Fighting foreclosure
Foreclosure rates are high across the nation. The Washington-based U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) estimates that nearly 2 million families will be affected by increases in adjustable rate mortgages by 2008, and, as a result, may lose their homes.
American City & County asked the readers of its weekly e-mail newsletter what their city or county government was doing to help residents who are facing the possibility of losing their homes to foreclosures. Following are some of the responses:
“Where is the personal responsibility [of] the people who wanted the big, overpriced home? I am certain that the latest batch of borrowers are familiar with the term ‘live within your means,’ yet they choose to ignore [it,] they chose to go for the gold all in one shot.
Do not get me wrong. I feel terrible for any family that loses their home for any reason, but we cannot expect the government to bail out people who made bad choices of their own free will.”
— Mike Gaudreau, sales account manager, Sunbelt Rentals, Warwick, R.I.
“As county treasurer, I have been meeting with a group of non-profits and [officials in] Lansing, Mich., since late 2006 to coordinate our counseling services. This year, we [funded] a full-time [mortgage] counselor [at an area non-profit agency that assists low- and moderate-income residents], and Lansing has [contracted] with a public relations firm to raise citizen awareness that the services are available [through] our new 211 service. A big problem we have run into is [discovering] who is in trouble with their mortgage lender and connecting them with the counselors.”
— Eric Schertzing, Ingham County, Mich.
“Federal, state and local government have no business bailing out borrowers [who] have exceeded their capacity for paying their mortgage. Too many people today have chosen to live above their means and are now paying for their error in judgment. Much of the problem comes from younger buyers wanting more home than they can afford [who] failed to lock in a fixed mortgage.
Government is not the solution to every problem. It is time people were held responsible for their own actions.”
— Mark Nahra, county engineer, Delaware County, Iowa
