News 14 Carolina - Political Connections

Mortgage mess!! I knew I was in trouble this morning when my managers looked at me and said, "We'd like you to do a story about the President's proposals to help with the mortgage crunch."

Yikes! What an important story but what a nightmare to tell on television. This story is so important to so many families but it is so complicated, which is the reason why so many people are in the position they are facing!

Why has the system gotten so complicated that the average person cannot understand it, and the lenders and lawyers can and is that the reason the mortgage industry is in such a mess?

President Bush, in a nutshell, wants to make it easier for those in trouble with their mortgages can refinance. These people are stuck in ARMs or adjustable rates. That means they get cheap interest rates for a few years but then the balloon pops and their rates go through the roof.

He's calling for reform as well. Advocates I've talked with are optimistic but are concerned it won't help enough people facing foreclosure. His plan to help with refinancing may shut out the people facing the worst situations because you need relatively good credit. That's according to Al Ripley over at the NC Justice Center.

The state recently passed some laws related to this that Ripley thinks may help more than Bush's plan in the long run.

Check out the story on news14.com for more. My head hurts too much to write and understand more right now!