The View From Denver On The Rescue Bill

From the Denver Post:

Lenders foreclosed on 22,500 Colorado homes during the first six months
The $700 billion bailout plan that failed in the House on Monday called for the federal government to "encourage the servicers of the underlying mortgages" to minimize foreclosures on loan assets the government acquired and "to improve the loan-modification and restructuring process."
In a broader sense, the plan could restore confidence to credit markets and spur new home lending that could steady falling home prices.
Fears over rising foreclosures have pushed market values for mortgage securities to as low as 20 cents on the dollar, causing banks to write off massive losses and clamp down on lending. Many homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments complain that lenders are loath to renegotiate mortgage terms, even though doing so could be less expensive for them than foreclosing.
"They stick you in a loan that's got a higher rate than you expect, and you can't get out of it," said Tom Kanan, a Denver attorney who tried to refinance out of an adjustable-rate mortgage from Countrywide Home Loans. Roughly 80 percent of homeowners who get counseling through the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline avoid foreclosure, said Ryan McMaken, a spokesman with the Division of Housing. Herrington, 46, said she tried in vain for months this spring to get her lender, Chase Mortgage, to modify her loan.