" Sadly I have seen many familys have to leave their homes at Pulte Countryside Estates-many of them had the ill fated adjustable loans and made poor decisions-they and lot of others will learn a great deal about financial responsiblity and should not be bailed out for what they did themselves. On the other hand the Victoria Development and the City of Imperial blindsighted the Homeowners with outrageous CFD tax and they deserve to be helped. Everyone is leaving there homes it looks like a ghost town! "

" Is this the same Ben Soloman that worked for the County of Imperial several years ago?

Thanks Ahead. "

" All I have to say is that s**t rolls down hill. Lead by example all that mumbo jumbo. Big companies, run by the rich and protected by our government, spend like if there were no tommorrow and forecast their budgets like if there were no reality. It is easy to look back and critique all these people that bought their homes a couple of years ago with what we know today. It seemed everything was going to get better and the majority of these people I would guess, did not plan on getting their homes foreclosed. They had to fill out all their paperwork and the banks approved it. Why? Because they didn't care and companies just wanted to sell their products. Prices were not set by demand at that time, they were set by non-local builders that put out a price and no one, local appraisers, dared to analyze it closer and just allowed it. All these people were living the way their surroundings were teaching them to live. This problem did not start overnight, it's been building for years and it lies deeper than we dare to see. And here were are fighting each other. "

" Good Point holtvlle1 "

" While I admire the mayor's efforts, he really isn't helping. Those homes NEED to go through foreclosure so they can be resold at the real market value to people who can afford that payment.

What's the point in keeping your home and paying at even a reduced rate for another ten or 15 years just so you aren't upside down? In that time, you could be foreclosed on, go bankrupt, rebuild your credit, buy a new home and still be further ahead than if you were able to keep your house. "

" If people weren't so d*mn irresponsible they wouldn't have their house foreclosed. Some people try to have the wine on a beer budget and it just doesn't work; and in the end everyone gets scr*wed. People need to be responsible and live withing their means.

I think the banks should just foreclose on the homes. If they couldn't afford their house then they should'nt have bought it-simple "

" I think helping people out is the right thing to do, if our nation has the heart to help out the richest films and banks, it surely must have the heart to help us out at the bottom. Soloman is going to do a great job, I am glad he is in office in a time like this. "

" I think that people don't see the whole picture when they signed on their loan paper and therefore the lenders did'nt explain all the small details that were really the main problem that got the people in problem. We need to understand what we sign and if we don't speak the language take someone who can read, and translate the paperwork. It should be mandatory that the people get the main details explained twice and sign that they understood. "

" This man apperas o be a good public servant who cares about his fellow human beings who are in pain and suffering.The housing turmoils are going through a correction system in which their true values will come out.People should havenever been buying these 500K overbloated expensive homes that are made by the least expensive of materials.Those 500K homes probably had a true value of 50% less un;ess they were made from precioous metals.This will be a hard lesson for all of us for teh rest of our lives.The incredible desire of greed in to many people's radar of life, has led to this financial disiter in real estate. Home prices will continue to stay low just on simple supply demand economics and Bank;s extremely tough lending policies "

" The bottom line is, you don't see people with at least a four year college degree out in the fields cutting lettuce, packing melons, working as a store clerk at minimum wage or driving a truck loaded with gardening tools. People, if you want to get ahead in life, it starts with getting an education. This is very possible here in Imperial Valley; sadly, too many squander the educational opportunities they are presented. Don't blame it on homelife, race or the lack of some entitlement. People want a house, electronic toys, multiple expensive vehicles, vacation trips to Mexico or Disneyland etc.....but face it, the statistics don't lie. The higher level of education you complete leads to more potential income earned over the course of your lifetime. Here in El Valle of lazy, unmotivated, uneducated young people, what do you expect?

I agree, handouts to the economically illerate will not resolve the problems of the valley in terms of forclosures. On the other hand, I hope the government starts keeping the preditatory lenders from abusing people. "

" The federal reserve created this problem and they will solve it by gaining control over the masses with their socialistic agenda. Owning your own property was once the American Dream that brought some level of security, but the socialists don't want you to have that freedom! Have faith, 01.20.09 is just a few weeks away and the "new" new deal will be here to save the day. The dollar will eventually be worth nothing and you will soon need a days wage just purchase a loaf of bread. It may be time to invest in currencies of other more stable countries that do not have the level of debt present in this country. Fire up the presses and print more money, the tax and spend socialist, democrats are in office! "

" Well I'll be damned I agree with Armlessalice. "

" Armlessalice, you just don't understand how else were people supposed to keep up with Jonses or in the Valley's case keeping up with the Garcia's. These same people who could not afford their homes in the first place took out seconds to get the Hummer and trailer because the neighbors had one. And now it is up to the rest of us to bail them out, like someone told me, "mind your own business" the government can do what they want and help these people out, after all the government has endless amounts of money. You and me who actually work and are responsable just need to worry about paying our taxes, which undoubtebly will be going up. I really don't know how I am supposed to teach my children to act responsibly and take responsibility for their actions. I laugh when I hear all these commercials: "if you are in debt and being harrassed by collectors, you have a right to renegotiate, etc". I always thought if you are in debt, pay your freakin bills and nobody will bother you. "

" Kudos to Mr. Solomon! There are free resources people can use to learn more about and get the help they need to avoid foreclosure. Such as this local Foreclosure Solutions article, http://blog.imperialvalleyreo.com/?p=125

Often times a Loan Modification is in the homeowners best interest and other times it is simply delaying the inevitable.

When a loan modification is not feasible, the homeowner should strive to protect their credit history for the future by selling their home via Short Sale.

Banks/lenders of these mortgages are highly motiviated to accept short sale and loan modifications especially if the homeowners loan documents had errors or false information. They can save thousands of dollars by working things out with the homeowner, however many times the homeowner is not prepared and does not have proper legal counsel to help them through the complexity of various state and federal laws that are part of each mortgage.

The best thing a consumer can do is seek help and seek help quickly. Sitting by and hoping it goes away will not help anyone, especially the homeowner. "

" Whether you believe people should be responsible for their own actions or not you have to admire people who try to help people in trouble. "

" If people were stupid enough to take a loan they couldn't afford then they shouldn't get free handouts. If there was other forseen circumstances such as a job loss or death of a family member then that's a different story.

Giving handouts is like rewarding people that make poor choices. DON"T DO IT! "

" I had the opportunity to meet Ben Solomon in the Imperial Valley. I found him to be an outstanding, super active and knowledgeable community leader. Obviously his priority in life is and has been helping strangers. It is amazing that good results do manifest themselves when this kind of driver is behind the wheel. Stay the course Ben, believe, and there will be people who will be helped with that roof over their head. At least you are doing something to help and not just rendering harse critique. "