Help for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

November 20, 2008

Everyone seems to agree that flooding the market with empty, foreclosed homes does not help neighborhoods maintain stability – either as a way of living, or regarding the value of homes. Empty homes do nothing for a neighborhood.

Recently some organizations are taking tentative steps to allow homeowners who are defaulting on their mortgage to remain in their homes –at least for the time being.

Fannie and Freddie Mac have announced that they are freezing foreclosure sales until after the new year while they review strategies and the future of their organizations. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. recently announced foreclosure-prevention programs that aim to reduce interest rates, extend repayment schedules and, in the case of Citigroup, reduce loan amounts, to help borrowers keep their homes. But the programs have focused primarily on loans wholly owned by those companies because they feel they have more authority to rework those mortgages.

HSBC is also making more options available to more people. For example, it is contacting customers before their adjustable-rate loans reset to higher rates and freezing the current rate or allowing the borrower to pay a rate below what the new rate would be. The bank also is lowering fixed rates for selected borrowers. All this in an effort to stave of foreclosures.

One way of stabilizing markets where supply exceeds demand is to regulate supply. That way the people who can buy homes can buy from sellers who can’t afford to stay in their current home. But, amazingly enough, new home construction is still going on – even in saturated markets. Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg suggests, only half-jokingly, that the Treasury should impose a moratorium on home building. "It sounds like lunacy, but we have to destroy the housing capital stock to help put a floor under the market," he said.

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Local Information for Indianapolis, IN

Latitude: 39.790942 -- Longitude: -86.147685

Other Area Cities: Beech Grove Greenwood Carmel Cumberland Lawrence Meridian Hills Rocky Ripple Speedway Williams Creek Wynnedale Zionsville Indianapolis Brownsburg Plainfield

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Indianapolis is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. According to the 2000 Census, its population is listed as 791,926, making it Indiana's most populous city and the 12th largest city in the U.S.. The Combined Statistical Area (CSA)of Indianapolis has a population of about two million people. Indianapolis is the third largest city in the Midwest after Chicago and Detroit. A fairly "American" city that has managed to escape its Rust Belt reputation, Indianapolis is well known as a city with a strong sports reputation, having hosted major events such as the 1987 Pan American Games and is perhaps most known for its annual race, the Indianapolis 500. People from the Indianapolis area are colloquially referred to as Hoosiers, although the correct term would be Indianapolisians. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Indiana 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Indianapolis	Indiana	United States
Population	781,870	6,080,485	281,421,906
Median age	33.5	35.2	35.3
Median age for Male	32.2	33.9	34
Median age for Female	34.8	36.5	36.5
Households	320,107	2,336,306	105,480,101
Household population	763,962	5,902,331	273,643,273
Average household size	2.39	2.53	2.59
Families	192,754	1,602,501	71,787,347
Average family size	3.04	3.05	3.14
Housing units	352,429	2,532,319	115,904,641
Occupied units	320,107	2,336,306	105,480,101
Vacant units	32,322	196,013	10,424,540

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