Retired homebuilder urges foreclosure workout plan

An 82-year-old former homebuilder from Boca Raton is lobbying the banking industry to take up a foreclosure alternatives program he developed to help lenders make profits off of underwater home loans. According to Herb Gross, his plan entails banks taking back homes in deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, then selling them to investors who can earn money on accrued interest. The investor would not assume any liability, while the former homeowners would stay put, renting the property at below-market rate until the market recovers and they can buy it back. It sounds like a win-win, and Gross says he negotiated upwards of 400 successful transactions of the kind during the 1980s, but now he’s having trouble getting his message across to those in charge. “If you look up the definition of ‘frustrated’ in the dictionary, it has my picture there,” he said. [Sun Sentinel]