STOP USING MY MONEY TO BAIL OUT GAMBLERS

Liz, you are so right. What amazes me most is that this is the first time I have seen anything like this written anywhere. Everyday I feel I am being punished for "Doing it Right". My wife and I bought a home far below the level we were told we could afford. When we refinanced it wasn't to pull out equity and spend, it was to lower the interest rate and term, (30 to 15). We pay all bills on time and we have saved for college and a rainy day, (we have financially survived two layoffs in the 10 years we have owned this home). So many neighbors knew exactly what they were doing when they refinanced and spent the equity on new cars, vacations and second homes. From 2003 - 2005 I watched as young couples were led to believe that if they bought a home with an "Interest Only" 1st mortgage and used a second mortgage to help with the down-payment or to avoid PMI insurance, after 5 years they would retire on the increased value of their home. I saw many of the handouts presented to them by hungry Real Estate agents. Like an IPO investment, they all knew that this was the most risky way to get into the Real Estate game. That is what they saw it as, a get rich quick scheme, nothing more. Buy as much as you can so that the increased value will be that much greater. None of the new neighbors I met over the last 5 years had any intention of remaining in my neighborhood more than those 5 years as charted by the RE agents. It was all about the money and nothing about the home. Remember, the place where you raise a family and help the neighborhood. The majority of buyers from 2003 - 2005 were greedy speculators and most do not deserve my help or yours and yet they will be forgiven for their debts by the banks and our government. You and I will pay the bill. You and I who will never, ever have our debts forgiven. You and I who earn the money we need to purchase the items we "can" afford. When will our government ever come to us and say Thank You? Thank you for doing it right. Thank you for making sensible financial decisions and supporting our economy through hard work. When will they ever say to me, "You don't have to pay for the rest of your mortgage because you were smart enough to do it right"? NEVER! I guess sometimes being smart is the dumbest thing you can do.....

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! It's about time someone spoke the truth. Thanks to the sub-prime lenders (Fannie, Freddie and the lot), the asking price for homes in the Northern Virginia area are still 20% more than what the house is truly worth. However, they are getting better now that foreclosures are competing with people that thought they could make a quick buck a few years ago and flip their property. It’s absolutely crazy for mortgages to be two to three times that of the average rental price for the same home. I agree that people who have lost their jobs or have fallen on hard times, that entered into a mortgage in good faith, should be helped. And those who were looking for a quick and painless buck (the flippers and sub-prime lenders) should just suck it up ‘cause I don’t pay for other people’s mistakes or gambling habits….

Liz - You are on the right track. Much of the credit for the mortgage "armegeddon" should go to the various Federal "regulators" that to a man failed to regulate anything. Given no controls, people tend to become pigs. There was a lot of oinking going on among the builders, mortgage originators and I suspect among the Regulators as well. Plenty of blame to go around on this matter. We should not forget that a good deal of the blame should be placed on the Administration in Washington.

You are right on!!! Keep up the good work!!! We all love you here in Texas!! Louise

I'm with you 100%. If I'm not mistaken it was the Government that was pressureing lenders to make it easier for buyers to obtain mortgage loans. But if you think about it it's the Government that causes most of our problems anyway, just like the energy problem,you can't drill here and you can't drill there because of Govt. catering to environmental extremist. So now instead of doing the senseable think like drilling offshore or in ANWAR they would rather hope for some pie in the sky to pop up out of thin air.

Liz, love fox and trying to get into Fox Bus and you do great, but you just had a young lady on your show that reported on LDK and solars in general and said to the effect that you gotta take profits on these. Excuse me, isn't she a reporter? Advice from experts is expected and we can take it for what it is worth, but extraneous comments like this are not appreciated. Yes I'm long LDK and trying to make money in a down market, but either way I'm sure not going to act on her "advice" thanks for your great work ray

