Obama: "too many homes underwater"

FINALLY !!!- President Obama addresses "underwater homeowners" + Call to action


                 Weekly Presidential address - Saturday October 20th 2012

........."Too many families are still having a hard time making the mortgage on their piece of the American Dream, {and} now we have to build on the progress we’ve made, and keep moving forward.  I never believed that the best way to deal with the housing market was to just sit back, do nothing, and simply wait for things to hit bottom. {I.E. The Romney Plan}That would have been a disaster for all the responsible families who – through no fault of their own – were struggling to make ends meet. Instead, I’ve made helping those homeowners a priority.

  

Since I took office, my Administration has taken action to help millions of families stay in their homes. 

We teamed up with attorneys general in almost every state to investigate and crack down on the practices that caused this mess.  And in the end, we secured a $25 billion settlement from the biggest banks – one of the biggest settlements in history – and used it to provide relief to families all across America.

We’ve taken action to help responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages. As a result, just this year hundreds of thousands of Americans who were stuck in high-interest loans have been able to take advantage of historically low rates and are saving thousands of dollars every year. 

And now I want every homeowner in America to have that chance. I just wish it didn’t require an act of Congress. But it does. So, back in February, I sent Congress a plan to give every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage by refinancing at historically low rates. That’s the equivalent of a $3,000 tax cut.

It’s a plan that we know will work.  It has the support of independent, nonpartisan economists and leaders across the housing industry.  It’s a no-brainer that should have passed easily. 

But Republicans in Congress banded together and kept this plan from even coming to a vote. They banded together and prevented millions of Americans – including many of you listening today – from saving $3,000 a year.  That’s money that could have gone back into the value of your home, or your kid’s college savings account. That’s money that could have gone into your local businesses, so they could hire and create more jobs in your town. 

But Republicans in Congress still won’t let that happen. And that’s only held back the economy, when we should be doing everything we can to accelerate our economic engine. Let’s be honest – Republicans in Congress won’t act on this plan before the election. But maybe they’ll come to their senses afterward if you give them a push. So contact your Representative, especially if this plan will help you or someone you know.  Tell him or her that American homeowners have waited long enough. Tell them that it’s time for Congress to stop standing in the way of our recovery and to start standing up for you."

Full White House transcript (HERE)

Related Post: HOME IS WHERE THE VOTE IS - Campaign - (HERE)

DEBATE: What Housing Crisis?

Eric Gay - Associated Press

A Housing and Foreclosure Crisis? What? Is there is still a housing crisis? That should be your reaction after Tuesday nights' second presidential debate failed to touch upon the topic that started the great recession. In the first debate, October 3rd, both President Obama and Governor Romney steered clear of addressing the foreclosure crisis that helped push the country into a recession, devastated millions of families and has continued to hold back the economy or even resemble a recovery. You may have by now come to the conclusion - The Housing Crisis is Over.

Tracy Van Slyke, Director at New Bottom Line @ HuffingtonPost:

HuffPost Politics Blog: The Real Debate Loser: The Voters

President Obama and Governor Romney gingerly sidestepped into housing and Wall Street abuse for an estimated two minutes. That seems like enough time to talk about, oh you know, the reason our economy is in the tank, millions of jobs lost, life savings ripped away, over 15 millions homeowners underwater, and millions of others unfairly (and often illegally) foreclosed on.

There was nothing about any attempts to hold Wall Street accountable for crashing the economy. There was zip about how to help the millions of homeowners still suffering. There were no policy proposals debated, much less put forth, including potential major solutions such as principal reduction, which economists from both ends of the political spectrum, say is key to get rebuilding our economy.
But even though I'm angry and depressed right now, I'm not going to give up. Neither will the homeowners and underwater voters pressuring the candidates to talk real solutions, not regurgitate attack ads. There's too much at stake.

