Mortgage Crisis!  It's all we hear on the news broadcasts!  What are we going to do? 

We all know that billions of dollars have been given (by us taxpayers) to banks and mortgage companies.  What are they doing with it??  They're paying bonuses and taking vacations....and I heard Donald Trump say last night that one bank bought a Chinese bank for several billion dollars.  How in the world is this helping the US economy? 

My view as a real estate broker is that if these banks and mortgage companies would TRY to sell the foreclosed homes...the economy would be able to move a bit.  There are investors and potential homeowners that would love to buy these homes...if the banks and mortgage companies wouldn't make it so difficult.

One example:  I had a young couple with cash from an inheritance that wanted to buy a home under $100,000....not necessarily a foreclosure.  But, as it happened, the home we found was a foreclosure.  We made an offer only to find that there were multiple offers already on the table.  So, we made our best offer and waited....and waited.  Finally, we heard from the listing agent that our offer had been accepted.  So far...so good, right?

Then we tried to get the signed contract back from the mortgage company to prepare for closing.  The listing agent would call - but no one knew exactly where it was.  Then when I finally tracked down the mortgage company's processing agent...she didn't know where it was either - but it surely must be someone's else's fault.  After expressing my frustration - she made a comment that there were 167 files on her desk and she couldn't be expected to get to them all. 

Then after 2-3 weeks, we finally received the contract.  But guess what?  The contract consisted of "parts" of all the other contracts that were submitted in the multiple offer situation.  No one bothered to take a few minutes to keep the contracts intact...or to check it before sending it out.

To make this long story shorter - we never did close this sale!  Because we could never get any response - AND this was a major mortgage company. 

Not only is the incompetence overwhelming - but instead of putting these homes on the market for what was owed on them - the banks and mortgage companies are listing them for "market value".  I know the "market value" of many homes is falling fast - but wouldn't it help the economy if these homes could just MOVE?  There are many investors that would purchase these homes for a decent price...but it's just so hard to do anything when no one knows who's doing what....or passing the buck to someone else.

I know the processors are overloaded - but I also know that there are a lot of people who are laid-off and looking for work.  What if some of this "bailout" money could be used to hire more processors or people who could make decisions?  What if some of the "bailout" money could be used to lower the price on foreclosed properties?  I know many people financed 100-125% of the appraised value - but who made these bad loans?  The mortgage companies!  Where is the accountability and responsibility?  

Or what if some of this "bailout" money could be used to lower interest rates so people could stay in their homes and have a chance to pay for them?  What possible good does it do any taxpayer for this money to go for huge "bonuses"?  Or trips?  Or God know what else? 

Most people think of "foreclosed" property being a "good deal"...and sometimes it is.  But, most of the homes I see listed are at market value.  I wish we could see the banks and mortgage companies listing these homes at a lower price...which would seem to help the US economy start to move!  Does anyone agree with me?