Merkley Unveils Plan to Help Get Economy Back on Track:
Boost the Housing Market and Stem the Tide of Foreclosures
Meets with Portland Area Homeowners Who Are Struggling to
Keep their Homes
Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today visited the North Portland home of a family who is struggling to keep their home and unveiled his plan to address the ongoing foreclosure crisis and boost the nation’s troubled housing market. A range of economists have concluded that repairing the housing market is critical to adding jobs and accelerating the slow recovery.
“We’re not going to see a true economic recovery until we do something about the broken housing market,” said Merkley. “I met with Portland homeowners today who dealt with months of confusing instructions to get a mortgage modification, only to be told 10 months later they didn’t qualify and their home was facing foreclosure. My plan will put homeowners first and foreclosures last.”
“I hope, as do all Americans, that the economy will improve; now more than ever the average American needs to know they are going to be protected when circumstances spiral out of their control,” said Connie Umphress, a local homeowner who is struggling to keep her home. “This legislation will do both, help first time buyers with incentive to invest in their community and help homeowners with systems that they can trust for their financial security.”
Merkley met with Portland homeowners today who have painfully struggled through the confusing mortgage modification process for over a year and are still waiting for a permanent loan modification.
Over 300,000 foreclosures have been filed against American families each month for the past 20 months. In the past year, nearly 28,000 Oregon families have been served with foreclosure filings.
As the depressed housing market continues to hinder the nation’s economic recovery, Senator Merkley is proposing a six point plan to boost the housing market and stem the tide of foreclosures. Merkley’s proposal would do the following:
- Bolster the market by providing a permanent tax credit for first-time homebuyers;
- Assist families facing foreclosure through a national “short refinance” program that would enable such homeowners to refinance their mortgages based on current interest rates and home values;
- Stop the “dual track” that continues foreclosures while loan modifications are evaluated until it is determined that the borrower is not eligible or does not qualify for a loan modification;
- Provide homeowners with a single point of access when they seek a loan modification to improve accountability and ensure greater clarity during the process;
- Establish a third-party review prior to foreclosure and fully enforce existing law; and
· Implement the “lifeline” bankruptcy option by providing bankruptcy judges with the power to modify the terms of home loans just as they can with vacation homes and yachts.
http://merkley.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=B46BF5B9-64E4-4A53-9BDD-9911E0D93A2E
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4closureFraud.org
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Paving the Way to a Healthy Housing Market
I agreed with the plan and many ideas are excellent, however, Mr. Merkley overlooked one very important thing. Many homeowners do not understand the programs’ guidelines, the process, the paper work involve on the preparation, pre-qualification, and submission of the loan modification packet for the lender or servicer. This is where the professional license Realtors and Brokers can help under the regulation and already existing laws in place from the DRE. Also, it is time to put these people back to work and help the economy.
I mention this to assure compliance, to expedite the process and help those people for one reason or another, could be time, language barrier, knowledge, program guidelines, financial statements, lenders’ requirements, follow up, negotiations, etc, etc, etc.
I know this because I help a lot of people who come to me asking for help. Then they realized that they had told the lender or servicer on the phone the wrong information, the pre-qualifier simply tells them at the end of the conversation, they simply don’t qualify, period. We need to put aside all the brain wash propaganda that the loan modification should be free, and that the lender or servicer is going to help you.
We already experienced the bunch of boloney that is. Look at HUD and NACA what they had done for the people. The so called non-profit organizations that pay millions of dollars to its employees to help the people. Many people come back telling me they did nothing but submit the papers to the lender or servicers. Millions of submissions got denied for whatever reasons the banks want, if any.
They never explain the program guidelines, requirements, and qualifications. Everything is done in faith and trust. If you can trust the banksters, might as well put your head in the mouth of the lion, and see what happens next. This plan is better than anything we have now, or we will ever have with Obama.
There is one more thing Mr. Merkley forgot to mention and that is, in Judicial or Non-Judicial foreclosure, the lender or servicer foreclosing on any homeowner, must demonstrate transparency and due process. We need to go back to the basic rule of law and property law in this country. We need to stop once and for all the Fraudsters and the Fraudgate that we have in place right now, from the banks to the Attorneys representing the banks and servicers, to the Judges in the courts. The law is written over 500 years ago and supposed to be equal for everyone, not exception. Take a look at the example from our Honorable Judge Schack from New York. If every Judge in America follows the law and do his/her job without being bias or corrupted by the system, by the corporations, and the government, we would be in a better position to date. Since when Judges have immunity and can brake the law? Since when any Judge think they can do whatever they want in the courts? There should be an undercover officer of law in every court witnessing and recording every case handled by a Judge, not that we don’t trust them, only to make sure they know what they are doing and follow the law. A judge is also human and can make mistakes, but when is over done by ego, arrogance, or power trip, those Judges should be held in contempt, sanction with a fine, and put in jail like any body who brakes the law in the court.
Mr. Merkley if you are reading the comments in this blog, please add this ideas to your plan. Then, your next job should be to present all these ideas to all the Senators in this country and for once and for all make the changes that we all need and deserve just by being in a country that should be called America with Pride and Glory the land of the Free and the home of the Brave. What a wonderful World would be if America is the one that we always have and hope to know. God Bless You! Mr. Merkley and If you are ever in the Bay Area California, please stop by for a cup of coffee and a conversation that will change you to a very caring human being. Thanks for reading my comments.
A whole bunch of wasted time and effort as usual. Until the FRAUD is recognized, and the fact that millions of titles are clouded to the heavens, this ship is hopelessly stuck in the mud.
ehh other than “eliminate dual track” there’s really nothing here that stops the fraud, so how is that going to solve anything? in fact a lot of what he’s suggesting has already been in failed homeowner plans. he doesn’t even mention the 500 lb elephant, zombified housing prices!
Looks to me like a plan. This is the way Obama should be leading the country. I predict the Republicans will fight to stop this. Why? Because they want Newt to be the next president and they want Republicans to have the so-called solution to the economy and the foreclosure mess. But were are these Republicans right now? They are as silent as the tomb. They do not want to help poor and unemployed Americans. All they want is to gripe about the Obama health care plan. Then all they want is to give the heart and soul of America over to big banks. America has been securitized by Wall Street bankers and the whole nation is up for sale to any investor(s). I beleive this Senator has a heart and soul for Americans. We will now wait and see who will be the enemies of his plan. We should remember in 2012 the party for his plan and the party against his plan. Thanks Mr. Senator, you are a great American.
I’m sure by reading this that Mr. Merkley has no real idea about what is going on with foreclosures. He still thinks it’s a homwowner problem. Maybe some Oregorians can help inform him! Maybe somebody should inform Mr. Merkley about making sure the correct party is able to modify. Still lots of needed information to WAKE UP AMERICA!