CNN

Should I ."restructure my mortgage"? I would, If I could pay the present one; without a job................I'm not as fortunate as you are, you have a job; you "elitist", now you restructure that!

I agree with Bill... there has to be a moratorium on forclosures.

While there will be a few 'homeowners' who will just use the time, and money, during the moratorium to do stupid stuff; they are probably the ones who would have been forclosed on anyway.

Fixed rate mortgages need to become the standard again, with people considering their budgets when buying a home.

But, that can't happen unless lenders have money to loan... unless homebuyers have jobs and means to pay a mortgage... and, unless homes are actually affordable.

We have a lot of 'correcting' to do...

THIS IS NOT THE ONLY CRISIS. THANKS TO THE RIGHT WINGED REPUBLCIANS AND JOHN McSHAME WE ALSO RECORD DEFICITS, FALLING DOLLAR, RECORD GAS PRICES, PROFITS BY BIG OIL WHILE MIDDLE AMERICA CAN'T FIND JOBS TO BIG JOB LOSES. HOPEFULLY THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA CAN'T BE FOOLED FOR A THIRD TIME!

VOTE FOR A STRONG AMERICA

Wow, they just found out, there's been crisis in my house since Bush came to power

Risk is involved with everything. Why did the housing market act as if it anticipated this dream to never end? That's the risk, now you lay in your bed. Do not expect me to be sympathetic just because YOU ARE NOT MAKING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OFF US!

Bush's people are just now realizing this now. mcCain will catch on in a few months. God, how useless are these people?

Somebody tell this guy, that , we have been in a "housing crisis" for a long while now; where the hell, has he been?

Has this guy been under a rock ... what the hell is wrong with these people?

Really? No duh.

I could have told you that 18 months ago, for half of his salary!!! Save the taxpayers some $$$.

Ya think??????????????????

Not to forget the biggest reason: the Bush administration's refusal to regulate the subprime mortgage market despite repeated and insistent warnings from dozens of economists.

A few people lost their house because they lost their jobs. Most people lost their homes because they bought way over their head. All they had to do was have a crooked lender tell them they could afford it and they wanted the house so bad they fell for it. I say let the housing crisis run its path and let the ones who took out these loans they can not pay go under. Of course I feel the same way with WALL STREET and them crooks.

There isn't a National Crisis, in Oklahoma we went through very similar times in the mid to late 80's. Many of us had to file bankruptcy. We had to rent for several years until our credit was repaired. We made the same mistakes of taking out variable rate loans from many of these same institutions. No one, not our state government or our federal government came to "bail us out", which was as it should have been. We paid our "stupid tax", as financial advisor Dave Ramsey calls it. I understand the emotional strains of going through foreclosure. But I do not think that there should be a government bail out of either lenders or borrowers.

We were able to buy another home a few years back. We took a fixed rate loan. We also declined to borrow the amount that the lenders said we could qualify, even though they said we should "stretch" and buy as much as we could possible afford. The amount of loan that we took was 1/3 the amount they said we could qualify to receive. It was insane to think of spending that much on our home. So many of the people that can not pay borrowed on bad advise from lenders. So both sides should pay their own stupid tax, and the taxpayers should not be bailing anyone out.

This proves Bush's adminstration really takes pride in being ignorant. Steve, you JUST NOW, figured it out that we have a housing crisis?

Another gem of brilliance from the Bush administration!

Yuh think? Those bush guys are always on top of it aren't they.....

really I didn't notice

The key question in the above comments is "who got the money." In the wake of "overbuilding" and "poor financial instruments" who got the money. Preston's comments look much like other Bush administration comments about the war, Katrina, and gas prices. Accountability, something Bush is more than willing to heap on school systems, etc. through "No Child Left Behind," is sorely lacking when it comes to the financial arena. So, who wins out of this and how do we, the taxpayers, who are about to fund the bailout, get those dollars back. Seems like a resonable question. Someone please do the math and get back to us.

What about the responsibility of the borrowers? In the olden days, people had more than 20% downpayment to buy a house and only got houses that can be paid in one paycheck of the month. In the name of redistribution of wealth, we tried to help everyone in America to get houses. Lot of them did not have any downpayment and could not cope with the Adjustable rate mortages. Bush administration tried to increase the affordability to everyone and it is backfiring them. Social programs will always come to bite us back. We just need the market to correct themselves and come back from the extreme speculative market of 2003 to 2005.

