TELL YOUR SENATORS TO SUPPORT SENATE BILL 61; THE HELPING FAMILIES SAVE THEIR HOMES IN BANKRUPTCY ACT OF 2009

Over 6,600 American families a day are losing their homes to foreclosure. In the next five years, over 8,000,000 American family homes will be lost to foreclosure, unless we do something now. If we don’t, the value of all of our homes will keep going down and our neighborhoods will suffer.

DON’T LET THE BANKS BLOCK THIS NO-COST ACTION TO SAVE FAMILY HOMES AND OUR COMMUNITIES AND HELP RESTORE OUR NATION’S ECONOMY

Our Senators have the opportunity to pass legislation that would allow courts to change bad mortgages so struggling homeowners can save their homes from foreclosure. The result? Fewer foreclosures and more stable home prices for all of us.

Tell your Senators to support Senate Bill 61 - the Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2009. Reduce home foreclosures at no cost to taxpayers.

Call your United States Senators toll free: 877.354.4958
Or email them at: www.nacba.org/TellCongress

The mortgage modification proposal has been endorsed by leading economists, 22 state Attorneys General, state and local elected officials, newspaper editorial boards from around the country and nearly 100 leading national organizations representing seniors, consumers, religious affiliations, financial professionals, working families, and civil rights and housing groups.

Provided for by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, Inc., a nationwide organization dedicated to protecting the rights of honest, hard-working, financially distressed Americans. Go to www.nacba.org/S61 for more information about the bill and how you can help get it passed.

In today’s Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com/home-page there is a superb article by Nick Timiraos titled, “Mortgage-Assistance Program Offers Disparate Treatment Depending on Goals and Circumstances”.

With respect to the full article, I am excerpting a small section of it because it details important components of the program. Mr. Timiraos writes:
….
The program has two main components. One provision will allow diligent borrowers who are current on their mortgage payments but have little or no equity in their homes to refinance their first mortgage to take advantage of current interest rates, which have fallen to near record lows. That is designed to allow responsible borrowers -- mainly those who have been hurt by falling home prices -- to benefit from the current climate. Lenders won't refinance borrowers who don't have equity in their homes.

The second component involves modifying mortgage loans to lower monthly payments to 31% of the borrowers' gross monthly income, mainly by reducing the interest rate on the loan. This effort would target borrowers who are falling behind on their mortgage payments or who are in danger of falling behind. The government will provide financial incentives to lenders and mortgage servicing companies to encourage them to offer the reduced payment plans, which last for five years.

But as with any broad effort, homeowners are treated unevenly in the programs. The refinance provision is open only to borrowers who have loans that are owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. That excludes large numbers of borrowers with subprime and other exotic mortgages sold to investors; and borrowers with so-called "jumbo" loans that are too large for government backing. Those groups will be eligible for the modification part of the plan, but only for loans up to $729,750.

Borrowers who owe more than 105% of the current value of their home also won't be eligible for refinancing. That means that fewer borrowers in the nation's most over-heated housing markets, including California and Florida, and in some of the most depressed market in the Midwest can take advantage of the program. "Most of the people we serve are too far underwater to take advantage of this," says Dan Elsea, a mortgage broker in Detroit.

Nationally, 25% of mortgage holders have conforming loans that are within the 80% to 105% loan-to-value ratio needed to qualify for the program, according to real estate Web site Zillow.com. But that number falls in certain high-cost housing markets that have seen big price declines. In Los Angeles, for example, just 9% of mortgage holders are eligible to refinance, while 8% of conforming borrowers are too far underwater, according to Zillow.com.
….

Open Letter to our Legislators

As my elected official, you should know that I strongly support President Obama's initiatives to help millions of American homeowners and reduce the massive wave of home foreclosures that are fueling today's national economic crisis. I urge you to adopt the President's plan to prevent home foreclosures that do not need to happen. A key part of the Obama plan would permit distressed homeowners to seek home loan modifications in bankruptcy court.

I do not think that what has been tried so far to stop the foreclosure crisis is working. If families are going to stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure, it seems clear that court-supervised mortgage modifications are necessary. We have wasted too much time already on half measures and other dead-end efforts that have done nothing to slow down the runaway foreclosure crisis.

I particularly like the judicial modification approach because it can prevent hundreds of thousands of foreclosures without spending one penny of taxpayer money. Is it too much to ask that you take this no-cost action for homeowners? After all, you have seen fit to spend billions of dollars on bailing out banks, car companies, brokerage firms and other corporate giants. It's time that we face facts: We can't end the financial crisis without ending the rising tide of foreclosures.

At a time when an estimated 6,600 families are losing their home to foreclosure each and every day, there is no time for delay. I urge you in the strongest possible terms to support this urgently needed legislation.

American families are reeling under the weight of the recession today. At a point where you can help lighten that load and save the homes of many Americans, I am asking you to support judicial modification of mortgages. This nation needs to put the housing crisis behind it.

As my elected official, you can be assured that I will be watching with great interest to see how you come down on this issue of great importance to my family, my neighborhood and my community.

Please keep me informed about how you vote on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Michele A. Peters, Esq.

Partying on with our money!

Another bailout pays for their party. Did you know?

The Northern Trust Company has recently received $1.6 billion from the citizens of the United States as part of the government's bailout program.
Recently, the Northern Trust spent millions of dollars to sponsor a golf tournament (The Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles). In connection therewith, the company incurred the following expenses:

• Airfare for hundreds of clients and employees to Los Angeles.
• Hotel rooms, including rooms at very upscale properties, for hundreds of people.
• Dinner and cocktail parties.
• Chicago concert.
• Earth, Wind, & Fire concert.
• Sheryl Crow concert.

Northern Trust responded that it did not ask for the $1.6 billion but took it only to help the government reach its goal of having the participation of all major banks. It should be noted that Northern Trust is also current with its repayment plan. See Bailout Bank Blows Millions Partying in L.A., TMZ.com, Feb. 24, 2009; Stephen Bernard, Northern Trust faces scrutiny for event spending, AP, Feb. 25, 2009; and Northern Trust, An Open Letter to Northern Trust Shareholders, Clients and Staff, Feb. 24, 2009.

Why do I post this? Because I RESENT my tax dollars going to these institutions. If any corporation is in need of our "bail out" dollars - they should be in bankruptcy and under the supervision of the court and the U.S. Trustees who will ensure that the money goes to the proper places.