* Only eight months ago, the president delivered 20 minutes of rhetoric on foreclosures, Wall Street crimes and how it wrecked the economy. He bragged on how the administration had made fixes and it was a top priority to repair the economy and hold Wall Street accountable!.....what happened? Try to watch even 10 minutes of the above video...any 10 minutes...why how about any 5 minutes or even 3 minutes. If you watch even a 2 minute clip...it will be more time ...than the president spent on this topic - during the entire debate.

Over the next few weeks, our Home Is Where The Vote Is campaign will continue to pressure both candidates to address the housing crisis as they travel the country talking to voters and homeowners in key swing states like Nevada, Ohio, Colorado and Florida. President Obama and Governor Romney ignore underwater voters in these swing states at their own peril.

We will call on the next presidential debate moderator, Candy Crowley, to fill the void left by her predecessor and to make the connection that the American people want to know which candidate can fix the housing crisis and rebuild our economy.

From Jed Kolko, chief economist for Trulia:

The First Presidential Debate: Apparently, This Housing Crisis Is Over

......First, in his opening remarks, Obama said "housing has begun to rise." He’s right: the housing market is in better shape today than when he took office in 2009. More surprising was that Romney didn’t argue. Romney did point out several ways that broader economic performance worsened during Obama’s presidency, but the housing market wasn’t one of them. Had Romney wanted to point to the ongoing pain from the housing crisis, he could have pointed to the stubbornly high foreclosure rate in many states or the fact that the market is still not even halfway back to normal. But he didn’t.

Second, Obama and Romney were more focused on preventing the next housing crisis than getting out of this one. They mentioned housing only in their brief debate over government regulation. Obama cited banks’ risky lending practices in the past as reason for why regulation is important for the future. Romney got into the weeds, agreeing that mortgage regulation is important and, in fact, blamed the continued uncertainty over the Dodd-Frank "qualified mortgage" rules** for banks’ {and their} reluctance to lend today.

But that was about it for housing. There’s a long list of what the candidates didn’t say about housing. Not a word about refinancing, principal reductions, selling government-owned foreclosed homes, or the mortgage interest deduction – all hot-button housing issues. Why wasn’t there more debate over housing? Two {Bronx} cheers to the candidates for focusing on rules to prevent the next housing

* President Obama discusses a proposal to help more responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages at today's historically low interest rates. February 1, 2012.

**A "qualified mortgage," is a mortgage meeting standards (with legal & financial measurement parameters)that automatically "count" (qualify) the mortgage as being within a borrower's ability to repay.

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Underwater Homeowner Vote may turn election

The cheer leading and rah-rah, heard at the presidential conventions, has long since died down. BUT, both candidates left a huge election topic (Housing) unaddressed, and as a result, the door is now wide open, to speak directly on Foreclosures and Underwater Homeowners. It is important that both men address these two (2) related issues instead of repeating & summarizing all the problems by using drone like rhetoric and simply calling it a Housing Crisis.

ELECTION NEWSFLASH:
President Obama - you - and Governor Romney will be competing for votes of millions of homeowners. As presidential candidates, you need to address the housing issues (Underwater Mortgages, Foreclosure, Fraudclosure, principal reduction) especially in big swing states such as Ohio, Colorado, Nevada and Florida. Current estimates show there are between 12 - 16 million underwater homeowners,


3 Americans Speak About Foreclosure & Underwater Housing (OH, NV, CO)

OHIO:
The housing crisis has hit OHIO harder....than but a handful of states. As a result, many OHIO VOTERS are underwater on their mortgages (mortgage debt is greater than value of home) Recent housing market data shows more than a half a million (529,834) OHIO mortgages are underwater. What does that mean?

*1 Million (1,000,258) Ohio eligible voters are underwater
12% of the eligible voters - underwater & 528,834 home mortgages - underwater

*To put these numbers in perspective, the number of Underwater Voters in Ohio (1,000,258) is OVER 1/3 of the total votes cast for the winning presidential candidate in 2008.

