Are Banks For Our Communities or Just Fraud ???

Bank of America has announced that it will reduce mortgage principles by up to $100,000 for up to 200,000 of its mortgage holders. Great, and while this is what Bank of America should have done years ago, I am sure Bank of America will make the rules so difficult, most homeowners who are underwater will not fit the limited qualifications. So, we need to continue to apply pressure to banks to help those homeowners who are struggling to pay underwater mortgages. In addition, we need to ask ALL banks who hold mortgages, especially those who hold underwater mortgages in the central valley, to step up and show they support the residents in the valley communities.  We need to pressure all banks in our community to reduce mortgage principles to the 2009 or 2010 property assessed values with forgiveness of the fraudulently high excess mortgage amounts. We are also pressuring the state and the federal government to not tax the forgiven principle amounts as income. Sometimes banks transfer loans to other banks to try to shift or escape “ownership” of the mortgages and keep their ill-gotten gains under a new name. If you find this has happened to you, please contact a trained HUD home loan counselor or send me an email at saveourvalley@hotmail.com. We can improve our quality of life in the valley if we can get banks and bankers to help by appropriately reducing the principle owed on all underwater home mortgages.
As a bank customer, please send this notice to your bank.

   “I am concerned about the home mortgage crisis. Banking schemes and manipulations cost all of us in the central valley - residents, businesses, parents, homeowners, students - valuable time, hurt many thousands of people, hurt our economy, impoverished our schools, and increased our national debt. The future of our children for generations to come is at stake and our national security too. Current banking policies our not in the best interest of our communities. Our community wants families and children in homes, not in rental units. The wealthy elite are gaining wealth and power on the backs of the middle-class and the low-income workers. Our valley will crumble if we can not get the banks and bankers on board to support and help our loved valley communities. You, as a bank, have received your federal bailout monies, which are supposed to be used to help citizens, not as a banker’s windfall.
Please adopt a broadened version of Bank of America’s Making Home Affordable Principle Reduction Program and allow ALL underwater home mortgages to have principle reductions to the level of their 2009 or 2010 assessed values, whichever is lower. Please let us know you are with us in this fight to improve our central valley economy, improve education, support teachers, support valley businesses, and help families and kids. ARE YOU WITH US?”

This problem affects both renters and home owners, so everyone is hurt by the manipulations by the banks. Rental rates skyrocket as homeowners are pushed out of their houses. As fewer people own homes, our community, schools and our kids suffer due to decreased income for the school budget causing layoffs and decreased classes. We are all in this boat and we need the banks to finally share their federal financial windfalls. Procrastination is not an option, too many have already been hurt.

 Dr. Loraine Goodwin, M.D., J.D.
Candidate CD 16 and Supervisor District 3