Why haven't adjustable rate mortgages been outlawed?

[lou t]

I have called my senators 100's of times over the past 5 demanding that these adjustable rate mortgages be outlawed and they haven't done anything. In addition, I want 100% loan to value ratio loans outlawed. We can thank the states of California, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio for the current over-hyped foreclosure situation.

Stupid headlines like Foreclosures up 68% are misleading as hell. Less than 1% of all the home loans nationwide are even in foreclosure.

The U.S. had one foreclosure filing for every 617 households in November, RealtyTrac said. That is meaningless. During the attack on the United States oil industry between 1984 and 1992 one in five homes were posted for foreclosure in Texas and no one cared. Banks didn't do anything to help.

I could care less how much homes have declined in California or anywhere else for that matter. Home values go up and down all the time. Rent homes and people who do not maintain they yards affect values more than foreclosures

[yakrafter]

Why would we outlaw such things and take the options away from businesses and people.

If you are going to ask such a questions would it not be more logical to outlaw signing an agreement you do not understand.

This mess is not because of the lenders, it is because of the folks that jumped in without understanding what they were doing.

I am trying to sell my house right now and suffering as much as anyone due to the market, but stupid people often get what they deserve. How hard is it to get someone who knows about such things to help you? Not very. So folks saved $100 in consultation and lost their homes - let this be a lesson for the person - not a reason to take away our freedoms.

[trblmkr30]

If there's a product that people want, it will be offered. You can't outlaw certain products just because YOU don't like it.

You're right, the headlines are completely misleading, but newspapers have to sell papers and advertising space, so they go for the most salacious headlines they can find.

RealtyTrac is not the end all, be all of reporting agencies, either. In Colorado, since we're a Public Trustee state, RealtyTrac counts each foreclosure 3 times due to their computers.You are so far off base on your last statement that I had to laugh. "Rent homes and people who do not maintain they yards affect values more than foreclosures" is far from the truth. The biggest item that affects values is what the market will bear. This is dictated by many factors, not the least of which is what similar homes have sold for in the area. I'm not saying that the condition of the neighborhood doesn't affect the home values, but it's by far not the largest factor.

Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but please try to state yours as just that - opinions. They are not facts, in any way, shape or form. BTW, I hope you're not really ticked that your Senators haven't outlawed these ARM's just because you called them hundreds of times. It takes many, many more people than just one to change governmental policies. When it's only one, that person sometimes sounds like a nut job, as government is here to serve the masses, not an individual.