… according to John Taylor, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, who tells CNBC.com:

“Foreclosures are the mortal enemy to economic recovery. We can keep on pumping money into the system to create liquidity for banks and in the market, but it’s simply not going to succeed until they plug the hole at the bottom of the well!… If we do not respond to the foreclosure crisis now, we can guarantee the pain that will be felt by most of the people in this country. Families facing foreclosure don’t want a handout, they just want reasonable help. In fact, most of the people that got bad loans, perhaps 90 percent of them, are still paying on that sub-prime loan. Some of them have just simply fallen behind…. If we don’t do restructure their loans and keep people in their homes, property values will drop and everyone will be impacted who owns a home. We need to share the pain now, because otherwise it will affect us more broadly…. The federal government must mandate that the private sector modify certain loans such that they match the borrowers ability-to-pay. Voluntary compliance simply has not and will not work. These new loans should match the incomes of the borrowers so that a responsible borrower has a sustainable loan. Those who have lost their jobs should be given a reasonable period to find suitable employment, and if unsuccessful, have the time to pursue other housing options.”

Does Taylor present a realistic solution to the foreclosure crisis, which he says could balloon to 11 million bank repossessions if the economy continues on its current trajectory, or is it too “pie in the sky?”

To read his entire case for overhauling the current system click here.

Buying Fannie Mae-owned homes just got easier.

The largest mortgage buyer/backer in the nation recently rolled out HomePath Online Offers, which gives real estate agents the power to submit bids on behalf of clients who are interested in buying foreclosed — also known as Real Estate-Owned (REO) — homes.

Buyers/investors in Orlando, Fla., San Diego, Calif., and Detroit, Mich., will be the first to test out the new program.

Jim Tiegen, Vice President of Fannie Mae’s REO regional offices, had this to say to DSNews.com about the innovation:

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Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi recently authored an expose on the curious case of the “rocket docket,” which he describes as a “super high speed housing court” that is presided over by retired judges who “clear cases and blast human beings out of their homes with ultimate velocity.”

It’s a passionate — albeit controversial — behind-the-scenes look at how foreclosure cases are handled in Jacksonville, Fla., and possibly elsewhere throughout the nation.

Taibbi paints a “scary” scene that he says goes a little something like this:

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