Henry Paulson is pushing the new plan which will be available to any homeowners — with either prime or subprime loans — who are at least three months behind on their mortgage payments.
The lenders participating are: Countrywide Financial, Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, Bank of America, Citibank and JP Morgan Chase.
These are some of the things that Paulson said this morning:
“Project Lifeline is aimed at homeowners who face a real risk of losing their home, but have not yet addressed the problem. Perhaps they are hoping to find a way to get current on their mortgage payments, or perhaps they don’t think any solution is possible. For whatever reason they have not yet taken action; our hope is that today’s announcement will reach them, and they will reach out immediately for help – especially now that the foreclosure process is upon them.”
“Of course, there will be homeowners who still take no action, and some will simply walk away from their mortgage – particularly those borrowers who put little or no money down and whose mortgage exceeds their home value. No program can bring every struggling borrower into the counseling and evaluation process, and we cannot help those who choose not to honor their obligations. But Project Lifeline has the potential to offer new solutions to responsible, able homeowners who want to keep their homes.”
“As our economy works through this difficult period, we will look for additional opportunities to try to avoid preventable foreclosures. However, none of these efforts are a silver bullet that will undo the excesses of the past years, nor are they designed to bail out real estate speculators or those who committed fraud during the mortgage process. These efforts are to help American families who both want to and can, through a loan modification or re-financing, stay in their homes.”
Source: National Bubble Blog
