Source:
Seatlle PIRepublican presidential candidate John McCain's plan to have the government pay the difference between the balances of troubled mortgages and what homes are now worth is troubling, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development said Monday evening.
"I have a very grave concern about that," said Steve Preston, who took over at HUD in June after leading the Small Business Administration.
In response to a question during a forum at Town Hall in Seattle, Preston said the problem is that the plan would put the loss on taxpayers, "when the financial institution took that risk.
"I don't think we can suffer that big of a loss. ... That is not invested money. That is just a loss."
But the administration's plan, which includes buying up troubled mortgages, is an investment, Preston said. "The people who will be buying these will spend a lot of time looking at the underlying value of those assets."
Read more:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/384233_hud21.html