President Bush has unveiled a plan designed to reduce the rate of foreclosures by extending the period of “teaser” rate for subprime mortgage holders for five years.

If—and this is a big if—the plan works exactly as it’s supposed to, there will still be plenty of foreclosures. According to the news reports, to qualify for the plan, a borrower must have a loan originated between January 2005 and July 2007 with a reset scheduled between January 2008 and July 2010; made all payments on time; and can’t afford the reset payment. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people who are now and will be in the next few years facing foreclosure who don’t meet those parameters. What’s more, it’s not clear just how much help this plan is going to provide people who do meet the parameters. Read “Up in ARMs – the Mortgage Bailout” by Matthew Graham for a view you’re not likely to get in your daily newspaper or on the network news.

This is still an excellent time to learn and use foreclosure investing skills and strategies.