The Tribune

By CELESTE NIXON

Tribune Staff Reporter

cnixon@tribunemedia.net

ALL three political parties have pledged to address the worrying rate of home foreclosures over the past several years.

Over the weekend Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) leader Perry Christie announced a ten point plan to assist struggling homeowners, including working with banks to have 100 per cent of unpaid interest and fees for persons close to foreclosure written off.

The PLP said that if elected the next government, the party intends to implement a plan that among other things will work with banks and other lending institutions to extend loan repayment periods on defaulted loans, institute a 120-day moratorium on foreclosures, encourage a reduction in the interest rate on the mortgages, extend the first time homeowners exemption for stamp duty to people who lost their first homes in foreclosure and are seeking to buy again and pass any legislation needed to protect Bahamians from losing their homes.

"Across The Bahamas, home owners are struggling as never before. Many homes have already been lost to foreclosure and many more Bahamians are sick with worry about their ability to keep their homes.

"The Progressive Liberal Party believes that helping distressed homeowners is the right thing to do and the sensible thing to do. It is an important part of getting the Bahamian economy moving and growing again while at the same time creating an important social safety net," said a statement issued by the PLP.

However, yesterday Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham criticised the PLP plan as unworkable and thoughtless.

He said: "I don't think it is a plan, the FNM will put forward a plan - it will be a costly plan but a workable plan that will bring relief to many, many people.

"I think its (PLP plan) a pie in the sky, not workable and you should talk to the professionals in the business."

Mr Ingraham said the FNM is not going to put in place a plan that assists people who have not paid their mortgages when they can afford to.

Denying claims that in 2008 his government failed to deliver on promises to help homeowners facing foreclosure, Mr Ingraham said the banks worked along with people, lowering interest rates and giving extensions, however now at the end of the process those measures have not worked as people continue to face hardship.

"It is not true to say that nothing happened, that is a PLP lie and they are good at that," he said.

Weighing in Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader Branville McCartney said the PLP plan is an "election ploy".

He noted that as the official opposition the party had five years to put forward these ideas and a previous five to implement them.

"The PLP's newfound 10-point plan to help Bahamian owners maintain their homes is unfounded and impractical," said Mr McCartney.

Reiterating the DNA's proposal to address home foreclosures and burdening mortgage rates, Mr McCartney said his government would encourage the Central Bank of the Bahamas to reduce the Central Bank Rate, encourage banks to reduce the principal on their troubled mortgages by 50 per cent and lower the interest rate on the mortgages and finally reduce the government's expenditure on some of the infrastructure work and put the funds in areas such as the Mortgage Corporation's loan portfolio (or another entity such as a Foreclosure Fund) created for that purpose.

Mr McCartney said "a big part of the Bahamian Dream is home ownership and it is most unfortunate that this dream has become a living nightmare for many families because of circumstances beyond their control and a government that refuses to make use of monetary policy initiatives as has already happened globally".