The Huffington Post's lead story today is a suggestion that it's past time for the government to pay less attention to helping banks and more to helping homeowners.

The story is dead on in its cataloging of the ill effects of foreclosures on the rest of the economy.

And, if there were no foreclosures the banks would not be in trouble in the first place!!

I'm stilling trying to figure out why this hasn't sunk in to anyone but Sheila Bair at the FDIC.

I'd also like to know when Virginia will adopt the Philadelphia Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program.

If tomorrow's announcement by the President isn't "good and solid and big and bold" I hope homeowners everywhere scream bloody murder!

I like my friend, Lenn Harley's analysis of what's really going on with the Citi bailout.

I'd add this, however. It is in the bank's, the taxpayer's and the government's best interest to help the homeowner.

It's where it all started and you can not staunch the bleeding until you deal with the wound.

Bank's balance sheets will continue to deteriorate as long as home prices continue to fall.

How much taxpayer money will we continue to spend on controlling the symptoms?

The Virginia Association of REALTORS has founded an organization dedicated to protecting the interests of Virginia homeowners. It's called the Virginia Homeowner's Alliance. Their web site provides a place to get information on how to improve the value of your home, lets you monitor what's going on in various government entities that may impact you as a homeowner, and will also provide you with an easy way to contact government about your concerns.

With the flood of paid lobbyists at all levels of government this seems like a terrific idea. Citizens come together to make their voices heard. It's one of the things the internet does best.

Once you go to the site and sign up you will not be flooded with a ton of spam! But you will have access to information that I think will be useful to you. In addition to giving you a voice in governement, it also provides useful information on neighborhoods and schools and practical information on things like lawn care. By the way, the site is relatively new. It will continue to grow and expand and your suggestions on how to do that are welcomed!

Now I have a favor to ask. If you do go to the site and register, it asks for the name of the REALTOR who referred you. I'd like to ask that you please enter my name. In the interests of full disclosure this enters me in a drawing for things like an iPOD or a Wii.

But I hope you do this for yourself! And I'll be interested to hear what you think of the site!

FIRST THINGS FIRST!

IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY...GO VOTE!

I know I've missed Halloween, but if you're still in the mood for something scary, this article definitely fits the bill.

If you don't have time for the full article basically it says we're approaching a record 20% of all homeowners underwater on their mortgages nationally.

Headed into a recession, that's pretty scary. If you lose your job and need to sell your home, what do you do? If you get transferred by your employer and need to sell your home, what do you do?

There is a downward spiral here that someone has to find a way to stop. More foreclosures lead to lower prices which lead to more homeowners under water on their mortgages which leads to more foreclosures when "stuff" happens.

Today's election, whatever the result will not fix everything. But it'll be interesting to see what, if anything, government tries to do on this front in the next few months.

I had lunch with a number of business friends the other day and, of course, the conversation turned to the current real estate market and then to the actions currently being contemplated by Congress to fix it.

Every fix seemed to have a down side for someone. And, then one of my friends stated what was staring us all in the fact. "I guess no one said it was going to be fair."

 What I'd like to see is everyone staying focused on the larger picture, rather than whether someone else is going to get a "better deal" out of any particular piece of legislation.

If your neighbor got himself in trouble with his mortgage and the government helps him out, one way to look at that is that he got bailed out for his recklessness or stupidity and that you got no reward for being a responsible adult.

But the other way to see this is that if his house goes into foreclosure, your property value declines. And, if several houses in your neighborhood go into foreclosure, your property value declines steeply, crime rises in the neighborhood and a whole host of bad things follow!

While it may be more morally satisfying to watch people get what they deserve, it is also, in this instance, cutting off your nose to spite your face!

Sometimes, looking out for your neighbor turns out to be a good thing for you too!