Senator Jeff Merkley Announces New Plan to Help Underwater Homeowners

Senator Merkley this is a good plan. Many of these underwater homeowners were suckered into bad loans by unscrupulous bankers and unscrupulous mortgage brokers. We made the banks whole again, even though they did NOT deserve to be made whole again! We absolutely owe it to these suckered homeowners to make them whole again too. They are NOT getting a "free lunch" under your plan. They are still paying off their loans, but at an affordable rate. God job Mr. Senator!

The Senator is proposing that we use the soundest aspects of our present capital mechanisms for financing home ownership to relieve underwater homeowners of the extra burdens they carry in consequence of the housing bubble's collapse. Surely at the very least, his proposal deserves serious discussion rather than a rote recitation of ideologized pros and cons. Senator, people of good will should examine and ponder your plan with a view to helping make it work.

Great Job! I so agree with you. Thanks for your hardwork!

It's nice to see one of our lawmakers at least trying to do something for the "rest of us." It may not be the perfect solution...but it's nice to see an approach on the problem. How many trillions has Wall Street benefited from between the taxpayers and the Federal Reserve?

I am with you on this. Those of us living in Urban residential buildings are not included and we as much as a single structure homeowner are just as much at risk as anyone. I live in Portland, due to our Urban Growth Boundary we have a multiple of Multi home structures. To eliminate them from this program is clearly only going to serve the small portion of the ailing home owners. My home is upside down by 100,000.00. Seriously, include us all, so it is a fair and equitable program. Thanks.

The only way this will work is to have the bank reduce the mortgage to the present value. People do not have the funds to continue to pay these high payments. Food has gone up, fuel has gone up. Where is the money going to come from to pay on this new loan. I am not doing a thing until I find out how the election turns out in November.

This will never get it. We bailed the banks out while listening to our lawmakers telling us all will be well if we go along with the bailouts. Well not so. I put more than 20% down and now I am living in the world of ownership of a home nowhere near what it is worth. Sorry, this plan will not work. You are still paying on a loan that is higher than value of home. Someone will gain from this but not the homeowner

I'm in the exact same boat as you. No help because I'm with BoA and now I'm on the brink of doing a short sale because I'm all out of options. Soon, I may be homeless.

Please include townhouse and condo owners

This is all well and good...but the last time I re-fi'd...even with a good credit rating; I didn't qualify for the 'good' interest rate because we own a 'manufactured' home! Please make sure the manufactured home buyers get help also!

Merkley is a great Senator, but the problem for homeowners who bought at the height of the housing bubble isn't that their mortgage rate is above 4%, but rather they bought $100k homes for $200k believing they'd keep rising in value. The bubble burst and the market crashed. Their homes will never be worth $200k again. Cutthroat mortgage lenders share some of the blame, but so do the underwater homeowners themselves. Not everyone is qualified to buy a home. We can't bail everyone out.

30yr 250K @ 5% is $1342/mo without taxes and insurance.

" @ 4% is $1193/ mo " " "

15yr 250K @ 4% is 1850/mo " " "

I have seen adds for 3.75% for 30yr fixed on TV. If homeowners were able to keep up with their payments before their interest discount expired we should let them refi at the lowest interest rate possible. Why make it 5% for 30yr?  If they can make the payments, even if their house is still undervalued compared to the original loan