Any Citizen who believes anything these conspirators are saying, to protect their pay checks and personal housing savy, need to invest heavly in the Stock Market and let the dice roll. A bunch of fortune tellers. They may as well throw chicken bones on the table for your amusement.

Wow another rocket scientist.Dont forget the house flippers and the effects they had.

thanks for telling me what i already know moron!

Lets see...

Low paying jobs
Unemployment,
High cost of living

Bush in the White House,
McShame messing around trying for Bush III

Ya nows the perfect time to spend $250,ooo on a home.

That surely was an article filled with understatements. Americans who don't understand macroeconomics need to get a book or check the recent BusinessWeek article that explains this stuff for the common wo/man.

If the Bush administration knows that we are in the middle of the housing crises and what caused it. Then why couldnt they see it coming? I did. The Republicans, Bush, McClueless Et Al. Have proven themselves to be sad and inept at runnung our nation.

thank you for that update turtle dude.

HUD – Housing Under Demolishion!

How to go Prestie! Soon you will be unemployed and then you can go apply to Freddie or Fannie to be on the rubber chicken circuit! Pastureland for Preston!

How to describe what happened! I like how no ONE person is to blame! Sure!! Bush.

Thanks to the democrats in Congress who pressured banks to give loans to "PO-FOLK" for the 'good of the people' now the people have to pay.

Thanks for nothing democrats!!!!!!!!!!!!

He's just stating the obvious. We have a housing and mortgage crisis that is the result of people who foolishly borrowed beyond their means and lenders who stupidly loaned more than they reasonably should have......both mindlessly looking at a market of rising real estate values they apparently thought would never peak and crash. Helllooooo! What were all of them smoking?

I have little sympathy for the involved parties. They brought it on themselves.

No _ _ _ _ Skippy.

I'm glad Mr. Preston decided to change the channel from FoxNews and started to get the real facts.

That's because most of proposed buyers, still live in them..

Big deal. The most IMPORTANT matter for the media is when, how, how long did Edwards had an affair with X, Y and Z ...

Eight Ball, allow me to introduce Steve Preston, the buffoon standing behind you with the rest of the Bush Administration.

Ron, what are you talking about? "Fat paychecks?" There's a hell of a lot more money to be earned in the private sector than in governmental positions. Keep telling yourself it's the government's fault if it makes you feel better about the fact that you took out a mortgage you knew you couldn't repay. America's problem isn't governmental dependency, it's credit. Americans try to live beyond their means and borrow more than they can earn.

Oh! You don't say1

Gee do you think!?! More brilliance from the Bushies.

There ARE buyers who are trying to buy, but the lenders are NOT lending because they have no cash at the moment ..... Lenders are out of cash, and have NO access to capital at the moment. Closing dates on approved loans are being delayed and are not funding ..... That's why there's no housing recovery possible at the moment.... Almost every house where the borrower is behind WILL go into foreclosure and push things down further, unless there is a moratorium on forclosures until cash can be infused. Add to that more than 2,000,000 homeowners whose credit has tanked while they tried to hold on, and there will be no buyers in any market ahead .....because they have been taken out as potential buyers, too.

Did he figure this out all by himself or did he have help ?

The American voting public have only themselves to blame for the mess we're in because they keep on electing the same incumbents and if not incumbents then it's cookie cutter Republican and Democrat clones. Nothing'll change until we start sending Independents to Washington. If the two main parties see power slipping from their grasps then they just may change.

And, by the way, I always vote for whoever isn't a Republican or Democrat, so don't blame me.

McCain's plan for the housing crises: a surge to destroy the houses.

Obama's plan: talk to the houses without blame.

Both candidates: don't change anything that will upset my lobbyists.

Support your favorite third party!

Answer: Ed, Santa Fe, NM.
Uh, yeah. That includes John McCain.

Sounds like someone is a little late in the game. Where was this idiot before the mess started. Typical Bush crony.