AS A REALTOR,I AGREE WITH YOU THE PREDATORY LENDERS WERE FALLING OVER THEMSELVES TO FINANCE AN OVERPRICED HOUSE TO A UNDERQUALIFIED LENDER. HOWEVER REMEMBER IT WAS OUR GOVERNMENT WHO DECLARED THEY WANTED MORE HOMEOWNERSHIP,MORE PEOPLE,REGARDLESS OF THEIR INCOME TO HAVE A HOME. HUD WENT CRAZY OVER GETTING RID OF THEIR FHA BACKED FORECLOSURES. MORTGAGE LENDERS ALSO WENT OVERBOARD,CREATING 100% LOANS,80-20 LOANS,ARMS.NO,I DONT WANT MY TAX DOLLARS BAILING OUT THE MORTGAGE INDUSTRY,OR THE INCOMPETENTS IN GOVERNMENT. LET THE FORECLOSURES CONTINUE.

Amen, Amen, I couldn't have said it much better myself. I am sickened to think that I did it right and am almost fininshed with my mortgage while people who spent more than they make will get a 'reduced ride' deal on my hard earned buck. The shady mortgage writers are the ones that will really walk away with the fat wallets. Man, can someone tell me where to get a "no risk brother-in-law" deal that the Government will sign for? Frustrated for doing it right....

i agree that the bailout is like helping the people who go to vegas and then cry

I could not have said this better myself. Great job (by the way, you sound like a good fit for a supporter of Ron Paul's new Campaign for Liberty).

Liz: The Golden Goose is off it's feed! Congress has to do what is necessary to keep the goose alive. The congressmen need to keep their source of golden eggs from drying up.

I couldn't agree more Liz. This is corporate welfare at it's finest. The government imposes their will by taking our tax dollars and spending them erroneously. They appoint unqualified officials to the Fed Reserve. Then they use more of our tax dollars to bail out the people who screwed up, and leave the average citizen in financial ruin. Why is it when Steve Forbes comes along and says we need a flat tax, he is brushed aside??? The American People like being screwed. Why is anyone even considering voting for Obama or McCain??? How is congress still around???

I can't agree anymore! My wife and I waited for nearly 11 years before we were able to afford to buy a home on one salary (mine), even though she was working at the time. That was nearly 24 yrs ago and we still live in the same house. Our government is tp prone tp bailout companies and individuals. What's wrong with "losing" your home if you know you can't afford the mortgage? Take the loss and chalk it up to experience and rent until you can afford to make the mortgage payments; buy what you can afford! As for the companies who made these ridiculous loans, they should be allowed to go bankrupt, regardless of size. As Oliver Hardy used to say to Stan "Now let that be lesson to you".

A standing applause for your attention to this subject!! Outrage is too mild of a word to describe my feelings about this! My guess is that you have not had more of a response to your article because most of us are too busy working overtime just to be sure our mortgage payment gets made. I wonder who will be the next to be bailed out? Once that faucet has been turned on, it will be awfully hard to turn off. And when the well runs dry, it will be our children and grandchildren (who can't even pronounce the word "mortgage" yet) that will be paying for all of this. If Americans choose to sleepwalk thru their lives, they will be waking up to a very different country than the one they remembered.

Liz - You are quite right. However, it's not just the mortgage lenders, though they are certainly co-conspirators. The guys that were creating and selling mortgage backed securities participated in process in order to feed the investment market....though Bear Stearns and, perhaps, Lehman paid the price for their transgresson. Sub-prime, sensibly done for the right reason, had a legitimate place in the mortgage market. As we all know, those standards were passed early on. When they coopted to create NINA (no income/no asset)mortgages as "collateral", surely a bell should have gone off in Washington. If you are "too big to fail" or the primary source of mortgages, then you may become reckless and conclude that it is right because you are doing it. While I am not a fan of unnecessary regulation, Fannie and Freddie have certainly proven, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that they warrant much closer oversight. As far as the man on the street paying the butcher's bill, it is the American way. Whether it is economic stimulus, ear-marks or regulatory oversight, our Congress seems to believe that there is no problem too big for our money to solve. -John Catlin

It's time for all this to come to an end. If we do not stop it and the "Creeping Communism" (forever taking from those that have and giving to those that don't) that the liberals are perpetraiting on us - we will soon have nothing left to show for running the good race. And this includes supporting those who insist upon living below sea level at or near the oceans edge; and behind dirt walls trying to keep the water away, over and over again.

