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Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008.
A bill to provide needed housing reform.
This is one of the leading Democratic proposal for addressing the housing crisis. It's main provision would allow bankruptcy judges to renegotiate the terms of home mortgages. This bill would also increase the number of tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds available for refinancing subprime mortgages, provide community development money for fixing up foreclosed homes, tax breaks for businesses, and more. A new, bipartisan version of this bill has been drafted and considered by the Senate as an amendment to H.R.3221.
2/13/2008--Introduced.
Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to:
(1) authorize use of the proceeds of a qualified mortgage bond issue to refinance a mortgage on a residence originally financed through a qualified subprime loan;
(2)<... moreSee Full Bill Text
Amendments
This bill has no amendments.
Bill Status
| Introduced |  | Voted on by Senate | | Voted on by House | | Considered By President | | Bill Becomes Law |
| February 13, 2008 |
Users tracking S.2636 (58) are also tracking:
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In the News
May 06, 2008 The Foreclosure Tax Credit: Blessing or Curse?
In early 2008 the bill was amended by S. 2636 to become The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, sponsored by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT). ...
April 22, 2008 Changing Housing Law
has introduced a sweeping bill (S. 2636) that includes billions of dollars in direct federal funding, bankruptcy law changes, and expanded taxexempt bond ...
April 08, 2008 Senate Payout Plan for Builders Lobby
“Thank you for your support of housing and for including the Net Operating Losses and tax-exempt provision in S. 2636,” Stanton wrote. ...
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Blog Coverage
September 21, 2008 Mortgage Crisis Forcing Americans Into Tents
Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, (S.2636). 2. The amendment would also make it less likely that these mortgage scam losses will be shifted to the taxpayers (and primary residence home owner) in the future. ...
August 27, 2008 Mortgage Crisis Forcing Americans Into Tents
Originally Published March 13, 2008; Updated and Republished August 27, 2008: ... Prevention Act of 2008, (S.2636) Original post blogged on b2evolution.
August 05, 2008 The Senate Housing Bill:S.2636 Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 ...
The Senate Housing Bill:S.2636 Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008; this Bill has essentially incentivized the short-sale process for lenders servicing Freddie & Fannie loans. As a realtor handling short-sales what do you think the ...
Source: Dameon's Blog
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Comments
While I understand foreclosed properties hurt housing and our economy in general, I am not happy to see that the proposed tax credits for purchasing a home will only be for those homes in foreclosure or near it.
I purchased a home I could afford and pay my monthly payments on time. My home is now valued at more than $100K less then I paid for it. By offering credits for potential buyers to purchase foreclosed home that puts me at a greater disadvantage if I need to sell my home by traditional and respectable means. Why not offer a housing purchase credit regardless of what is purchased? Give me an equal chance at selling my house.
Also, I don’t understand why there is a change to the property tax deduction only for those who do not itemize. Why not offer a tax incentive that helps all home owners?
It seems like we are paying to bail out the builders and homeowners that took big risks at the expense of those of us who are buying what we can (could) afford and working to make our payments.
It does not surprise me that legislation which was drafted with good measures gets muddied into something that has no relation to the original title of the legislation. Giving tax breaks to buyers of foreclosed properties still does not do what the title suggests. It does not prevent foreclosures under its introduced and butchered state. It should prevent foreclosures, not do post foreclosure cleanup.
Is something seriously corrupted in the Senate? Yes! There are at least 10 bought and paid for, yes 10% bought by banks Democrats and mostly every Republican and Independent Senator. It is no wonder that this country is in such a mess.
Regarding the idea to give incentives to people who have houses that they cannot sell without considerable financial losses, it is a good proposal and may be in line with foreclosure prevention. If a home cannot be sold because the mortgage is now higher than the market value of the property, foreclosure would be prevented since one could rationally move onward without being denied by existing higher mortgage to property value situations.
