Idea for Fixing the Mortgage Foreclosure Mess

In the City Update; Council Perspective mailed to most Woodbury citizens: The mayor writes about helping to fill vacant homes, which is admirable, but only puts a small dent in the depth of the Housing crisis we are in.

I saw the depth of our housing crisis, firsthand, working as a field supervisor for the 2010 Census Bureau, which tracked residential occupancy in the Woodbury area. There were 100s of homes, in Woodbury alone, sitting empty. It’s sad to see how out of touch some folks are with the struggles of many. That is why our elected officials need to act now on this proposal put forth.

A solution may be to allow that when the homeowner finds themselves short on cash, homeowners can skip up to 3 months of their mortgage payments, adding the payments at the end of the mortgage term. Simple and common sense approaches like this would:

•  Act as a stimulant for the economy, at little to no cost.
•  Ease the burden for many concerning financial issues.
•  Be fair to all because of everyone having this option.
•  Reduce crime associated with vacant properties.
•  Put us on the road to economic recovery.
•  Stabilize local Gov’t revenue streams by finally curbing property devaluations.
•  Encourage families back in empty homes through new home ownership.
•  Increase mortgage companies being paid, instead of dealing with foreclosed properties.
•  Establish a new revenue stream for insurers for mortgage payment insurance.

Granted, these ideas will require actual hard work from our elected officials. They will have to put pressure on Bankers and Wall Street executives. They will have to enact ordinances and laws to accommodate this proposal. (Which they seem good at doing on other issues not so pressing).

The people of Woodbury have waited and wondered whether anything productive will ever occur long enough. Hopefully, this proposal will not meet the same fate as the compost proposal (See Dec. 2010 Woodbury Bulletin) for the benefit of Woodbury’s citizens did. The fact of the matter is that “the banks got a bailout, while homeowners got sold-out”. Some folks may discount these ideas as simplistic, but all it takes to understand this concept is a little common sense and to muster up some courage; something surely lacking in our current MN. Legislative body.

A lot of hard working Woodbury residents could get “back on their feet” with a proposal like this being enacted. Furthermore, by making this available to all homeowners, it is fair for Woodbury folks in all income ranges.  Woodbury residents who were or are struggling can have the opportunity to get “back on their feet” and our city can serve as a model for proactive homeownership instead of the reactive government and policies that we witness today.