There’s an interesting article in today’s New York Times about Congress’ renewed vigor to step up to the plate and solve the foreclosure crisis. Republicans and Democrats alike are “competing,” says the Times’ Edmund Andrews, to bail out struggling homeowners.

Having recently spent billions of dollars rescuing banks and insurance companies, lawmakers on both sides of the isle are now attempting to steer President Obama’s economic stimulus proposal toward what many of us have known all along to be at the root of the problem: the housing market.

Republicans in the U.S. Senate think the way to solve the crisis is to offer up to $300 billion in mortgage-related subsidies to attract new homebuyers, while Democrats want to spend up to $50 billion on programs aimed at reducing foreclosures. Whichever side prevails, something needs to be done soon, before another wave of homeowners lose their most valued and prized possession.

For more, read Both Parties Move to Aid Homeowners.

Ralph R. Roberts, GRI, CRS Award-Winning REALTOR® and Author Loan Modification For Dummies (avail. Summer 2009)