The Republicans created an extraordinary deep financial hole among other things which will require equally extraordinary tactics to climb this country out of.

the bush admin warned the dem congress seventeen times in 2008 alone that freddie and fannie were a problem. greenspan warned about it back in 2005.

the fact is, the dems basically fought every piece of legislation calling for reg of fannie and freddie…

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/housing/2004-01-20-fha_x.htm

Posted 1/20/2004 1:31 AM



Bush seeks to increase minority homeownership
By Thomas A. Fogarty, USA TODAY
In a bid to boost minority homeownership, President Bush will ask Congress for authority to eliminate the down-payment requirement for Federal Housing Administration loans.
In announcing the plan Monday at a home builders show in Las Vegas, Federal Housing Commissioner John Weicher called the proposal the "most significant FHA initiative in more than a decade." It would lead to 150,000 first-time owners annually, he said.

Nothing-down options are available on the private mortgage market, but, in general, they require the borrower to have pristine credit. Bush's proposed change would extend the nothing-down option to borrowers with blemished credit.

The FHA isn't a direct lender, but guarantees loan payments for mortgages on moderately priced owner-occupied property. The FHA guarantee now permits private lenders to finance as much as 97% of the purchase price of a home for millions of low- and middle-income borrowers.

In the proposal soon to be delivered to Congress, Bush would allow the FHA to guarantee loans for the full purchase price of the home, plus down-payment costs. As a practical matter, the FHA would guarantee mortgages as high as 103% of the value of the underlying property.

Weicher says the change is aimed at potential home buyers whose credit excludes them from the private mortgage market. Borrowers would need sufficient income to meet monthly payments. But, he said, the plan would eliminate the single largest impediment to homeownership for millions of households — lack of money for a down payment.

The most recent government figures show a national home ownership rate of 68.4%, the highest ever. But less than half of black and Latino householders own the home in which they live. Bush has a goal of 5.5 million new minority homeowners this decade.

FHA loans carry higher risks of delinquency and foreclosure than do private mortgages, and the proposed change presumably will lead to greater losses to the government than the current program does.

Weicher said the added risk will be offset by higher fees charged to borrowers who opt to make no down payment.

On a $100,000 mortgage with an interest rate of about 6%, the nothing-down borrower could expect closing costs $750 higher than other FHA customers. Monthly house payments would be slightly higher.

Mortgage analyst Keith Gumbinger of financial publishers HSH Associates says the Bush plan "would fill at least a small niche in the mortgage market" — first-time buyers with somewhat impaired credit.

Affordable-housing advocate Scott Syphax, CEO of Nehemiah Corp., called the proposal "revolutionary." It marks the clearest official acknowledgment that millions of potential homeowners are being blocked by high down-payment costs, he says

[/quote

I voted for Hope-where is it? Or is economic fearmongering all we can expect from Barack

here we go, reminds me Russia back to about 10-15 yrs ago when people were putting down all those who didn't confuse themselves, went for their goals, and could make a decent living. Obama is bringing the socialism to the USA

but what i want to know is why it costs a trillion bucks to "create" 4 million jobs. i mean, come on,

Did you ever stop to think that some of us might be just getting by ourselves and if we get hit we with major tax increases we might be in the same boat as those we are supposedly helping?

Don't worry, soon enough Obama will figure out a way to pay for your gas and mortage. In fact if you read the news, he is enacting a 75 billion (which in actuality is closer to $200 billion) plan to pay for all those who took out loans they could never possibly pay for as I write this. I'm sure the gas rebate checks won't be too far behind.

This is the beginning of the end of what was the US....socialism is on the way...

