Government has been busy bailing out banks and now homeowners want to know, “What about us?” This article in Time is a good overview of the high-level discussions taking place on plans to rescue homeowners in trouble. There are currently two plans. One would involved creating incentives for banks to change the terms of troubled mortgages. In this plan, homeowners would have to show the debt on their loan exceeds 38 percent of their annual income. The second plan “calls for the expansion of existing housing assistance programs run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.” Both plans seek to stop the wave of foreclosures sweeping the nation. But not everyone is going to get bailed out. Both plans only cover homeowners with “sustainable home loans” so people with mortgages they clearly cannot afford are not going to be helped.
Credit: Time Magazine article
