Has anyone ever read the fine print on principal write downs for current reworks, fdic run banks like indymac and the proposals floating in the legislature. They aren’t what you think, they don’t forgive the loan, they “write down” the loan for purposes of determining the payment but they don’t actually forgive it, when you sell, transfer or refi, they get that back. It’s a modified way to contnue a teaser rate or having a silent partner. The FHA sponsored stuff actually gives the forgiver their original money back and a cut of any profit. They also prohibit helocs, forever.
It will keep a roof over your head but that is about it. Let’s see, you pay someone a mortgage payment and when you leave, you get nothing, that smells a lot like renting except you get a tax deduction yet pay a higher payment over rent. Here is a scenario, FB pays 600k zero down, neg am, balance is 625 and enter some write down program. Their mort should have gone from 2800 to 5000 but the rework bases the loan on the current value of 350k and they pay about 2500 piti, usually .38 of their income in typical reworks. Then after ten years, they have paid down about 50k, price comes back to 650, after realtor fees and closing they clear 600, principal is 300k and rework holdback is 275k, lender gets the 575k in it’s entirety and they walk with 25k for ten years of paying too much for rent and all the maintenance. That is if it gets back to 650k. If it goes to 750k, bank gets half of the 100k profit, which offsets ten years of no interest on the 275k and the borrower walks with 75k but houses cost 750k.
It would actually be better to walk away or buy a place for 350k, walk away from the old and when and if things return just like the previous scenario, you are up 250-350k after fees. Or just walk away, rent for a year or two, buy a 350k house with fha 3 1/2 down and reap the actual rewards. Reworks are debtors prisons, much better for the lender than the fb, and that is why it wont work. So don’t get your panties in a bunch about all this forgiveness.
