Re: CommonDreams 8/20/07: “Save subprime borrowers, not bloated bankers” by Dean Baker
On Aug 20, 2007, at 11:10 PM, Rick Kisséll wrote:
Save Subprime Borrowers, Not Bloated Bankersby Dean Baker
There is a simple and direct way in which the federal government can help out millions of moderate income families struggling to keep their homes. They can simply change the rules on foreclosure to allow
moderate income homeowners the option to remain in their homes indefinitely as renters, paying the fair market rent.
It’s not clear who collects the rent - the mortgage holder?
A more quasi-socialist variation on this: you could create a public
entity that would buy the defaulted mortgage at a discount, collect
the rent to help fund its operations, and eventually turn the house
into some kind of limited equity property managed by the new entity.
Occupants could sell the property back to the public entity at a
price reflecting improvements plus inflation with no speculative
component.
Doug