It is unfair to me as a homeowner to have the actual amount owed reduced ... also if the results would be increased interest for mortgages, it is a bad idea.

There are bigger issues at work than this, such as the Fed, and GSE's.

It's unfair to those of us who behaved responsibly to foot the bill for those who acted stupidly, didn't read the fine print or bother to educate themselves. Bailouts only enable the same behavior. Let em hang.

There are bigger issues at work than this, such as the Fed, and GSE's.

It's unfair to those of us who behaved responsibly to foot the bill for those who acted stupidly, didn't read the fine print or bother to educate themselves. Bailouts only enable the same behavior. Let em hang.

I'm opposed to "letting them hang" as posted by Mikel Aucutt. Every foreclosure hurts everyone in the community, not just the family losing their home. Every foreclosure brings down the property values of the homes in that neighborhood, and let's not forget about all the innocent children that are displaced in all of this. We all lose. This bill isn't asking the congress to put up any "bail out" money, nor does it require the tax payers to foot the bill. Maybe if Mikel and the others out there would take the time to educate themselves and read the fine print they would understand how it works and that it makes sense. To quote Elizabeth Warren, Professor of Law at Harvard "[Legislation like this amendment] would provide two huge benefits: It would put an estimated 500,000 families into long term, permanent mortgages that they could afford, and it would cost investors far less than a foreclosure. Best of all, it would force the write downs to be absorbed by the investors, not the taxpayers."

I agree that the housing crisis is the root of our economic crisis. However, Bankruptcy Reform is not the answer. The bill will make the crisis even worse.
Banks do mortgages based upon a planned rate of return; they also plan to be paid back the entire sum of monies loaned out. Their only risk is if the borrower defaults. The bank's recourse then is to file a foreclosure. With Bankruptcy Reform, Banks no longer can count on their rate of return nor can they count on ever being paid back the entire sum that they loaned out. Their is a risk that the borrwer could file a bankruptcy and have the debt and rate reduced. This is too much uncertainity. Right now it is very difficult to get mortgage financing on a house. This lack of financing is causing the housing crisis to get worse. Bankruptcy Reform will make lending even less available. If less finacing is available, prices of homes will fall further.

The Congressional lawmakers are also not considering the secondary mortgage back security market. All loans are sold on the secondary market as investments. Bankruptcy Reform will cause great uncertainty as to the rate of return on these investments. There will no longer be a market for these mortgage back securities such as Fannie maes.

Bankrupty Reform will also cause more foreclosures. People will be running to the courthouse to file a bankruptcy to get their mortgage reduced. How will this impact our banks? The advocates for this bill state that it will cost the taxpayers nothing. However, when a bank fails, does the bailout cost the taxpayers money?

Personally, I think this bill is a great idea and has been a long-time in comming.

We all suffer from Foreclosures, I am disgusted with the way the banks are treating distressed homeowners with regard to the same sub-prime lending practices they're using the bailout money, taxpayer money, to do these modifications. Half-of which are back in default. These folks don't need bandaids, they need solutions, we're giving them money for solutions, right? Let's face it, we're in a recession. The best answer for all parties in this real estate market is for the banks to look at the collateral, look at the homeowner's ability to repay, and put together a long-term plan that is most equitable for both parties. Rather than doing something like that, they're offering more Adjustable Rate Mortgages to simply stretch-out the payments until they forsee they can foreclose on the houses, which was probably their end-game plan with these loans all along.

The way I see it, we're still a Capitalist Society, the Banks made their beds, now they can lay in them. Don't give them any more taxpayer money so they can buy-up other banks and further profit from their own misconduct.

Give the Judges the power to do what is necessary and what the Banks are unwilling to do. Then we'll see some real results and some real progress in the right direction.