Protect Homeownership
Homeownership, long the pinnacle of the American Dream, has become a dwindling expectation for many in our nation. Today, our middle and working class homeowners face harsh realities. Property taxes have increased. Insurance companies increase the premiums on home insurance while decreasing the amount of risk they are willing to cover. At the same time, home values continue to fall while the rate of home foreclosures continues to rise. Due to their predatory lending practices, mortgage lending companies and banks have seen profits skyrocket to the detriment of American homeowners. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration and the Congressional Republican solution to these problems is to Just Do Nothing and be content with letting “Market Forces” and the mortgage industry sort it all out.
Anita de Palma strongly disagrees with a “Do Nothing” approach to the problem. Instead, she has called for tougher, more decisive action to lead us out of this crisis. To this end, she has laid out a dynamic 7-point program to do just that!
This is a BRIGHTER WAY!
A Plan to Protect Homeownership
Essential Components
- Create a Fund to Help Avoid Foreclosure.
- Bankruptcy Safety Net Allows People to Keep Their Homes.
- Create a Save the Homestead Fund.
- End Predatory Lending Practices.
- Ban Prepayment Penalties.
- End Home Insurance Bullying Practices.
- A Homeowner’s Right to Mediate and Halt Foreclosure.
The Critical Challenges We Now Face
The Impact of the Current Housing Crisis: Over the past year, foreclosures have almost doubled. As a result of these foreclosures, effected homeowners stand to lose better than $164 billion in home equity wealth, while neighboring households and local municipalities can expect to lose almost $233 billion in diminished property value and declining tax revenue. Due to “Ballooning” interest rates and hidden fees, over the next one and a half years, a sudden sharp increase in mortgage payments will hit 2.5 million homeowners. As a direct result of these increases, many of these homeowners will see their monthly payments rise by 30%, or more.