Comments on: Why Rate Freezes Won’t Solve Foreclosure Problem

By: clead debt

clead debt — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:16:40 +0000

Not much 401k left these days.

By: Ray Verhaalen

Ray Verhaalen — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:24:16 +0000

An idea for saving laid-off workers’ homes.

Many people who are being laid-off today have 401k money. Allow the laid-off worker a hardship withdrawal of his/her 401k money without penality to pay off their mortgage. If the tax liability of the withdrawn amount could be spread over 10 years, I am sure this would also help many.

Using 401k money to pay off a house IS like putting money towards retirement. It is a good, sound investment, and one that pays dividends in many ways. As for the ‘lost’ 401k money, most will find another job. Current rules allow older people to put away about 21,000.00 per year into a 401k. Younger workers will have more time to make up the ‘loss’ in their 401k. All will be better able to pay into another 401k, given they no longer have a mortgage to pay.

By: ForeclosureFish

ForeclosureFish — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:44:00 +0000

This is exactly, exactly right!

It doesn't really matter what your rate is, if your income drops in half or is eliminated completely. And the majority of foreclosures that I come across is due to these top three reasons, with very few ever claiming that a higher payment is the direct cause of foreclosure.

If anything, a rate increase will contribute to the homeowners falling behind faster if their income decreases due to job loss, medical expenses, divorce, death, etc. But few foreclosure victims are that blindsided with a rate increase which directly leads to foreclosure.

Freezing rates and demonizing subprime lenders makes for a good press release, but it won't help actual homeowners.

By: phil

phil — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:42:00 +0000

You capture part of the problem where 58% of foreclosures are tied to income events. Remember Texas in 1984? or Massachusetts in 1988? When people get loans with 0%,3%,5% down and the value of the property drops 15% it becomes very easy to leave the keys in the front door. (witness Houston 1984).
Why nake payments to negative equity when you’ve lied about your income?

By: Chad Brand

Chad Brand — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:37:00 +0000

I would suspect there is a wide discrepancy between unemployment within the pool of people with subprime mortgages, versus those in Alt-A or prime mortgages. Also, this data is from July, and rate resets accelerated starting in September and October, so the number is likely higher now than it was. But the overall point remains, rate resets are not the main factor in foreclosures.