Every nation deserves the ruler it has ----- "Winston Churchill".

obama is saying NOW that the fundamentals of our economy are strong...yet wasn't he bashing mcain and bush for saying the same thing just before the election? yet, wasn't the economy in much better shape at THAT time? the economy is actually WORSE now, and obama is claiming that the fundamentals of the economy are strong...

do you not think that perhaps even when things are amiss that it is important for a president to try to calm fears on wall street? hmmmm? markets run on speculation...so, yeah, i think it's important for a pres to do this...

however, you ignore the facts i mentioned in my previous post. and yes, BUSH, the wall street journal, greenspan, every other financial show for the past two years had been talking about a real estate bubbble. where were you? watching dancing with the stars? or american idol? because anyone who pays attention to the issues would have known the above facts.

and unfortunately, we have a president that is laughing and smirking over the huge bankruptcy bill he has wrangled out of congress...and he is laughing because he enjoys this...

and you voted for this man? may your great great grandchildren forgive you...

lar

How are your grandchildren and great great grandchildren going to veiw your support of a President who spent 3 trillion dollars on a war while our economy was faltering on collapse?

Here's the funny thing that comes to mind when I hear people claiming that we should just let all those house mortgages simply default without acting on them - and throw the bums out on the street.

Now picture an America where perhaps the largest single investment most people make (especially the working and middle class) is worth FAR less than it was previously - even the houses bought by those "good decent hardworking Americans" .... All the capitol evaporated, and now worth perhaps a half of what it was days before. Large areas in neighborhoods completely empty, and now prone to neglect and increased crime. Pictures in all the media of a new (and rising) class of homeless person, now suddenly unable to get apartments due to the mass numbers involved. Greatly increased rents, as a tsunami of former home owners flood into the rental market, raising prices for the entire nation thanks to the increased competition for limited numbers of spaces.

Is that the America you want to live in, and you want to try and survive in ?

Many of us are all stuck in this boat crazy merry go round
The job market around us has dried up.
Many of us can get a job or better job someplace else but if we have a home good luck.
If we want to move we have to either walk away from a home that is partly or fully paid for or sell it for about 75% of it worth.
Actually in this market one can't usually sell in an area where jobs are scare even at a 50% or more lost.
For those that have the home paid for or mostly paid for that means anywhere from 50,000 to ??? loss in financial funds.

A friend of mine sold their place in Calif for close to $200,000. They can buy an identical place in same complex for under $50,000. Pity the person that bought it for $200,000 if they need to move.

To me this is the beginning of a time were the middle class has a President that takes there future seriously, we have a President who under stands that it the middle class wage earner that powers this countries economy.

The first lady of the United States is not elected, has no constitutional duties and receives no salary, but that doesn't mean the position is without its privileges – including a staff of 22 White House employees who make a combined nearly $1.5 million per year.

You only have yourself to blame if you did not plan for this economic collapse you kept electing people who did not have your best interest in mind

You only have yourself to blame if you did not plan for this economic collapse you kept electing people who did not have your best interest in mind and you kept on yelling give them more we want trickle down, is the trickle giving you a warm fuzzy

People named Pelosi, Reid, Spectre, Obama, and the list goes on and on!!!!!

You only have yourself to blame if you did not plan for this economic collapse you kept electing people who did not have your best interest in mind and you kept on yelling give them more we want trickle down, is the trickle giving you a warm fuzzy feeling

And Earl!!! Why, that's not a very liberal statement to make...you know, "you only have yourself to blame"...I thought we were all in this together, regardless who screwed up...we'll all bail each other out...at least I thought.

How's that "trickle up" thing working for you? I know you have a big ol' warm and fuzzy with the Obama...but is your take home pay going up? Good Gawd, thankfully this idiot will be a lame duck after the midterm elections. (Oh, and I use the term "idiot" affectionately...sort of like y'alls descriptions of Dubya/Shrub, etc.)

Me I am fine, it's the young people the future generations that I am concerned for they have a very small piece of the american pie left to compete for.

He cares not for his union thug buddies or for giving those who won't work something for nothing, but for the future generations.

I would ask that you treat and talk to others as if you were standing face to face looking at them.

you think it's okay to free the iraqi population from a dictator but not to help the unemployed of this country where are your morals

you think it's okay for you to have health care but are against those who are unemployed or under employed

children in this country go without food, without the hope of a future until all of our children are fed have an opportunity for an education and an opportunity to make the american dream a reality I will be a bleeding heart

have an opportunity for an education

and an opportunity to make the american dream a reality

There is no reason we can not have a communication exchange that is fact based but being a union thug limits my patience with distortion and fabrication, one lie and to me you have a big L on your face and can no longer be considered as an American who has the good of this country at heart