Two million homeowners are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure this year. John H. Vogel, a professor of real estate at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, explains who these people are and why we need to help. Vogel also gives a glimpse at possible solutions to the foreclosure crisis. His plan involves "sharing the pain" among lenders and borrowers with a "Last Chance Mortgage Pool" that give borrowers nearing foreclosure a 3% interest rate but does not allow them to gain appreciated value. In homes that have depreciated in value the current lender would only receive the current value of home. It may be less than desirable, but with rising cost of foreclosures to the lender and borrower, it is at least a win-win, lose-lose situation.

View the story here:   http://www.inman.com/inmannews.aspx?ID=65988 

I do not like the fact that the plan does not help out investors. I do not think that Real Estate Investors with 100's of investment properties need or deserve help as they made their money a few years ago. But how can we help the "casual" or first time investor? What about the couple that watched "Flip this House" one too many times and borrowed from the equity in their principle residence to fund a bad investment? Would any lender "bail out" someone who has just had an investment property foreclosed upon?

Investors aside, I think Dr. Vogel's plan, or a variation of it, could help the 2 Million people facing foreclosure.  It is at the very least a step in the right direction.

What do you think of this plan? Is this idea even feasible?