February 25, 2008

What Not To Do If You’re Losing Your Home

I was just reading Cindy Allen’s post, “Why I Don’t Feel Sorry For People Losing Their Homes“. And then I happened to come across this video about a man whose bank foreclosed on him. You know what he did? He went and robbed the bank. His line? “You took my house. Now I’m going to take your money.”

Now the FBI is going to find the “Foreclosed Robber” via bank records. You wonder why he lost his house in the first place, right? If you want to get a little chuckle (I did), go ahead and click the video link.

On another note, there are currently two bills going up in Congress. These bills would allow bankruptcy court judges the power to reduce the mortgage debt of certain home owners who are facing foreclosure. Lenders, of course, want this bill nixed. Here’s an excerpt from the CNN.com article:

Lenders are furious at the prospect of having judges seize control of their mortgage portfolios. Community and consumer advocates argue that such a move makes sense amid the current mortgage crisis.

Both the Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007 and the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 aim to provide relief for some home owners in bankruptcy. Only borrowers who live in their homes and hold subprime or non-traditional mortgages, like interest-only loans, would be eligible.

The Senate vote may come early this week. Happy Monday!