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" To Common Sense

Why would a reputable lending institution ask or allow a person to consolidate a zero percent loan? They were just wanting more interest money and scammed her. "

" I'm happy Carol is temporarily able to stay in her home. Realistically, at age 69 she she won't be able to work too long, and at that point, I hope she's in a position to sell the home and put a few dollars in the bank. Congratulations to CIOP for helping her. "

" I wonder how many people really understand all of the papers you sign at a closing. I had a lawyer read it and explain it to me. Not everyone does this.I glad she was able to get help to fix this problem. Where is the compassion for a 69 year old person still working- 2 jobs at that, to make ends meet. It was a bad choice but do we know what was happening in her life? "

" cont...also Alan Greenspan had really pushed the arms years ago which at that time they did offer a considerably better interest rate than your 30 years fixed products. The problem is now these arms are expiring and like i said before, these homeowners are trying to refinance and the loans are no longer available. Their rates and payments continue to rise and they no longer are able to keep up on the payments and other bills and eventually fall into foreclosure. "

" Actually Birdswin I am in mortgage industry and speak with clients every day that have arms that have adjusted and are not able to refi because the market that was once there is no longer. The government has opened up guidlines to help these individuals but unfortuantely once your mortgage is late because you can't afford the new payment, you have an even tougher time finding help to refi in to a fixed rate mortgage. Many of these individuals were duped by shady brokers that didn't explain all the details and left out imortant information. People who did debt consolidation of credit cards for credit repair were most likely told they would be able to refi because of the repair it did to their credit. "

" What was interest rate before she refinanced? 12 years ago I bet it would have been about 7% or higher. I wonder what the variable rate is that raised it $300 and how much she borrowed compared to what her house is worth? I think an adj rate only goes up a certain percentage each year or 3 yrs or whatever. And why didn't she try to refinance before? We were told some here but I don't think we got all the facts. What did she think was going to happen. Shouldn't we all know what is going to happen with our mortgage from this year on out. If someone doesn't read the fine print or understand the mortgage it is still their responsibility. If they can't afford the loan they don't get the loan plain and simple. I would like a $300,000 house but I can't afford it. I am not going to buy one knowing someone will bail me out when I can't afford my payment in a year or two. That would be ridiculous. "

" I would like to know why anyone would refinance a zero percent loan and add that amount to debts that you have to pay interest on? Causing yourself to now pay more in interest. "

" Holy Cow is all I can say about most of the posters - obviously know very little of the mortgage banking industry - especially jimmiejames and Nolongertowny. Without more of the actual circumstances this lady had gotten "herself" into or the terms of the original loan agreement, it is difficult to really know the whole situation. The story does mention this lady refinanced her home in 2005 to consolidate debt - this usually means credit card debt. Well who was holding the gun to her head when she made these purchases?

I am glad she was able to get assistance without any tax dollars. Government entities should not be using tax dollars to "bail" people out of their own financial problems. This is penaltizing those who are financially responsible and is has absolutely nothing to do with Chistianity, unlike what Mark802 is suggesting. "

" Sounds like these people helped her do the refi, nothing more. I think anyone with an ARM should refi to fixed. The problem with hers was her being assured that she could refi to fixed, when she could not. The ARMs(sub prime variety) go with the current fed rates plus, so the higher fed rate also contributed to the impact of the Adjustment part. If the fed rate was still low, the amount of the adjustment would be less than the max(or potentially not at all). This lady wasn't living beyond her means in a mansion, so I believe that she was misled, just like thousands of others have been. Seems that at least keeping the payments coming in(even under extended promo rates) would be preferable to banks and investors rather than foreclosure and going bankrupt. "

" Banks are at fault. They have scammed American's into believing Credit is a good thing...no matter what form. So much so, that we now equate home loans to credit cards and we simply do not know the difference. This is an obvious tactic by the banks. Look at how a Second Mortgage (which has a negative connotation) is now an Equity Line of Credit (which is more postive sounding). My parents and grandparents would have NEVER have obtained a second mortgage and had problems with getting a simple load out of PRIDE for providing for their family with a hard day's work. The banks and government are predatory and they do not care. They should pay for this mess not us. I am very glad this person was able recieve some help. How many are not in the same position? These types of activities are the reasons why our founding fathers came to this country in the first place. Let's see...taxation without representation...financial oppression, religious oppression, the dwindling of morality, lack of faith in the government, supression into unwarranted wars.....we see ALL this everyday. "

