedent...it may for some things. But in SOME cases a gov't bail out is necessary to SAVE us from sure depression in the future. Social security and medicare are examples...not perfect systems, but served their purpose in the semi short term. Not to say that 'saves' and 'programs' need to be tweaked now and then, but sometime government intervention is just what we need to survive. For conservatives this seems dangerous, but sometimes, we really need a government to govern.

[GeordieWife 1]

Great. So now all the losers who couldn't do that math and wound up with 1% or 2% rates that will jump in a few years get to KEEP the 1% or 2% rates for 5 years! Wow, what a wonderful way to reward stupidity!

I agree with you here too...but like I said before, if we don't do something like this, we'll ALL pay dearly later. Better to reward stupidity than to financially rape the masses IMO. Maybe the lenders can do something like tack the rest of the interest to the end of the loan to repay it like a deferrment or something.