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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bread Upon The Water who wrote (229109)	8/11/2013 6:43:10 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 543617

koan's home town... One City's Bold Plan to Prevent Foreclosures Banks have dragged their feet in restructuring the underwater mortgages. So this week, Richmond invoked the threat of eminent domain to break the deadlock. The city wrote to 32 lenders offering to buy 624 homes at prices close to current market value, but far less than the outstanding loans. This would force the lenders to write off the balance as a loss. The city is threatening to use eminent domain to take possession of the loans and the homes if the banks don't accept the city's offer or negotiate a mutually acceptable counter-offer. Once the city has bought the homes – whether by agreement or through eminent domain – it plans to restructure the mortgages so the present occupants can stay in them. The loans will be reset to a price close to current market value, and the payments will be reduced accordingly. Homeowners, instead of being underwater, will now have a small amount of equity in the property. They will have both the means and the incentive to stay current on the loan going forward usnews.com