Your opinion holds weight. Would there be as many if you were positive?

Some amazing 'SPIN' going on here. Yes, $75BILLION DOLLARS sounds like a lotta money. Until you realize we have 9MILLION homes in 'foreclosure' or about to be. Most of them should have never got legitimate loans in the first place. SO NOW DIVIDE THE 9M HOMES INTO $75B and presto you get $8000+ FOR EVERY MORTGAGE HOLDER!!! Not very much help is it??? WAKE-UP PEOPLE THIS IS NOT TO HELP HARD-WORKING PEOPLE - IT IS TO SUBSIDIZE SUB-STANDARD MORTGAGE HOLDERS 'SKATE' THROUGH THE MESS THE GOVERNMENT CAUSED BY GIVING THEM LOANS THEY DIDN'T QUALIFY FOR AT THE OUTSET!!!

Are you responsible for your neighbor’s bad decisions?

http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2009/02/obama-mitigating-mortgage-foreclosures.html

Obama and Congress appear to think so. Is there any common sense in this program?

good news is that this is only for conforming loans - so jumbo loans will not be bailed out. Luxury market is still lookng to crash. Awesome.

This foreclosure prevention plan is a travesty. Not only does it take money from responsible people and dole it out to those who were irresponsible, but it also will prolong the inevitable. Re-defaults are absolutely staggering. Foreclosure must happen. To delay it further is to exacerbate the housing downturn and delay recovery.

First we were asked to bailout banks. Then auto manufacturers. Then states. Now we're expected to bailout irresponsible borrowers too? Where does this madness end! Foreclose on these people, boot them out, claim the mortgage insurance, list the house for sale, and get rid of it ASAP. It will hurt, but we'll get this over with sooner rather than later. The faster we take the pain and move on, the faster sound buyers like myself will get off the fence.

What's even worse are these new "risk fees" Freddie and Fannie are about to tack onto mortgages. I wouldn't be surprised to see other lenders follow suit. The market will be further strangled by profiteering fees and a lack of consequences for poor decisions.

Just to make sure I understand this right:

My house (a rowhouse in the city) has dropped in value since I bought it (with, for instance, the houses on both sides of me having been foreclosed on and hurting prices), and I'm now just about at the water mark (owe just about as much as it's worth, so not underwater but no equity). I've never missed or even been late on a payment.

If Fannie or Freddie owned my mortgage, I could refi and take advantage of the current very low rates. But since Citi owns my mortgage (at least, until they implode), I'm out of luck.

Is that right? If so, wow does that stink!

Hi, KristinB. You might want to check with Citi to make sure. If Fannie or Freddie securitized your loan -- and they've securitized a lot of loans, so it's possible -- then you would be eligible.

Thanks, Jamie! I'll check!

This bill is disaster. It clearly favors the 'burbs and vast low-income areas.

If you are an entrepreneur, creative or middle-class urban resident you are screwed and highly taxed. This bill helps to promote low salary workers who were taken advantage of by flash-and-dash in their own communities. It gives way too much power to the appraiser who works for the bank. Can you say Corruption? This bill will do no good for creating jobs, the environment and little for community.

This is all brought to you by the same government and greed that got us here.

As a side note but not promotion: You may want to get a Realtor involved to supply stats., That is big part of jobs these days that we do for free! It can't hurt. We give better stats. than this blog and it only takes a few seconds to do so.

Your work along with another reporter here has done more damage than your ego will fathom. While you have built a substantial base in the 'burbs your harm is most readily felt in the City. The Sun loves to exploit its woes, and you are no different. At times I can feel how much you dislike working here. Your recent article favoring Northern Virginia capsulated this. I have lived there and been exposed to that a lot of my life. If you don't understand the beauty of Baltimore that should not be expressed so highly... it is your thing, I guess.

What I understand from reading your blog:

- Green, taxes and mass transit is not your thing.
- The environment, especially the Bay, nope.
- Your opinion on the city is like most other life long suburban dwellers - it sucks
- Headlines rule, actual caring rare
- Like most of your colleagues the city is meant to exploit
- Taxes and how it affects real estate, not your thing
- Easier the story the better
- Analysis never
- Community who cares. right (we write for headlines)

Real estate is broad field, your concentration on the worst at this point is dull. You didn't get in early enough... trying to make up for it now is a little scary. Your opinion is sophomoric and boring.

Your blog is read by hundreds and has had tons of damage that the city will feel for years (are you paid off?).

I wonder if how many people would have moved here if it wasn't for your and So and So's,. reporting.

Would you rather live in NVA or what? You have never left Columbia and you dis the city all the time. Shouldn't that be disclosed?

My belief is that you grew up in-between, you think they are better than we - now you are working for the Sun, not the Washington Post, and it is your ego at stake.

I dis-like DC and grew up there, lived there and around. Baltimore, like it or not, is a great town that I moved back to, even after living in NYC too.

Maybe you are into all of that pretentiousness and think its cool but what I am certian after all these years YOU think we suck.

Your damage is apparent. Good for you! But I kind of wish you would leave and experience Northern Virginia for yourself. I bet after a year you will come running back here and give us the props we deserve.

I understand your opinion. You have never experienced the beauty of Baltimore. Your paper urges you to exploit it frailties. I challenge you to go someplace else; you have lived in Columbia your entire life. Go away for a few years and then report back.

Dunn, why don't you go start your own blog? I and many other people don't want to read Realtor stats or non-market news when the market IS the news. Some of your Realtor pals in Howard County actually had the audacity to try to tell me, a sidelined buyer, that house prices will appreciate 5% for each of the next 5 years. We all know that's not true. When zip code 21076 declines an additional 30% to 40% then it'll be time to get positive.

With re-default rates hitting 60%, no mortgage plan will save the housing market. That's not a part of Realtor stats. Prices must fall. You can't stick a bandaid on a severed critical artery and expect improvement.

Should I mention that because I am community activist, regular blogger, and e-mail local council People that this blog has killed my business. I still continue despite of this.

If you live in the City you have a fiend here.

* I am willing to protest, support, and write. Whatever it takes.

I will be writing an essay soon and sending it out, protesting during election year, creating a web-site etc... Somebody has to.

I have had a blog, pre-dating this one. This blog owner prefers me to be the antagonist. Someone has to be the fodder to b*tch at. I provide that.

This blog owner may not allow mine to be posted here. We differ in opinons.

Dunn, you're embarrassing yourself. But hey, you're not the 1st realtor to do it.