Does this Federal Bail-Out plan affect the number of foreclosures on the market?  Is the plan going to help homeowners?  Is this plan good for America?

From what I can see now, there are going to be some provisions in the bill that will help homeowners stay in their homes.  Bankruptcy court judges will be able to adjust the interest rates for adjustable rate mortgages ensuring that the homeowner can pay the mortgage and subsequently prevent foreclosure.

There will be another benefit from this bill and that is that the LIBOR will most likely go down in the next foreseeable future.  About 50% of all ARM loans are tied to the LIBOR and with rates having moved up in the last few weeks, a drop in the LIBOR rates will definitely help folks who's mortgage is tied to the LIBOR.  Peope with ARM rates tied to the 1 yr Treasury index are getting a major break with monthly averages hovering around 1.9% (with a standard 2.6 margin, you could see your ARM drop to 4.5%).

We will probably continue to see the number of foreclosures go up in the next year or so (this will drive down prices overall - I see markets where prices have dropped 50% from their highs now that more than 60% of all homes sold are (discounted) foreclosures.  We really need to have all foreclosures flushed out of the market before prices can go up again.  I am not predicting this before some time late 2010, maybe even 2011.

For foreclosure listings in your area, check out: http://myneighborhoodforeclosures.com

For foreclosure prevention programs, check out: http://allbankownedproperties.googlepages.com/foreclosure-prevention