MESSAGE:  OHIO VOTERS

please join the New Bottom Line Campaign:

 HOME IS WHERE THE VOTE IS

The national campaign has put the agenda and vote of 16 million underwater homeowners squarely on the national political agenda. ‘Home is Where the Vote Is’ is a multi state effort to have the candidates address the issue.
These voters WILL influence and help decide the presidential election outcome!

Tracy Van-Slyke (Director of The New Bottom Line) & Mark Roarty (Ohio FRAUDclosure) take message to the White House

RELATED: Ohio Blogger to White House for Housing Summit
The candidate that fails to seriously address foreclosures, underwater homeowners, and the resulting housing crisis WILL BE the candidate that loses! See below as Tracy Van Slyke shares the importance (below) on the new HUFFPOST - Firsthand

Move video slider bar and begin at 10 minutes in - Shocking Truth Explained

READ Huffingtonpost Business Blog:
Underwater Voters Take Aim at Obama and Romney over Housing
....Neither President Obama nor Governor Romney has proposed the bold solutions needed to address the housing crisis at the root of the American economy’s troubles. Resetting mortgages to fair market value is essential to keeping families in their homes and the recovery of the US economy and job market. Economists from both sides of the political spectrum support it. Resetting those mortgages to fair market value would save the average underwater homeowner $543 per month, pumping $104 billion into the national economy every year. This would create 1.5 million jobs nationally

'Home is Where the Vote Is' is organized by The New Bottom Line, a growing movement of community organizations, congregations, and individuals working together to challenge big bank interests and fight for principal reduction for underwater homeowners. Allies mobilizing underwater voters this season include Rebuild the Dream, Right to the City, Home Defenders League, Ohio FRAUDclosure and the hundreds of thousands of underwater homeowner and voting families.

Our neighborhoods are being destroyed by foreclosed homes. It's our communities that are deprived of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue because too many homeowners have to unfairly pay the big banks instead of investing in local businesses. Entire communities are being blighted across our state and nation because of the failed policies and the on-going fraudulent practices of the big banks.

MORE: ...Huffington Post Business Blog - by Tracy Van Slyke

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Ohio Blogger to White House for Housing Summit

At White House Meeting, Youngstown Ohio Housing Leader, Blogger, Homeowner  - Pushes Obama Administration for Solutions to Foreclosure and Housing Crisis

WASHINGTON, DC – On Thursday September 13th, Mark Roarty, an Ohio leader and nationally recognized blogger and housing advocate traveled to our nation’s capital to meet with top Obama Administration officials at the White House. Mr. Roarty discussed the immediacy and need for implementing bold new solutions to the housing and foreclosure crisis that has devastated our communities. cities & states.

Mark Roarty prior to White House housing summit

In break-out meetings with officials from HUD, DOJ, and the White House National Economic Council - Mark joined 150 other leaders, clergy, homeowners, and housing advocates (representing 26 states) and laid out recommendations to address the housing crisis and getting our economy back on solid ground. Roarty, along with other leaders, told the White House administration that it is far past time that they enact policy solutions such as:
- Principal reduction as a bold new plan needed to address foreclosures, fix the housing crisis, create jobs, and reset the economy. Specifically, the request included strong language to remove Ed DeMarco, interim director of FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ed DeMarco obstinately and ideologically opposes principal reduction, despite its proven benefits for homeowners and taxpayers.
- Publicly support the RMBS Task Force investigating big bank fraud, which the president announced in his State of the Union address back in January. The task force needs additional financial resources and staff to conduct real and effective investigations. The task force work will result in accountability for Wall Street crimes that crashed our economy.
- A nationwide Homeowner Bill of Rights that enacts strong standards for how banks must work with borrowers in foreclosure, including mediation and mandatory principal reduction when it would help the homeowner and investor.

Later in the day, Roarty joined up with other Ohio housing support groups and organizational leaders to visit Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman. In the Senators' Washington D.C. offices they met with key staff to share ideas and ask for support from the Ohio Senators on the recently introduced Menendez/Boxer Bill (S. 3522). The bill would allow homeowners trapped in high-interest loans, guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to refinance into lower interest loans and also eliminate up-front fees along with appraisal and loan closing costs.

