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Why Can't The Goverment Roll Back Property Owner's Mortgages in Salem, Oregon?

By
Real Estate Agent with John L Scott

Why can't our government roll back the mortgages for the homeowners who are upside down in their loans?  Could it stop the  people from losing their houses, in Salem, Oregon? 

How does  rolling back the mortgage work?  You owe $319,000 and your property right now is worth $229,000. The bank rolls your mortgage back to $229,000. Your payment was $1,811.25 now it's $1,300.24 at 5.5 interest rate.   The homeowner would save $500.00 a month.  The bank would be getting a regular payment with interest.  0% of nothing is nothing.  5.5% of something is something.  Will this stop all short sales?  No, it won't but maybe it would slow them down.

 

The price of houses went up so quickly and now we have the reverse of up to down.  Recently I checked a site that I use on a frequent basis and noticed that the foreclosures are growing in triple numbers.  Last year the foreclosures were approximately 2,000 now they are up to 6,634 in the Willamette Valley area in Oregon. It doesn't seem to be slowing anytime soon.  In Marion County Oregon the numbers are 454, Polk county 121 and Linn county 180.  I've seen a large jump and we as citizens of the Willamette, Valley area need to become proactive.

Watching the numbers of foreclosures I feel compelled to start a campaign to do something to help the people who are drowning in their mortgages.   Watching the news isn't going to solve this issue of helping people stay in their homes. 

Knowing  at times this issue is very traumatic for people who want to blame others.  "Well if that neighbor would have just paid his bills."  "They are robbing our banks by not paying their mortgages"  "They borrowed the money now they need to pay it back."  These comments and more don't solve the problem they just cause more of what we don't need  in Salem, Oregon.

The idea of rolling back the mortgages for all people seems to be something that we should think about.  Yes, it will cause loss for someone such as the investor who is behind the scene, watching the banks as they roll in the dough  from their profit money machines.  These investors also made a lot of money during the past 5 years as the bubble of the housing market made the investors a lot of extra cash. 

How will this help the man who has kept his job and paid his mortgage?  His mortgage will be rolled back right along with the person who is behind in their mortgage.  The decision of who will decide how much the houses are worth will be up to the appraisers, mortgage brokers and the banks.  It should stop the bleeding and keep our neighborhoods together. 

Instead of a short sale,  loan modifications or interest dropping programs we could roll back the mortgages to where the true values of everyones mortgage should be at this time in our country.  People who live in Salem, Oregon could benefit from saving their homes.  This is a proactive solution to stop the falling market as Salem, Oregon has seen a 1% drop per month.  With the large numbers of upcoming short sales and foreclosures this percentage could accelerate to a bigger loss.  If we take the loss right now it should stop the tumbling numbers.  It could stabilize our housing market.  (my opinion)

As it stands right now, I see people purchasing homes on a short sale and the banks agreeing to give the lowered value to a stranger. Why would this happen?  It's probably because someone didn't like the idea of the person who didn't pay their mortgage getting a benefit from not conforming to pay their mortgage. 

Some people see they don't have any equity in their house so they buy another home and let the first one go back to the bank.  This is happening all over the country.

The person who is leaving their home is tearing the house apart from anger, suppressed from just going through the foreclosure procedure.  Is this the right thing to do?  Not hardly. It's important that they take responsibility but where do they turn?  News blast: the government has determined that you can now get your loan modified, just apply.  So the person thinks wow, this is cool lets get it done.  They fill out the paperwork only to find out that no one calls them and no one cares.  The phone rings and on the other side of the phone is a person who confidently tells the distressed home owner that they can help them get a loan modification but it costs $495- $3,500.00.  What?  It costs money?  You are who?  Do you guarantee your work?  No, sadly the modification person on the other end of the phone declares.  Oh so how is this helping the distressed homeowner?  They can't pay their loan so does it make sense that they would pay for something that doesn't work? 