My people we must continue to stand as one. For as you all know it is together that we are most powerful. It was together that our people fought, went to jail, and even died for our sake. So it is now more than ever that we must stand taller than ever, and keep the fight that they started alive." " THE POOR PEOPLE'S CAMPAIGN INC
Any housing bill with does nothing to reconcile the disparity between personal income and home prices only makes the current situation worse. I can not see supporting ANY politician who support S.2636.
As disparity do you mean the median income compared to the median home price as a ratio?
Do you find the bill having any redeeming qualities?
Title IV is the main item which I support. S.2136 as a standalone bill would go a long way in creating equilibrium and increase the likelihood that working individuals have a better chance to save their dwellings and recover from the insolvent conditions the bad mortgages are leading to.
In short, the banks did this to the people, and now they should get what they gave. You reap what you sow; sow a bad seed, you get bad meal. I do not feel a bit sorry for the banks this will affect. It may hurt the economy in the short run, but in the end, all will be better off for it.
I disagree with awilber625 - I was a mortgage loan officer for 17 years. My bank and the mortgage companies I worked for did not get involved in the subprime market; however, my competitiors that did could get anyone approved and that is what they did. With a combination of greedy Realtors, purchasers, and lenders, we now have this terrible situation that could have been avoided. No one forced these purchasers to accept the subprime loans - they signed pages of disclosures at closing and were well aware of what they were getting into. The lenders that bought these loans knew what they had and now, unfortunately, we are all paying in some way or another. If we are going to bail out these homeowners, which I do not agree with, then they should receive a 1099 and pay taxes on the bailout amount. If they get away with it this time, who is to say they won't do it again. Hopefully they have all learned a valuable (and costly) lesson. If you don't qualify for a mortgage, you have no business getting one!
This is nothing more than a bailout for builders and bankers, while the typical tax payer and homeowner foot the bill. If you're trying to sell your home the old fashioned way right now Congress just kicked out $7,000 dollars worth of your teeth. BS!
I have not seen hardly any public--i.e VOTER--support for this bill and it's no wonder. This was touted as being for homeowners and for the economy, and was never really even that, in the beginning. It has been corrupted by the industires that CAUSED the housing bubble in the first place, housing and finance, to be a bailout for irresponsible and in some cases criminal companies. It's obscene that congress is even considering it. Instead, there should be an investigation. The FBI and other agencies are trying to investigate, (so they claim), but so far I don't see any of the big players being indicted. We see some big builders being investigated, sort of, and fined amounts that do not matter to these corporations, and they admit no guilt or fault. I also didn't buy into the toxic loans, house-mania, artificially inflated "values" that were the result of appraisers being told to meet the number, etc. I don't think America is falling for this. Any politician who votes for this bill will never get my support either. We all know what caused any in congress to consier it; industry lobbying and big money. It's time for elected officials to remember WHO they work for and here's a tip; it's not the National Association of Home Builders.
Reading through this bill it is obvious that it does not deal with the problems that lead to foreclosure. It now only encourages foreclosure cleanup and does nothing to prevent foreclosures from happening in the first place. Also thee was an amendment to another resolution regarding energy. The bill was 3441 which I believe they tabled the portion resembling Title IV of this legislation.
I feel the most appropriate form of this legislation for preventing foreclosures is HR 3609. S.1236 and S.2636 are too dirty and encumbered to do any positive foreclosure prevention.
I am in the process of purchasing a REO home, I am ecstatic that this bill is going to go into law.
awilber625 - The banks did not do this to people. People did this to people. This simple equation is live within your means. If a person overextends themselves, they are responsible for the mess they are in. Yes, there are anecdotes of predators, or honest people in hard luck, but we are all the end result of our own decisions and actions. Blaming an institution that provided a service you asked for is a moral cop-out. I pay for my home, I pay extra priciple every month. I live within my paycheck, not within some TV-inspired vision of what I should have. My 15-year mortgage will be retired in 9 years. AND I bought 2 REO homes this year as investments. I pay them ahead of schedule. I hope this passes AND is retroactive to 1 Jan.
This bill should be called "The Subprime Lender Bailout Act of 2008".
