Carson, California has over 1,100 homes in foreclosure according to its mayor, and barricaded inside one of them was Frank Torres, an oil-refinery worker who lost his home to foreclosure after work was scarce last year. Now he’s working full-time and he wants to buy his house back — but he says the bank won’t listen. That’s why he painted a message on the roof of his former home and held the building hostage for 5 hours.

From KABC:

“That’s all I want is for someone to hear me out,” said Torres. “For someone to help us out, work with us, work on a loan, because if not, they’re just going to sell the house under the home price, way under the price, and that’s not going to help the economy out, that’s not going to help us out, that not going to help the banks out. And I just don’t see — that’s a three-way loss.”

They mayor of the town is supportive of Mr. Torres, who is apparently a normal, hardworking guy.

“This is a prime example of what cities have to do all over California, all over the nation,” said Carson Mayor Jim Dear. “They need to reach out to their population, to the constituencies, and look at creative solutions, because this gentlemen, he works, his wife works. They’re bringing in a decent income but yet, this adjustable mortgage that he was stuck with, still couldn’t make the payments.”

Meanwhile, President Obama is expected to announce a new $50 -$100 billion foreclosure program which would include subsidies to lower borrower’s interest rates (the government funds would have to be matched by the lender’s own money), says the New York Times. The subsidies are intended to function as an incentive for lenders to refinance troubled loans, but its still unclear if the program will be more effective than the current voluntary programs. The Times says that 9% of all mortgages were either delinquent or in foreclosure at the end of 2008.

Man holds foreclosed Carson house hostage [KABC]

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