Foreclosure Freeze: Better for You or the Banks?

While defaulters living for free may be helping to stimulate the economy with money they can spend on things other than their mortgage, most of the rest of us will feel the pain as the foreclosure freeze delays the healing process for the housing market. Yet some think a delay in foreclosures might not be bad for the banks.

In fact columnist, Peter G. Miller, thinks this delay in foreclosures we've seen so far over the past year or so could have "prevented the financial system appearing significantly worse." He thinks the "national fudging process" of the banks may be able to go on a bit longer as the banks wait "until property values increase for real." Right now the banks are carrying many of these foreclosed properties at a higher value than they are worth today. Once they sell them off, they'll have to report the true value of the assets they are holding.   Read More