One in every 400 homes in Colorado is in foreclosure according to Team Cox Realtors.

It's an issue every voter is looking into to see which presidential candidate is best for them.

A group of Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain supporters met in Colorado Springs on Sunday to discuss how McCain's plan will help keep Americans in their homes, and Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama was in Denver and Fort Collins on Sunday telling his supporters how his plan is better.

The American dream is still making it possible for families to own their own homes. It's a dream both candidates value, but how Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain plans to keep that dream alive is different.

Under McCain's plan. "The homeowner can stay in the home and actually pay the loan back," said Wynne Palermo who is with the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors. So if you bought your home after January of 2004 and you're in foreclosure you might be able to get a re-issued FHA loan, or Federal Housing Administration Loan at a lower rate. "Then we've saved not only an industry but we've saved a family," said Palermo.

Under Obama's plan. "We have got to help responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages on affordable terms to get the banks to re-negotiate so that people aren't foreclosed on and they're making their payments on a regular basis," said Sen. Obama. Obama would also put a three month moratorium on foreclosing homes to give families time to get back on their feet.

In Colorado families have 120-days, and there is some good news on the home front. "Colorado has been slowing down in terms of its rate of foreclosures," said Kevin Walker who is with the Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs.

"I call myself Dave the Homeowner if Joe can call himself Joe the Plumber," said Dave Raines who is a Colorado Springs homeowner. Raines is not in foreclosure, but, "I've seen value drop in my home," said Raines who supports Sen. McCain.

It's a whole other issue plaguing America, and no matter who wins homeowners hope the new President of the United States will be able to fix the nation's housing market.

Clarissa Arellano who is a Real-Estate Government Affairs Director in Colorado Springs says homeowners can learn something from all these foreclosures in the United States, "To be a little bit more frugal in their purchases in the future," said Arellano.

Below are explanations of each of the presidential candidate's plan to remedy foreclosures in the United States.

John McCain:

John McCain believes there is nothing more important than keeping alive the American dream of owning a home. Priority number one is to keep well-meaning, deserving home owners who are facing foreclosure in their homes.

John McCain's approach to helping sub-prime or other financially strapped mortgage borrowers is built on sound principles:

No taxpayer money should bail out real estate speculators or financial market participants who failed to perform due diligence in assessing credit risks. Any assistance for borrowers should be focused solely on homeowners and any government assistance to the banking system should be based solely on preventing systemic risk.

Any policy of financial assistance should be accompanied by reforms that promote greater transparency and accountability to ensure we never face this problem again.
John McCain has proposed a new "HOME Plan" to provide robust, timely and targeted help to those hurt by the housing crisis. Under his HOME Plan, every deserving American family or homeowner will be afforded the opportunity to trade a burdensome mortgage for a manageable loan that reflects their home's market value.

Eligibility: Holders of a sub-prime mortgage taken after 2005 who live in their home (primary residence only); can prove creditworthiness at the time of the original loan; are either delinquent, in arrears on payments, facing a reset or otherwise demonstrate that they will be unable to continue to meet their mortgage obligations; and can meet the terms of a new 30 year fixed-rate mortgage on the existing home.

John McCain's HOME Plan Will Keep 200,000 To 400,000 Families From Losing Their Homes. "But at the same time, McCain is calling for aggressive federal action to help keep 200,000 to 400,000 families from losing their homes. That plan has many of the elements of a proposal by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., requiring participating lenders to forgive part of the loan principal and then write a new loan that would be backed by the federal government through the Federal Housing Administration." (Tom Raum, "Everyone's Invited: McCain Economic Plan Draws From Both Parties," Tucson Citizen, 4/17/08)

How It Works: Individuals pick up a form at any Post Office or download the form over the Internet and apply for a HOME loan. The FHA HOME Office certifies that the individual is qualified, and contacts the individual's mortgage servicer. The mortgage servicer writes down and retires the existing loan, which is replaced by an FHA guaranteed HOME loan from a lender.

John McCain will bolster groups like Neighborworks America that provide mortgage assistance to homeowners in their communities.

Barack Obama:

Protect Homeownership and Crack Down on Mortgage Fraud

Obama and Biden will crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders. They will also make sure home buyers have honest and complete information about their mortgage options, and they will give a tax credit to all middle-class homeowners.

Create a Universal Mortgage Credit: Obama and Biden will create a 10 percent universal mortgage credit to provide homeowners who do not itemize tax relief. This credit will provide an average of $500 to 10 million homeowners, the majority of whom earn less than $50,000 per year.

Ensure More Accountability in the Sub prime Mortgage Industry: Obama has been closely monitoring the sub prime mortgage situation for years, and introduced comprehensive legislation over a year ago to fight mortgage fraud and protect consumers against abusive lending practices. Obama's STOP FRAUD Act provides the first federal definition of mortgage fraud, increases funding for federal and state law enforcement programs, creates new criminal penalties for mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud, and requires industry insiders to report suspicious activity.

Mandate Accurate Loan Disclosure: Obama and Biden will create a Homeowner Obligation Made Explicit (HOME) score, which will provide potential borrowers with a simplified, standardized borrower metric (similar to APR) for home mortgages. The HOME score will allow individuals to easily compare various mortgage products and understand the full cost of the loan.

Close Bankruptcy Loophole for Mortgage Companies: Obama and Biden will work to eliminate the provision that prevents bankruptcy courts from modifying an individual's mortgage payments. They believe that the sub prime mortgage industry, which has engaged in dangerous and sometimes unscrupulous business practices, should not be shielded by outdated federal law.