Even those who hold the least risky types of mortgages are falling victim to the weakened U.S. economy. Despite promises and efforts from the government to help keep more families in their homes, the rapid pace of job loss made the task nearly impossible to keep up with. As a result, those who originally qualified for the best mortgage rates because of their past credit history are late on their home payments and the delinquency rate has doubled in the first quarter from the prior year.
The rate of tardy payments (60 days or more past due) for prime mortgage holders has increased to 2.9% in March 2009, while the number was 1.1% in the same month of 2008. Earlier this year the Obama Presidency announced new plans to help struggling home owners keep the roofs over their heads in the form of refinancing and loan modifications. That program is aimed not only for those with ARM mortgages that have balloon to unrealistic monthly payments but also those who are officially upside down on their home loans.
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Although the government has some programs set out to help people in this mortgage crisis – do you think they’ve done enough to help? How do you think Americans will survive this?
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