Roarty, was invited to the meeting because of  his affiliation with NPA and The New Bottom Line along with his nationally recognized blog Ohio FRAUDclosure. In Ohio, he is a leader and homeowner advocate with the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative (MVOC). 

Tracy Van-Slyke (Director of The New Bottom Line) & Mark Roarty on front steps of White House prior to meeting.

Mark Roarty is also one of three nationwide home-owner spokespersons for The New Bottom Line coalition's Home Is Where The Vote Is campaign. The campaign, with the goal of making President Obama and Governor Romney address the foreclosure and housing crisis, features Roarty in a two-minute video explaining the realities faced by thousands of Ohio homeowners. Some of the deeply felt pain, of being in foreclosure, is shared by Roarty in the video. Recently, after a 4 1/2 year legal battle, a decision was handed down by an Ohio Appellate Court reversing the illegal foreclosure on his home.



More than 400,000 OHIO homeowners have been foreclosed on since 2007, with the state’s eight urban cores being hit hardest. The spike in foreclosures has led to massive neighborhood blight, vacant properties and community disinvestment. Those maintaining their homes have seen a huge decline in value, leaving 529,834 Ohio homeowners underwater on their mortgages. That figure is roughly one quarter of all homeowners in the state. Nationally, there are almost 16 million underwater homes, totaling a loss of $1.2 trillion in home equity. Resetting those mortgages to fair market value would save the average underwater homeowner $543 per month, pumping $104 billion into the national economy every year. This would also allow financial capacity to create 1.5 million jobs nationally.

Related: New Jersey - Homeowners Underwater and abandoning ship.

The foreclosure crisis in Ohio is rooted in illegal activity by lenders and Wall Street and inadequate rules and enforcement. The misconduct included predatory sub-prime lending, targeting of senior citizens, veterans, and communities of color, and bundling and pawning off flawed mortgages, avoiding accountability. Those forces combined with record long-term unemployment to bring our economy to the brink of collapse, and continue to jeopardize our economic recovery.

"The Mahoning Valley (Youngstown), like many areas across the country, need help to stop the on-going and rampant bank and servicing fraud in foreclosure," Roarty said. "Local and state leaders and organizations have done everything possible to deal with the result of illegal and improper foreclosures (vacant homes & blighted neighborhoods) by helping secure funds for demolition. Now we need to address the cause. We need action, and we need it now. My home, our communities, and our economic future is depending on it."

Speaking directly to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan at the end of the meeting, Roarty, in front of the entire forum, asked that the administration officials in attendance pass along the importance of these issues  - directly to the President.

Although he was impressed that the administration agreed to host the forum, he feels that more immediate action is needed. "The President needs to address this in his campaign," Roarty said after the meeting. "It’s great that administration officials heard our concerns and critique, but this requires more than lip service."

Information for Ohio Homeowners at Home is Where the Vote is (HERE)

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The Big Lie - Foreclosure issues resolved

The current administration is revisiting the so called "Foreclosure Settlement"

* First....consider the settlement that the Obama Administration is now beginning to trumpet as one of its greatest achievements. This is the joint forty-nine state & federal settlement wherein the banks claim to eventually settle...by paying a  paltry $25 billion. (the 'headline number' provided by the White House) Not only is this a completely "disingenuous" claim, but it was systematically and totally dismantled by Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism (Top ranked financial blog).

In reality, and with maybe... a mere $5 billion (moved around on their books), the five criminal banks were released from ALL STATE lawsuits stemming from the massive and systemic fraud that went into the origination and servicing of housing loans throughout the bubble and into the crash. For this paltry sum, the banks were released from all liability stemming from a decade-long-run of illicit activities that fleeced millions of customers and inflated a bubble that eventually destroyed the economy of the United States and much of the world. Now, you might ask, to what did the five large banks, party to the settlement (Bank of America, Wells-Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, and Ally Bank) agree to do in exchange for this wonderful bounty of sweeping immunity? They committed themselves, after much dodging and wrangling, to follow the law of the land! (Are you serious ! Really!) Specifically, they promised to stop engaging in fraudulent foreclosure practices. That is harsh! (sarcasm!)

