On the way home today I was listening to a talk radio show, yes, talk radio, and the topic of discussion was the banks and fees, mortgages, foreclosures, etc. One caller was trying to make the point that after all the "bailout" money the banks received the least they could do was lower the loans people owed down to the value the house is currently worth. In doing so he mentioned someone he personally knew who had tried to short sale their home and the bank refused the deal and then foreclosed on them. He felt this was unfair of the banks and went on to mention that this person was now living with a friend, needed a car and could not get a loan, nor could they rent an apartment because of the foreclosure on their credit. He went on to note that this person attended the church in which he attends. The caller ended with the assertion that the government should be helping people like his friend, or at least forcing the banks to do so.
I had several problems sith the basic bent to the shows topic and to this callers point of view. First I was bothered with the fact that both of the individuals in the story went to the same church, the story teller and the subject of the story, and that it never seemed to cross the callers mind that as a christian it was his and their churches responsibility to help out the individual who was struggling. After all Jesus taught that Christians and the Church are to help the poor and feed the hungry. Even more specifically they were to help and feed their fellow christians who were struggling.
Secondly, when you go to the bank and take out a loan and sign all those forms at the closing of a house you have made and agreement based on your word that you will repay that loan at the agreed upon interest rate. It is called a contract. It is not the governments place to force a bank to renegotiate a contract that the buyer has agreed to. The fact that a bank could be forced to renegotiate is absurd. Where would it end...I buy a new car for $25,000 and agree to pay the bank back this amount with interest. Then I drive off the car lot and the car immediately loses 1/5th of its value so is now worth only $20,000, shoud the bank be forced to lower my loan $5,000. It would not take to long and banks would quit making loans for automobiles and car sales would only be done by cash sales only. It would devistate the auto industry and the economy. Why would it not do the same if banks were forced to lower the $250,000 mortgage by $50,000 to $200,000 forcing the bank into a $50K loss.
Third, it reward irresponsibility (those who bought more house than they really could afford) and penalizes those who played by the rules and are paying off, or payed off their loans as agreed upon.
And lastly, it boils down to who's responsibility is it to handle these situations, is it the individual, the church, the community, or the government? I believe the responsibility lies with the individual and if hardship truly does befall someone then their church and neighbors should be the ones to help, not the federal government. Live will always throw a curve ball when you least expect it. We need to plan for those times and live below our means so that we can save and be able to survive economic turmoil. If you live paycheck to paycheck always in debt...then economic ups and downs will always elicit stress, worry, and panic. Check out Dave Ramesy's book Financial Peace...it may help you move from financial turmoil to financial peace.
I had several problems sith the basic bent to the shows topic and to this callers point of view. First I was bothered with the fact that both of the individuals in the story went to the same church, the story teller and the subject of the story, and that it never seemed to cross the callers mind that as a christian it was his and their churches responsibility to help out the individual who was struggling. After all Jesus taught that Christians and the Church are to help the poor and feed the hungry. Even more specifically they were to help and feed their fellow christians who were struggling.
Secondly, when you go to the bank and take out a loan and sign all those forms at the closing of a house you have made and agreement based on your word that you will repay that loan at the agreed upon interest rate. It is called a contract. It is not the governments place to force a bank to renegotiate a contract that the buyer has agreed to. The fact that a bank could be forced to renegotiate is absurd. Where would it end...I buy a new car for $25,000 and agree to pay the bank back this amount with interest. Then I drive off the car lot and the car immediately loses 1/5th of its value so is now worth only $20,000, shoud the bank be forced to lower my loan $5,000. It would not take to long and banks would quit making loans for automobiles and car sales would only be done by cash sales only. It would devistate the auto industry and the economy. Why would it not do the same if banks were forced to lower the $250,000 mortgage by $50,000 to $200,000 forcing the bank into a $50K loss.
Third, it reward irresponsibility (those who bought more house than they really could afford) and penalizes those who played by the rules and are paying off, or payed off their loans as agreed upon.
And lastly, it boils down to who's responsibility is it to handle these situations, is it the individual, the church, the community, or the government? I believe the responsibility lies with the individual and if hardship truly does befall someone then their church and neighbors should be the ones to help, not the federal government. Live will always throw a curve ball when you least expect it. We need to plan for those times and live below our means so that we can save and be able to survive economic turmoil. If you live paycheck to paycheck always in debt...then economic ups and downs will always elicit stress, worry, and panic. Check out Dave Ramesy's book Financial Peace...it may help you move from financial turmoil to financial peace.