Do you qualify for gummint mortgage help?

Nope.  Can't sell my house without taking a loss...but got it rented and can "afford" the payment (though, not while buying new tri gear) so that one is just going to sit there.

And I just bought ANOTHER house (to live in since I was forced to move) in my attempt to stimulate the economy but since I am not a first time homebuyer I get NOTHING.

That is probably my biggest beef with the stimulus package...if you REALLY want to stimulate the housing market you should have given the big tax credit for buying a house to ANYONE who was going to buy a house as their primary residence even if they were not a "first time homebuyer".  Now a lot of the folks who would have thought about upgrading aren't going to do it.

Doesn't anyone "qualify" for refinancing? I mean, it's just a matter of if it makes financial sense for you to do it or not (depending on your interest rate and the current one). You can refi your home at any time...

Or am I missing something?

That's what I thought....  I refinanced a couple years ago to change loan type....

I'm not sure what a loan modification is, but I know some people doing it.  I should ask...

Again, I just take care of my OWN bizzness and do what's right.  Pay my debts, and don't borrow more than I can afford.

A loan modification is a change in the terms of a loan, usually the interest rate and/or term, in response to the borrower's inability to make the payments under the existing term.

I beliebe that this plan also includes help for people who are a certain percentage upside down on their loans too

I just checked the link and I'm not qualified for squat

I agree with post about giving a tax credit for anyone buying a new home and not just first time buyers.  I've been on the fence about buying a new place.  I would think a nice tax credit would push me in that direction. Not sure and I don't know much about the housing market. I just pay my bills and live well within my means

No because I pay my bills on time and live within my GD means!

 UGH!

Nope, as usual we're completely on our own.  

Most people could not refinance because since their home values decreased they no longer would have a loan to value ratio of 80%.  Let's take a 200,000 home.  80% would be 160,000.  Say the homeowner was smart and put down 20%...the Loan to Value is 80%.  However, fast forward three years and now that house is worth 150,000 and they owe 150,000.  That would be a 100% loan to value ratio and they would be ineligible to refinance.

Make sense?

Edited to add: one of the things the bill made happen is that people can refi up to 105% of loan to value.  So people can reduce their interest rate to save them money every month...money they could then go use in the economy and maybe drag us out of this mess.

So the market says house prices need to drop, and they are dropping.   Aren't we just delaying the inevitable by trying to prop them up?  House prices everywhere are still ridiculous by historical standards.

Anyway, no I don't qualify because I am stupid enough to live in a tiny 1200 sq ft place with a mortgage that is only 15% of my income.  What an idiot I am!  

We get some help because we bought our house before the boom and were forced to sell due to military orders overseas.  We took a huge hit and have no idea how much or when we will see any "help"...but our paperwork is in so we'll wait and see.

 The good news is that our house sold so we're not paying on an empty house in Florida while living in Okinawa.

Interestingly, I might quailfy for refinancing.  I attempted to refinance a couple of months ago because rates were so low.  That is when I found out that our home value went from $315K to $220K.  We put a good sized downpayment on the home and I believe our current balance is $260K.  We have made our payements without a problem, but I'll take a refinance for a lower rate any day.

Hummm...does that make me a freeloader?  I'm conflicted (seriously).

I hope those of you that "live within your means" never experience a cut in your salary (as a business owner) of 75 percent in order to keep your employees employed.  To keep food on their table and roofs over their heads.  Don't assume that because people are seeking assistance that they have done something wrong or that they have lived beyond their means.  Maybe they are also looking out for the good of mankind and wanting to do whatever they can in order to save jobs.    Ever heard the saying that until you have walked a mile in someone's shoes.......  Rant off.  Not meant to be a personal attack, just hope people start to realize that maybe there are other issues surrounding people's circumstances.  Not just that they are bad with their money.