by KYW's Lynne Adkins
The Bush administration has announced a bail-out plan for some homeowners facing foreclosure because they can't pay the mortgage.
"Project Lifeline" delays the foreclosure process for 30 days for qualified homeowners: they can't be in bankruptcy and must be more than a month from foreclosure in a primary residence.
Dr. Jonathan Scott (right), associate professor of finance at Temple University, says this won't help much, because property values and family finances aren't likely to improve in one month. He's also concerned about the precedent being set by the program:
"If you're going to do this for these homeowners, what's next? What about auto loans, where people may have made bad decisions about how much they wanted to borrow for a car? Or consumer loans? What about commercial mortgages that are showing signs of distress?"
He calls this plan "window dressing" that will do little to help homeowners who are in over their heads.
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