the promised foreclosure rant

Definition of a short sale:  you lose all the money you put into your house, your credit is ruined and therefore you can't purchase another home and are tossed into the increasingly competitive renters market, you have to send in endless endless mounds of paperwork over and over because the bank keeps losing it, you can't even strip the home of the upgrades you made, you have to suffer the silent bitterness of someone else getting your great home at half what you paid AND your supposed to be happy about it.

Our house is now in the process of a possible short sale.  And that's supposed to be great news in this new American dream right?  If you can avoid foreclosure you're supposed to be one of the lucky ones.  But is this something we should really be thankful for?  Maybe we don't have to check yes to the dreaded foreclosure/bankruptcy/you are scarlet lettered for life box on random paperwork that seems to ask you this question (ie renters insurance), but our credit is still in the garbage, we lost a ton of cash on our house and our housing options are SEVERELY limited for the foreseeable future.

BUT, hey what great news, now the government is settling with the banks and those that went into foreclosure between certain dates get 2,000!  Wow, yipee!  Are they serious (and what about those that fall outside those dates)?  2,000 seems offensive to me.  How about a clean bill of credit and a low interest rate to get back into the housing market.  It seems like every plan they come up with reeks with mediocrity.  If we, the people are not financially sound then the banks won't be.  PERIOD.  There is going to be a continued terrible housing market if so many of the potential buyers out there can't enter the market because of spoiled credit due to short sales and foreclosures.  How about removing that credit ding from the equation and factoring in all the before and after and then granting loans?

Anyone else out there mad about this?