Let's get real folks. We need to revise our system and have a responsible plan here in Salem, Oregon.  Please feel free to contact me at anytime as I am willing to brain storm on how we, as citizens, can get an active plan together to stop the foreclosures.  Roll back the mortgages in Salem, Oregon Now!  Call me, 503-930-8880

 

Visit my website  http://www.buysellsalem.com 

 

If you are a homeowner who is currently behind in your payments please call me if you would like to explore the issue of a short sale.  It's important for you to get advice from your attorney and certified public accountant to see if it will benefit you.  As a Broker I'm not here to give you legal advice.  Please consult your professionals for the answers to your legal questions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nannette Martin
RE/MAX Integrity - Salem, OR
Your Purple Shoes Real Estate Pro at RE/MAX

Interesting idea... I don't really think that every person's mortgage could be rolled back. The logistics of it alone would be impossible. Right now I'm seeing for example a home appraising for $245,000 here in Salem, Oregon and a tax appraised value of $312,000. If anything gets rolled back, it should be the tax assessed value if it has a current appraisal. This process should happen quickly and easily and save people on property taxes BUT since city government depends on these tax dollars and the city is already facing a budgetary shortfall, this is not likely to happen.

One thing that is happening is that the government is giving incentives to banks to make short sales happen more smoothly and faster. I saw evidence of this this week. An offer in for a short sale one day and a response and assignment of a negotiator the next day. Unheard of. We are hoping for a quick close on this.

It is a sad and unfortunate time for so many and there are no easy fixes. I'm hoping time will heal and the economy will rebound and become more robust -especially around employment.

Jul 18, 2009 06:10 PM
Margaret Oscilia
Creative Concepts-Home Staging and Contracting, Salem Oregon - Salem, OR
Home Stager, Salem Oregon

I agree with Nannette that there are no easy fixes.  Wonder how many thousands of $$ it costs each bank to repossess/hold/resell each home.  It must be a phenomenal amount.  If this amount was used to help modify the loans and make things workable for home owners to stay in their homes would it be enough?  Hard to say but seems like more of a win-win solution.  I was working with a client this week who is doing a deed in lieu of foreclosure -- if she had a little help she's be able to keep the house, pay off the mortgage.

Jul 19, 2009 12:14 AM
April Moore
John L Scott - The Dalles, OR

Nanette thank you for your comments.  While I disagree with the issue of an impossibility of rolling back everyone mortgage we can disagree without being disagreeable.  It's my belief that nothing is impossible when we all get together and brain storm a way to do the impossible.  "Change The Way You Look At Things And the Things You look At Change."  Wayne Dyer. 

I agree that the tax issues are a very important part of rolling back mortgages.  I know that many cities and states are having a difficult time getting their taxes paid.  The idea of rolling back the mortgages is the first part of getting the prices down to a more realistic value.  (my opinion)  How does a citizen roll back their taxes?  Is it a possiblity? 

Rolling back mortgages isn't an easy solution it's a proactive solution instead of short sales that are reactive. 

I worked in Law Enforcement for many years.  I saw the department responding to call after call involving issues of family tragedies that may have been stopped if our department could have had the ability to circumvent by communicating to the families who were in trouble. 

As we travel through this economic crisis It's my hope that people will look to new ideas.  I appreciate your point of view.  You have a good grasp of the market in Salem, Oregon.  I hope to meet you and have a cup of coffee as I learn from everyone.  If I can do anything for you please don't hesitate to call me.  April 503-930-8880

 

Jul 19, 2009 04:50 AM
Laura Giannotta
Keller Williams Realty - Atlantic Shore - Little Egg Harbor, NJ
Your Realtor Down the Shore!

NJ has a program like that, it's voluntary and not one bank has taken advantage to help a homeowner avoid foreclosure.

Jul 22, 2009 02:06 AM
April Moore
John L Scott - The Dalles, OR

Thanks for commenting on my article.  Why do you think the banks have not tried to use this type of program?   Is it because of the fear of the investors suing the banks? 

 

 

Jul 22, 2009 02:34 AM