Upcoming Foreclosures

Would it be illegal for government to prevent foreclosures?

A house on my block burned two nights ago -- about 16 hours before the owners/buyers were to be evicted under a foreclosure order. They're in custody now for alleged arson [the fire was fueled by gasoline]. This and similar stories attest to how much families and individuals feel that they own their home -- "a man's home is his castle" -- and that they should not ever be forced to leave. Thus, we've been hearing cries to Congress to make foreclosures either illegal or to prevent them for 90 days, etc. *** In part, Amendment 5 to the Constitution of the United States reads ".... nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." If Congress makes a law which limits the rights of the loan holders to foreclose, or requires them to delay and thus lose even more money, would that not be a taking of their property right in the loan contract without compensation? Could the loan holders then successfully sue the government for damages and thus force their losses onto us taxpayers? *** If you disagree, please make a reasonable legal argument as to why either this clause in the Bill of Rights does not apply, or that the amount of compensation so due is zero. [Note: the Supreme Court has already ruled that rights under a private contract are 'property', so the argument that the Constitutional clause only applies to real estate will not pass muster.]

Public Comments

1. Its this simple. If you can't afford the payments on a house then DON'T BUY IT! Otherwise you get what you deserve.
2. OK, the way I understand it, FDR did exactly that, and it was eventually deemed illegal. However, the courts took their time to get around to that, along with other illegal things FDR did with the banking system. Thus, FDR and our court system saved America from Communism, which was rearing its ugly head during the dark days of the depression as the people were scared and communism gave them hope while capitalism was screwing them. FDR was brilliant. What few people today know is that communism was getting one hell of a strong hold with our people. We came dangerously close to a revolution --- FDR and our court system gave the people hope. To see more about who the real enemies of the people are, look at my post here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081120054335AABeoVg Peace Jim .
3. YES, it Would it be illegal for government to prevent foreclosures. The "owner" of the property is the owner of the loan less any principal the home owner has accrued.
4. Just regulating commerce in a way that causes one party to lose money, or the value of property, isn't a "taking" under eminent domain. The courts ruled this after people tried to claim that environmental regulations were a kind of taking of their property because it lowered the value.