Thank you!! I feel the same way. I was also taught and believe that one should not live beyond one's means. Why should I be punished for doing the right thing while others get a bail out? A growing problem in this country is that no feels they should suffer any consequences from their actions.

Liz, I totally agree with you ! When my husband and I were shopping for a house, we didn't even look at neighborhoods that were too expensive. Some people think they DESERVE THE BEST of everything, especially if they can get someone else to pay for it. So we sit here in our working-class neighborhood and help pay for someone to stay in one of the fancy neighborhoods that we didn't look at because we couldn't afford it.

Liz, agree with you. No one was there to bailout WCOM when they went under. I was an MCI middle manager before Worldcom took over. I retired before the takeover because I did not like WCOM's business culture, my 401K was looking great, my house was paid for and I had no debt, by the way I was 52 years old at the time. Needless to say I didn't follow my gut fellings about WCOM and I held the converted MCI stock until the bitter end. Lost a lot of money, but had enough other holdings in my 401K to make it to retirement age without having to get back into the work force. I set up and on line trading account and have done pretty well, not great but well. My point is no one ever cared about my investment in WCOM and never will. I just wish Bernnie Ebbers had received more time in jail. He severly damaged a lot of peoples lives. I hope Fannie and Freddie executives go to jail for being so greedy and stupid. As Ron White says in one of his comedy routines, "you cann't fix stupid". I say he is correct, but you sure can punish the stupid crooks. As for the stock holders of Fannie and Freddie, oh well. Teach you to depend on the government! I didn't the the mortage problem comming and now I am caught holding stock in C and WNB. The regional banks have treated me well, but the big greedy banks have hurt. The trading enviroment today drives one to become a day trader, or at least a "I'll sell that stock as soon as my return surpasses the dividend. Regards Claude Ames

I couldn't have said it better. My wife and I have gone through 5 houses in our lifetime before retirement. We went through the same process you mentioned; it seemed like endless pounds of paperwork. But it always came down to decisions on affordability. In all cases, we made sure we were never over-extended, regardless of the promises by developers that value of reality would always appreciate. In this world today, immediate gratification seems to be the only important goal. We always wanted a home, but rented until we could afford to buy. So, yes, bad financial decisions should have to pay for their mistakes.

I agree 100% with you. My wife and I are very careful with our money and live a modest life. We have no debt other than our mortgage. We live very much beneath our means. Why should people who overspend and overextend be bailed out? Some articles I have read have actually put the blame on Fannie and Freddie. If loans had not been so easy to get in the first place, we would not be in this mess. Let them fail, it may be painful but it’s just not fair to leave all this debt to our children.

Like you, my wife and I were nervous about signing on the dotted line. We took a mortgage for roughly half of what they said we qualified for. Now I am disabled and still have never been unable to make the payment.

I agree 100% with this article. I also think Liz is the best .

I agree. But you know the government is going to throw billions of tax dollars and tell us it is in our best interest.

Do I have this right? Let me know what you thing, gang, and thanks so much for watching. I’m so grateful you’ve joined the Fox Business team. OK, this is what I thing: We have found ourselves in a whole new values paradigm. Unconditional tolerance, diversity, absolute equality, license, entitlement, self-esteem, etc, have magically replaced our old principles of honesty, industry, fidelity, liberty, humility, etc. Now you were too young but I distinctly recall that those old rules were accompanied by signs and wonders. What has validated these new commandments? But, ironically, the FoxBusiness page from which I linked to your blog had the following ad: Mortgage Rates at 5.65% $200,000 loan for $771/month. See New Payment - No SSN Rqd. Save Now! Refinance.LeadSteps.com You keep up the good work though, and keep fighting for the folks. You may guess that I'm not a real fun kind of person but you and Brian have had me laughing out loud the passed two days. I think you two have the best chemistry among all of your fantastic colleagues. Thank you and warmest regards, Fred Logan, Palmetto, FL