With the growing foreclosure numbers and poor economic news coming out daily, Senator Harry Reid, introduced an amendment to Senate Bill 2636, which would allow a Bankruptcy court to modify the terms of a mortgage for a debtor’s primary residence. The Court would modify the terms of the loan when the debtor can not afford to make the current payments on their subprime or ARM loan. This would allow the debtor to keep their home and continue to pay for the home. As it stands today, bankruptcy courts can modify debt on vacation homes, cars, boats, and investment property, but not loans on a primary residence. This is a major contributing factor to the growing foreclosure crisis and it needs to be stop. It is against public policy to prevent a bankruptcy court from modifying a loan on the primary residence, but allow the bankruptcy court to make a boat loan more affordable. This is why in Florida a creditor who is not a mortgage holder and did not preform work on the home can not force you to sell your home to pay their debt. Many many people are hurting in today’s economy, some of the problems are self made, many more are beyond their control nor were the problems foreseeable. Regardless of how the situation came about the fact remains, people need help and your United States Senate has the ability to help resolve the problem to some extent. The major question now is what will the Senate do? Is the Senate bought and paid for by the mortgage company lobby, which opposes this bill, or are our Senators we send to Washington truly there to help hardworking Americas and do the “people’s work,” or is that just a sound bite?
In the Pensacola area with housing values dropping daily, people who bought at the top of the market may find themselves owing more than what the house is worth. With this negative equity it is impossible to obtain new financing to lower payments or avoid the interest rate increase if they purchased their home with an ARM loan. I see people on a daily basis that are behind on their mortgage because of illness and being off work. Others are behind because they purchased their home with an ARM and the interest rate has increase the payments to where they can no longer afford the home. Giving the bankruptcy courts the ability to modify residential loans would greatly help the people of Pensacola get back on their feet and let the bankruptcy system fully help a debtor gain a fresh financial start.
A foreclosure hurts the entire community. So I would caution those of you that say some one should lose their home if they spent more than they can afford, or ignore this call to action as you feel you will never be in this type of financial situation. When a house is foreclosed on in your neighborhood, and is sold at a rock bottom price it lowers the property values of all the homes in the neighborhood. So if your neighbor can prevent their home from being foreclosed on it not only helps them from becoming homeless it helps the entire community by not lowering the property values in the area. Plus, by allowing one to keep their primary residence it saves tax money in not having an increased homeless population to which the community must then deal with.
This is a genuine crisis that threatens every community. Congress should take immediate and targeted action, I just hope they do so before it is to late. I would urge you to contact your Senators, and ask them to support Senate Bill 2636. Ask your Senator to make a true difference in the live’s of hardworking Americans who are down on their luck. Ask them to protect your home’s value by preventing people from losing their primary residence in foreclosure. Urge support of Senate Bill 2636, and particularly Title IV of the legislation.
Below are links to web pages for Florida Senators Mel Martinez and Bill Nelson so you may contact them and them to support of Senate Bill 2636.
Mel Martinez:
http://martinez.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInformation.OfficeLocations&CFID=7700771&CFTOKEN=24801601
Bill Nelson:
http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/offices.cfm
Bankruptcy Attorney Erich M. Niederlehner, of Mobile, Alabama, Pensacola Florida & Fort Walton Beach, Florida provides qualitiy legal Bankruptcy services to the citizens of Escambia County Florida, Santa Rosa County Florida, Okaloosa County Florida, Walton County Florida, Mobile County Alabama, Baldwin County Alabama which includes but is not limited to the following cities:
Pensacola|Gulf Breeze|Milton|Pace|Midway|Pensacola Beach|Navarre|Navarre Beach|Jay|Century|Central|Cantonment|Crestview|Fort Walton|Destin|Niceville|Fort Walton Beach|Freeport|Mobile|Spanish Fort|Fairhope|Foley|Daphane|Silverhill|Grand Pointe|Gulf Shores|Orange Beach|Loxley|Elberta|
113 N. Palafox Street, Pensacola, Florida 32502 - Main Office
16 Ferry Road, S.E., Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32548 | 401 Church Street, Mobile, Alabama 36602
16 Ferry Road, S.E., Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32548 | 401 Church Street, Mobile, Alabama 36602
Toll Free: 877-607-2228
Pensacola: 850-607-2222
Alabama and Florida Bankruptcy Attorneys offer Affordable Bankruptcy, Debt Relief & Debt Consolidation in Alabama and Florida. Bankruptcy Attorneys provide Low Cost Bankruptcy & Discount Rates on Bankruptcy Attorney Fees serving Mobile, Alabama, Pensacola Florida & Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
Alabama and Florida Bankruptcy Lawyer – Attorney Erich M. Niederlehner Chapter 7 &13, Affordable Debt Relief & Bill Consolidation in Alabama and Florida.
Alabama and Florida Bankruptcy Lawyer – Attorney Erich M. Niederlehner Chapter 7 &13, Affordable Debt Relief & Bill Consolidation in Alabama and Florida.
1 comment:
Erich,
Being that this is an election year, hopefully some sort of help will be given to real estate owners that actually does help. I got into the real estate market late in the 'bubble' and am now unable to sell the house that I moved out of when I bought my new house. Now I am strapped with two mortgages (plus a rental that does not rent). Without some sort of assistance, I am going to have to let go of these properties and face considerable damage to my finances and my credit. Had the economy kept going, I would be fine and have been able to sell my old house. So far, the Project Hope initiatives that freeze interest rates do very little for my situation. Washington will have to do more to stop the flood of foreclosures and bankruptcies that are going to hit the markets this year.
Noah from Perdido Key.
Noah@ShortOnChange.com
http://www.ShortOnChange.com
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