Bank of America Slashing Principal For Homeowners??
So far, none of Bank of America's proposed solutions for the housing crisis will work for homeowners in Florida.
Reduce the interest rate? Great. For homeowners in Muncie. Refinance into an FHA mortgage? Great. For homeowners in Seattle.
Floridians don't qualify because these programs are designed for homes less than 20% under water. Nothing but a principal reduction is drastic enough to help homeowners who are up to their eyeballs in 50%+++ negative equity.
So it ticks me off every time I see something in the news about a lender offering some new program to help homeowners in distress, because it just gives Floridians who are already off the chart on the stress-o-meter False Hope. By the time Florida homeowners realize these programs are bobby trapped, they're even farther behind on their mortgages, with fewer alternatives than before.
It's a classic Bait-N-Switch tactic. Hey, isn't that illegal? It's not okay for car dealers, but it's okay for banks? But the publicity for these "incentives" gives a global impression that Bank of America is really working hard to help homeowners in distress. Gee, if only these lazy homeowners would take advantage of these wonderful programs, we could get this housing crisis behind us!
So forgive me if I don't drink the Kool-Aid this time, either:
Pinellas County: 
