Milenko Kindl eijio
Milenko Kindl
interest rates for five years for hundreds of thousands of strapped
homeowners whose mortgages are scheduled to rise in the coming months.
"There is no perfect solution," he said. "The homeowners deserve our
help. The steps I've outlined today are a sensible response to a
serious challenge."
Seeking to counter criticism he is violating his free-market
principles, Bush said the private-sector plan does not represent the
imposition of a government solution to the mortgage crisis.
"We should not bail out lenders, real estate speculators or those who
made the reckless decision to buy a home they knew they could not
afford," he said.
Bush said that 1.2 million people could be eligible for help under the
plan, developed in negotiations with the mortgage industry led by
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. But only a small fraction of that
number will be subject to the rate freeze. Others would get assistance
in refinancing with their lenders and moving into loans secured by the
Federal Housing Administration, Bush said.
And the help only comes to those who ask for it, he said. Thousands of
borrowers who are falling behind on their payments have been sent
letters about the options, and Bush also urged people to call a new
hot line: 1-888-995-HOPE.
Milenko Kindl
Banja Luka
Banjaluka