" What many of these, if not all of these posters here don't realize it that because the subprime business has fallen out, many of these people who have these adjustable rate mortgages are no longer able to refinance because the qualifications are too strict or the lenders have simply gone bankrupt and the loans are no longer available. This is at the fault of the banks, not the homeowners. Before lashing out at her for getting help why don't educate yourself about the mortgage industry and its problems so you don't come off as being inconsiderate. To Only in America; Can you come up with something new to say other than the DUMBING OF AMERICA CONTINUES DAILY "

" another fine example of predatory lending in action. i doubt if she would have read every work of the contract that she would have understood it anyway. they are written to be impossible to decipher and contain so many loopholes and ambiguities that the lender is always in the right. she'll lose everything and the lender will get the house, plus a federal bailout. welcome to the beginning of a new era of depression that will make the 30s look like the roaring 20s. "

" glad she got help. but i'm bias as she is a reletive "

" Apparently, the spirit of Christian kindness is really alive and well in the comments posted here! It seems what all these heartless folks are really upset about it is that someone actually helped this woman. Good for them and good for her. As far as I can tell, the new terms are not illegal, so why not be glad it worked out? But you have to wonder: Is this community really so nasty, or is it just that some frustrated people find this forum one of the few places where they can vent with impunity? I'd like to think it's the latter. "

" From what I have heard of this story she asked about this and was told she could refi BEFORE the rate went up so dont worry about it. If the bank put it the way I described then yes they are at fault. Lots of subprime lenders and mortgage brokers were telling people dont worry about the rate. They trusted the lenders foolishly. "

" Does anybody have any compassion anymore? Some people do these things to bale themselves out of the moment, hoping when the time comes they can refinance again. And then when the time comes the banks wont loan because of the economy or because the home is not worth what they owe, Not to mention the rapidly increasing taxes in McLean County. To those of you who are so negative towards this woman, be careful what you say, You could loose your job and be in the same situation, and NOT BY CHOICE! "

" This is what should happen with moer homeowners duped by their lenders. Lenders need to admit they took advantage of the trust people had in them and stop gouging consumers. Government needs to regulate the hell out of these companies as a result of their deplorable behavior. When did we stop caring about our neighbors, throw them under the bus, for a fatter bonus at year end? "

" Why are we bailing out people with poor personal responsibility? This woman signed a contract, and then decided that she didn't want to abide by the terms locked in with her signature. The purpose of foreclosure is to remove ownership of property (used to secure a loan) and sell that property to people who will follow through with their commitments. "

" The fact is that this was not a bad loan. It was bad understanding of an adjustable mortgage actually being able to adjust. This country is in dire need of some financial education for people. And we need people to actually understand what they are buying. "

" No sympathy from me either. READ what you are getting into and if you don't understand what you are reading, ASK QUESTIONS until you do understand. Ever heard of the Latin phrase CAVEAT EMPTOR? This is like people who have homeowners insurance and think they should be covered for flood and then cry to other people for help when they find out they aren't covered. The devil is in the details! "

" This woman was not swindled, and I think it's garbage that this group is bailing her out!! THIS IS WHY BANKS HAVE FULL MORTGAGE DISCLOSURES!! Banks disclose everything. That's why your mortgage doc is 30 pages. If you don't want to read it because your lazy then you deserved it!! "

" I wish my house payment was $421 that's what people pay for vehicles. So it's who's fault???? She signed the papers and should have known what was going on. My taxes alone are what she pays for her house. THE DUMBING OF AMERICA CONTINUES DAILY !!!! "

" "Didn't look at the details very closely". Why not? The devil's in the detais, as she found out the hard way. Good that CIOP could assist. Better still that the government, using money belonging to those of us who do consider the details, didn't. "