Newsflash! Wake up government! We have homeless veterans out here! Veterans WHO HAVE DISABILITES and therefore have damaged credit from going thru the long, drawn out disability process. Some senator should sponser a bill that issues government housing loans to disabled veterans with bad credit. Any veteran with 50% or about service connection should be given a housing loan and the payments automatically deducted from their pension so that they can have a home of their own. It's so simple yet we still have thousands of homeless veterans! Someone needs to get off their duff and start being part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

I would like to know what provision is HUD making to help new homebuyers so that they would not fall into the housing crisis that is currently going on with a large foreclosure market. Is there any cash back at tax time, or cash back at the closing tables. This will be a good incentive to encourage new home owners to buy.

Good call Dude...very observant!

Bet McWarmonger and his wife Botox Barbie don't give a royal rats. After all, they have 8 mansions and only have back payments in taxes due on the one in CA.

Hope people vote with their brain this year, and not for Bush third term. Republicans care for the rich only.

DUH, do ya think?

Just another article of how the government should bail out stupid people. Please people become independents...both parties are corrupt.

Thank you for let us know, you imbecil..!!!!

This is news??? And yes, Ed, obviously everyone in the Bush administration is a moron!

Obviously there is a housing crises. There has been one for some time and announcing it now is just a little behind the times. But then everyone should have seen it a long, long time ago. The housing inflated costs were bound to catch up and they did. It is like people were wearing blinders, closing their eyes to what was taking place. Oh yes, and Bush just kept saying that everything was cool. What a joke this administration has been and continues to be.

Everyone involved with the housing should be tarred and feathered and then publicly fired.
Everyone who lined thier pockets should be charged with fraud.

They have distroyed the economy of this country and that includes those of you that invest in the markets and are hiding behind that office that makes the money and then give the share holders tier bucks while they remain nameless. You are as much to blame as the CEO's that take those criminal wages.

Nice to make big bucks but not at this expense. we're all too blame

i say let the market right itself. it was created by the greed of mortgage companies and lenders and equally greedy buyers who could not afford them in the first place. we may be forced to bail out big business, but only on a pay back system when they get solvent. as far as the buyers, it is not the governments fault they entered into a contract they knew they couldn't afford. a few percentage points in a mortgage may make you have to tightened up a bit, but if it makes you unable to pay your mortgage, i rest my case. what comes next do we bail out car loans. this whole country is becoming dependent on government, be it local, state or congressional, all caused by politicians catering to the public to stay elected and collect their fat paychecks.if it continues we will implode and become a third world country. we need someone who will stop this endless spending and bring back some pride in this country

duh.... is every person in the Bush administration a moron?

Way to be right on top of things, there, Brownie.

Duh! What was this guy's first clue.

Please ask our leaders that if a bail out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is really necessary, then why can't it be in the form of a loan from the taxpayers (i.e. government money). When an average taxpayer gets in over his or her head financially his or her only option is to borrow the money, often times from these very same institutions at a high interest rate and bail themselves out. Why should it be any different here? I understand the argument that if we don't bail out these agencies or banks like Bear Sterns their will be worse reprecussions in the country's overall economy. Well, if that is the truth and only the experts know if in fact that is the case, then why the free ride? President Bush said wallstreet got drunk, a reference to how much money was made at the expense of the average citizen. Well it is time for them and all other big business to sober up!!!! Don't throw away my money!!! If you need to use it to bail out financial institutions fine. I will agree to a reasonable interest rate.

People cannot afford homes and we need someone to get our economy back on the fast track like it was in the 90's.
OBAMA '08 !!

land of crooks and idiots. that sumps it all up.

Many of these homeowners would like to have back their jobs that supported the mortgage they originally qualified for.

Mr Secretary are you woke Yet? Hello,,,,, this has been going on for a couple of months now? Hello.

This is Bushenocmics at it's best with Mccainenomics to follow if ellected.

SUCH A BRILLIANT OBSERVATION, MORON !!!

DID THE OTHER ADMINISTRATION IDIOTS FILL YOU IN ?

Well, duh. How much are we paying this genious?

Da!

If we get rid of the income tax it would set off an explosion in homebuying and pull us out of every other market problem, including unemployment.

He is very bright. Is this something he just realized?