Mr President: Make the Morgage Fix Fair

Disclaimer: I don't know anything about banking, or running the country. I have bought a house, though, so I do have some insight into the minds of people who don't think the proposed mortgage fix is a good idea.

When we were looking at houses, my wife and I had to face the realization that we could not afford the house we wanted. We had good credit, but between student loans, the car, and credit card debt, we simply could not make the monthly payments for a single family house in the expensive DC suburbs. We had to settle, and make due with what we could afford.

That's why I have a problem with the idea that Americans are being asked to essentially pay the difference between what someone promised to pay and what they can afford. Don't get me wrong, I don't think we should just throw these people out of their homes, but I think there's a better way.

If we have to reduce some homeowners' principal balance as an emergency to keep them in their home, surely they can pay us back eventually. Like when they sell the house that we helped pay for. Its called a lien. If the government pays a percentage of the price of the mortgage, let the government recover that percentage from the eventual sale for the house. Those funds can reduce the deficit or be reinvested to help future homeowners.

To me this sounds better than just giving the money away.

What do you think?