Arizona Real Estate Notebook

The U.S. housing bailout focuses on helping the banks.

The British housing bailout focuses on helping homeowners while helping the banks.

“Hardworking households that experience a redundancy or significant loss of income as a result of the downturn will be able to defer a proportion of their interest payments for up to two years while they get their family finances back on track,” Brown said in the House of Commons. “The result will be more affordable monthly payments for homeowners who are needing a bridge through difficult times.”

Brown said eight major British lenders, which represent 70 percent of all outstanding mortgages, have agreed to his plan to stave off massive home repossessions as recession takes hold and job losses mount.

Brown did not provide many details of the plan, but analysts said it basically amounts to a government insurance program for mortgage lenders. The BBC reported that the plan will cover people with mortgages of up to 400,000 pounds, or nearly $600,000.

[emphasis added]