Consider the massive evidence of FRAUD -- besides the reams of paper and court documents, this includes the many witnesses who have spoken to the media, written testimonials or books, already testified in court on related matters, etc. Then, consider even this partial list of crimes to be investigated. Accounting fraud screams out for action under Sarbanes-Oxley; loan origination fraud (including, by 2006, almost universal appraisal fraud); the robo-signing, forgeries, and post-dating of documents that for years were routinely submitted to courts during legal proceedings; the myriad of tax avoidance scams and lost paperwork that were a core feature of the mortgage electronic registration systems; the deliberate misrepresentation in the "Warrants and Reps" attached to the packaging and sale of mortgage-backed securities and derivatives thereof; and on and on it goes. (I should add that, coincidentally, soon after this settlement was signed, several states inexplicably dropped or settled what were very promising criminal investigations.)

But, let us be fair, the Administration got more than that (exaggeration !) Contingent on their meeting a number of criteria, families found to have lost their home through fraudulent actions taken by one of these five gigantic loan servicers were to be eligible to receive $1,500 to $2,000! Now, I cannot speak for you. But if, as a consequence of fraud or negligence on the part of a major bank, I lost my home and as a consequence also lost my credit rating, neighborhood, dignity, and the ability of any children I might have to remain in the schools and with the teachers with whom they were familiar, I would be very angry. If, years later, I got a check for $2,000, such a paltry payment for all that I had lost would strike me as only one more of a long line of humiliations. Some real personal homeowner humiliations are shared below



Apparently, Obama's campaign managers believe that reminding voters listeners of this most awful settlement, one that so clearly defines and encapsulates everything that is so wrong about the Administration's approach to disciplining fraudulent financial institutions, is their best strategy for convincing voters that things would be so much worse under a Romney Administration

 * Excerpts above ....come from a brilliant HuffingtonPost Blog by Robert Prasch titled:

The Obama Administration, the 49 State Mortgage Settlement, and the Spin: A Study in Shamelessness (HERE)

Related post:  Home is Where the Vote Is  (HERE)

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Home is Where the Vote Is

OHIO is being called the most important swing state for the 2012 election!



NEWSFLASH:
President Obama - you - and Governor Romney will be competing for votes of millions of homeowners. As presidential candidates, you need to address ALL the housing issues (Underwater Mortgages, Fraudclosure, Fannie & Freddie holdings) in big swing states such as Ohio, Colorado, Nevada and Florida. Current estimates show there are between 12 - 16 million underwater homeowners, in addition to millions of fraudulent foreclosures that are NOT being counted in these totals.

OHIO:
The housing crisis has hit OHIO harder....than but a handful of states. As a result, many OHIO VOTERS are underwater on their mortgages (mortgage debt is greater than value of home) Recent housing market data shows more than a half a million (529,834) OHIO mortgages are underwater. What does that mean?

1 Million (1,000,258) Ohio eligible voters are underwater
12% of the eligible voters - underwater
528,834 home mortgages - underwater

To put these numbers in perspective, the number of Underwater Voters in Ohio (1,000,258) is OVER one third of the total votes cast for the winning presidential candidate in 2008. **

MESSAGE: 

OHIO VOTERS: please join the New Bottom Line Campaign:

 HOME IS WHERE THE VOTE IS

It's not just Ohio's underwater homeowners - it's millions of homeowners being impacted

Washington, DC: - Today (August 22nd) - a national campaign will put the agenda of 16 million underwater homeowners squarely on the national political agenda. ‘Home is Where the Vote Is’ will engage in a 8 state campaign to influence the presidential election with on-the-ground actions led by underwater homeowners along the travel routes of both candidates. The campaign will give a voice to the underwater voter -- a key voting bloc - this election cycle. Swing states included in the campaign are some of the hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, including OH, CO, NV, FL, IA, MI.

