Okay, I worked for Obama, voted for him, and support him. But his mortgage assistance plan is apparently smoke and mirrors horseshit. Or does anyone know differently?
Someone close to me qualifies pefectly for the "Making Home Affordable" Plan, whereby people current on their mortgage who have suffered a sudden drop in income, sudden unexpected expenses (like medical bills), are supposedly getting a temporarily refinanced mortgage to meet their new circumstances.
My friend's experience has been that this is just another piece of deflective, pro-industry bullshit. She lost her job last October and has been eroding her savings to meet her mortgage payment. She's never missed a payment on this house she bought 8 years ago. After going through the application process, she gets advice from the mortgage company like, "You have too much money in the bank to qualify." (Ridiculous. She has a total of less than $10,000 to her name) and "Why don't you try missing a couple of payments?"
On the government Web site touting these programs, it says: "This site can help you determine if you are eligible, but only the servicer of your loan can tell you if you qualify. To qualify, you will generally need to show that you have adequate income to make the reduced payments on an ongoing basis and that modification is an appropriate option given the characteristics of your mortgage and the value of your home."
In other words: nobody gets it. Or am I wrong? Has Obama even released any figures as to how many people have gotten this refinancing? If this is how he handles health care, we're fucked. Right now, I think he's full of shit and that he does not know how to create a real social or economic assistance program that works. Anybody know anybody for whom this Making Home Affordable program has worked? Or what the stats are nationwide for how many people have "qualified?"