This bill is a slap in the face to all hard working Americans that play by the rules. Lenders knew when they gave subprime loans that these homeowners would not be able to pay the loans. Also, what happened to "Buyer Beware" and paying for what you can afford. It is not the responsiblity of the government or the American taxpayer to bail out mortgage companies, lenders, or lendees. I am responsible for my income, taxes, payment of my mortage. When I applied, my income/credit was checked and I had to put down a downpayment with an interest rate of 18%. I took advantage of the lower interest rates later to refinance with a lower rate and less years. I did not buy a house that cost over a $100,000 dollars because I knew I could not afford it. I think the government should stay out of it and let the market straighten itself out but I sure do not want to bail people out that had no business buying a home or lenders who knew full well what was happening. I am sick and tired of those who play by the rules supporting those who do not. As a nation, we should vote every Congressman and Senator out of office that has been in office over the past 8 years.
I would like to know if people with sub prime mortages who have recently had to file bankruptcy in order to keep their homes will get to take advantage of the rescue bill, some people got behind in their payments and had to file bankruptcy in order to keep their homes
I spent all my money on fancy cars, cell phones and pot. Big Bad Bank tricked me into buying an expensive house. Nancy and Osama better help me out. Steal from the rich, give to the poor. Hip hip: Hooray!
I know a person here in Las Vegas who bought a house 5 years ago for 153,000 dollars. Over the next few years their house went up in value and refinanced TWICE to pull equity out to buy toys, a new 40k truck, swimming pool, etc. etc. Now after the spending spree they owe 270,000 dollars on the home and is currently valued around 220,000. She is now in trouble because her 2 year subprime arm is going to reset in 6 months and cannot afford the current payments let alone the reset. She is hoping WE will bail her out of the existing mortgage and write down some of her principle so they can stay in their home!! There are A LOT of people here in Vegas that are in that boat. WONT YOU HELP THEM OUT?
Dear Madams & Sirs, please look around you, look at yourselves! You all act smart & intelligent on the subject, most of you advise the rest of the people how to "profit". The problem is simple. You have a serious problem with the category called GREED ! You will substitute GREED with "INVESTMENT", I would assume! No! They are totally different! I will not teach you economy now but for beginners I will recommend "Political Economy for Beginners", for non-beginners it is probably too late! My point is that if you take off the category "MONEY" from the equation called "LIFE", you most likely will be left EMPTY, without destination in your life! Why is that? Ask yourselves that question! Money, money, money....profit, "investment"....! Didn't any decent person in your life ever told you the basic theory of money? You don't have to be an economist to understand it! IN ORDER FOR YOU TO GAIN FROM AN INVESTMENT SOMEONE ELSE MUST MUST MUST LOOSE MONEY! If you haven't seen that!?! too bad, that's the way it is!!!
Please, try to understand that there is no low to prevent you from losing your money in the long run. They are only short term...until you find out what exactly the new trick is!!! Because the masses are always behind from the leaders!
America was the land of the Great Enterprises, Great Ideas, Great People. Look at the faces of the people who are claiming to be helping you with variety of bills and laws! Do you get a decent feelings from those people?!? To me most of them bring dark hopeless feelings inside me. They look like people who just got out from doing 15 yrs for financial circus! Take a serious consideration for your life direction! Unfortunately I cannot help anybody with anything else but WARNING NOTE (like this one).
I would like to say that I do not want to offend anybody! I respect people, but sometime we all get carried away...and then...we sorry...and then we start from the beginning again!
I work with people who start businesses all the time and one very important thing attracted my attention: They always say that they are starting business to "make money"!!! I have a serious disagreement that one starts business "to make money"! One starts business if one has something new and advanced to bring to the people (broadly said)! No wander they come back in a year or so and say : "well,...it didn't work"...! Of course!
Thanks to anyone who lost 5 min to read this!
All the best to everybody!
To me, it seems to be alot of money to bail folks out that got themselves in the situation they are in. Why do they not focus on decreasing the cost of energy and allow the economy to correct the housing market.
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