A Response To The Critics Of Foreclosure Victims

October 30th, 2009 by Reed Allmand

As the foreclosure crisis worsens, many homeowners facing foreclosure are finding themselves the target of sensationalists, whiners and finger-pointers. The foreclosure crisis, some say, is the result of irresponsible, greedy homeowners who have taken on more than they could handle and now they’re experiencing the consequences of their extravagance.  But is that really true?

The foreclosure victim who has flipped a thousand houses or played the real estate “casino” is few and far between; but often gets the spotlight. However, the homeowner that has worked hard for 15 years saving and scrimping only to lose their home to foreclosure is the true face of this foreclosure crisis which robbing millions of their dreams and hopes. As we have said several times on this blog homeowners who are now victims of foreclosure, depended on the goodwill of the mortgage industry to provide safe mortgages that would allow them to fulfill their dreams of homeownership. But instead of long-term homeownership many homeowners got subprime mortgages designed to explode in cost within a few years or toxic mortgages that were never affordable to begin with. “You can refinance next year, in two years, in five years…” the homeowners were told, only to be faced with a credit crunch that won’t budge and a mortgage payment that is now delinquent because they simply can’t afford to pay.  These are ordinary Americans facing foreclosure, ordinary people, who may not have degrees in high finance or have a clear understanding of the mortgages they signed, which have become more complex during the real estate bubble. Wasn’t it the responsibility of the mortgage lenders to explain to these homeowners what could go wrong? Isn’t it now the responsibility of us all to make sure that these homeowners avoid foreclosure when possible and create situation where this foreclosure crisis can never happen again?

About Reed Allmand

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Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."

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