'Home is Where the Vote Is' is organized by The New Bottom Line, a growing movement of community organizations, congregations, and individuals working together to challenge big bank interests and fight for principal reduction for underwater homeowners. Allies in highlighting and mobilizing underwater voters this season include Rebuild the Dream, Right to the City, Home Defenders League, Ohio FRAUDclosure and the hundreds of thousands of underwater homeowner and voting families.

READ Huffingtonpost Business Blog:
Underwater Voters Take Aim at Obama and Romney over Housing

Neither President Obama nor Governor Romney has proposed the bold solutions needed to address the housing crisis at the root of the American economy’s troubles. Resetting mortgages to fair market value is essential to keeping families in their homes and the recovery of the US economy and job market. Economists from both sides of the political spectrum support it.

'Home is Where the Vote Is' will elevate the real stories and power of underwater voters to the level that the campaigns will be forced to respond. Nationally, there are 16 million underwater homes, worth $2.8 trillion, that are $1.2 trillion underwater.  Resetting those mortgages to fair market value would save the average underwater homeowner $543 per month, pumping $104 billion into the national economy every year. This would create 1.5 million jobs nationally

The candidate that fails to seriously address Wall Street , underwater homeowners, and the resulting housing crisis WILL BE the candidate that loses.



More Americans Speak Out About Underwater Housing - (OH, NV, CO) 

Our neighborhoods are being destroyed by foreclosed homes. It's our communities that are deprived of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue because too many homeowners have to unfairly pay the big banks instead of investing in local businesses. Entire communities are being blighted across our state and nation because of the failed policies and the on-going fraudulent practices of the big banks.

MORE: ...Huffington Post Business Blog - by Tracy Van Slyke

OHIO: Home is Where the Vote Is

OHIO is being called the most important swing state for the 2012 election!

NEWSFLASH:
President Obama - you - and Governor Romney will be competing for votes of millions of homeowners.  But, presidential candidates need to address ALL the housing issues (Fraudclosure, Fannie & Freddie holdings, Underwater Mortgages) in big swing states such as Ohio, Florida, Colorado and Nevada. Current estimates show there are between 12 - 16 million underwater homeowners, in addition to fraudulent foreclosures NOT counted in that total. That is potentially some 15 - 20 million voters who are watching how you - as President - and Governor Romney will address this issue. But that's just the tip of the iceberg...

Mansfield Ohio 8-1-12 photo by Luke Sharrett The New York Times

It's not just the millions of homeowners impacted - it's all of us. It's our neighborhoods that are destroyed by foreclosed homes. It's our communities that are deprived of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue because too many homeowners have to unfairly pay the big banks instead of investing in local businesses. Entire communities are being blighted across our state and nation because of the failed policies and the on-going fraudulent practices of the big banks.

MESSAGE:  The candidate that fails to seriously address Wall Street accountability, foreclosures, underwater homeowners and the resulting housing crisis WILL BE the candidate that loses ...HuffingtonPost Business Blog - by Tracy Van Slyke:

President Obama: Home Is Where the Vote Is
.....Just over four years ago, Wall Street and big banks crashed the economy, causing home values to tank. Now over 15 million homeowners are underwater--drowning in debt to banks they shouldn't owe. This means that the money they have worked hard and saved for to buy their home to invest in their future, support their retirement, their kids' college funds, and any safety net is gone.

And this is the crux of a major election issue. The Washington Post and National Public Radio have already started to report that Presidential candidates need to address housing in swing states.....

..... start publicly addressing how to hold Wall Street accountable (everyone but Wall Street loves that!) and really, truly, boldly, support millions of homeowners and everyday people whose lives have been systematically ruined by the big banks.

Read more of Tracy's blog (LINK HERE)

In Palm Beach County Florida....your vote ...can make a difference ....(HERE) & (HERE)