If Angel and I could talk to each other, the conversation might go something like this.
Angel to me, why are people so upset because the government might save their neighbors house who is facing foreclosure. After all, they’re saying I make my payments on time, I don’t want or need a government handout, why should they get one?
Well, Angel, it’s not that simple. I remember when I took a law class, the instructor (who was an attorney) said, there is right and wrong, then there’s the law. Now I say, in these times there is right and wrong and then there is real estate. Real estate needs help now, and it may not be exactly the right or wrong way to do it, but something has to be done.
Helping our neighbor to avoid foreclosure helps all of us. It keeps housing inventory from increasing, it helps prevent our home values from dropping and it keeps the neighborhood from deteriorating. There are vast neighborhoods that have just fallen apart, one home after another being foreclose on, vandals tearing the house apart, or homeowners selling parts of their home before they move. (See my previous blog “Rip off a House, Go to Jail”)
Now some people have further said, what kind of an example are we giving our children? Are we teaching them that if they get in trouble the government will bail them out. I don’t think so; I think you need to educate your children as to the realities of the times. Sometimes, government just has to get involved for the good of the Nation.
What do you think Angel? I think that makes a lot of sense, can I have a cookie now?
Ditto. We need a fundamental shift in attitude in this country: there has been too much “what’s in it for me” and not enough “what’s the right thing to do?”. And your point, Albert, about wanting good neighbors vs. empty homes is an excellent one; although I don’t live in one I’ve heard about large subdivisions that have huge numbers of foreclosed (read: empty) homes in them. It must be very uncomfortable living in a subdivision like that…
Agreed, in my area alone, there are four homes that have been foreclosed on that originally moved in or around the same time that I did. I want good neighbors not empty homes, and having to water their lawns until someone moves in.