Michigan remains among the top five states with homeowners in foreclosure or late in their mortgage payments. Along with California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, Michigan has had some of the sharpest increases in delinquent loans over the past 90 days. Many have hoped that President Obama's $275 billion housing stimulus bill would help struggling families but it seems many in Michigan won't qualify for mortgage relief. The funding is too narrowly tailored and many low-income Michigan homeowners have loans outside of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Lenders such as Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and GMAC Financial Services would also have to agree to comply.
The federal government is setting up a new website where (among other things) homeowners can find out if their loans qualify for housing stimulus bill assistance. However, still missing from legislation and all of the surrounding conversations is a concerted effort by government and banks to stop the tidal wave of foreclosures for low-income homeowners.
MWRO calls once again for moratorium on home foreclosures for low-income and working families! They need an opportunity to retain their homes while they work out other arrangements, jobs, and funding sources. Moratoriums can help not only these homeowners but the surrounding communities. The Michigan Moratorium Now Coalition offers Resources for Fighting an Individual Foreclosure.
It's time there was more assistance and effort being made to help struggling families keep what little left that they have. Housing is a human right!
(Image from Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shutoffs - Michigan blog)
1 comment:
You are correct, housing is a human right. Owning a home is not. Many people have no business owning homes, and letting them do so would be detrimental to our state. Part of that is what got us into the recession we're in now. Think of that before posting comments about that. We already have the highest home-ownership rate in the world, it doesn't need to reach 100%, nor should it!
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