Here's what I'm getting out of this: Crude speculation bad. Real estate speculation good. I don't get it. Mr. President? How's that ownership society thing working out?
HOPE for Homeowners Act of 2008 H.R. 3221, as amended, would include the HOPE for Homeowners Act of 2008, which would create a new, temporary, and voluntary program within the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to back FHA-insured mortgages to distressed borrowers. These new mortgages offered by FHA-approved lenders would refinance distressed loans at a significant discount for owner-occupants at risk of foreclosure. Guided by five basic principles -- long-term affordability, no investor or lender bailout, no windfall for borrowers, voluntary participation, and restoring confidence, liquidity, and transparency to markets -- the program would require that: ⢠Borrowers certify that they have not intentionally defaulted on their mortgage or any other debt and, as of March 1, 2008, the borrower had a mortgage debt to income ratio of more than 31 percent; ⢠Borrowers be owner-occupants and not investors, and investor properties cannot be refinanced; ⢠The new loan be a 30 year, fixed-rate mortgage for an amount the family can repay or 90 percent of the current value of the home, whichever is less; ⢠All subordinate liens be extinguished through negotiation with the first lien holder, and all holders receive a portion of any future appreciation of the property; ⢠The maximum loan limit not exceed 132 percent of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Cooperation Act limit; ⢠Borrowers not grant a new second lien on the home within the first five years of the new, refinanced loan; and ⢠The borrower share the newly-created equity and future appreciation equally with FHA until such time as the borrower sells the home or refinances the FHA-insured mortgage, and the borrower's access to the newly-created equity be phased-in over five years. H.R. 3221, as amended, would authorize the program to insure up to $300 billion in mortgages. The program would be paid for, in part, by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, but the legislation (in the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008 title) would provide an additional $2 billion cushion to establish a reserve fund at the Treasury Department over ten years. The HOPE for Homeowners Program would be overseen by a Board consisting of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The program would begin on October 1, 2008 and sunset on September 30, 2011. WTF?:eek:
Working out great for the government! Fannie and Freddie are now deeply entwined into the government. Fannie and Freddie have 80-90% of mortgages. The lender is the true owner of the property. Therefore, the government now owns all the property!
The government owns all of the property anyway. The whole thing is a shell game. Just enjoy the ride.
As has been posted with regard to people trying to get these mortgages that don't need help, there are already provisions in the bill: "Qualified borrowers must live in their homes and have loans that were issued between January 2005 and June 2007. Additionally, they must be spending at least 31% of their gross monthly income on mortgage debt to be eligible for the program. They can be up to date on their existing mortgage or in default, but either way borrowers must prove that they will not be able to keep paying their existing mortgage - and attest that they are not deliberately defaulting just to obtain lower payments." That said, this bill literally makes me sick to my stomach. The ridiculous amount of corruption and fraud it will create is astounding. Who thinks it is a good idea to throw money at local (usually incompetent at best) politicians to buy foreclosed homes? There are no checks and balances, no one to answer to, no real guidelines on how to spend the money. I'm sure they will not work hard to arrange the transactions to help themselves and their friends. Also, with people on the hook to pay a large percentage of any profits back to the government when they sell, do you think that maybe people will structure non arms length transactions or under the table payments to show very little gain on the property? Thinking that appraisals will help control that situation is as naïve as thinking that the appraisals leading up to the housing correction meant something. I am not trying to be political at all, but the way the republicans rolled over on this bill is crazy. Anyone who wants to start a class action suit for those of us who pay our bills and are the ones paying for this bill, I will be happy to join in.
Exactly. The difference in the loans PLUS they get an instant 10% equity in the house since the new loan is for %90 of the current appraised value. Not only that, but since all the new loans are federally insured (and Freddie and Fannie ARE explicitly being baild out) how can they say there's no investor and lender bailout?
A class action lawsuit on a large scale based on the same facts that Jerome Daly used to win in First National Bank of Montgomery vs. Jerome Daly could work.
was senator DODD one of the architects of this bill.......wasnt this the same guy who didnt realize what a 'SWEET DEAL" he got from that scumbag MOZILLO and that now extinct scumbag organization COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL........??!!??
Not sure...but a typical Democratic F-up to the taxpayers. "The Senate, in a rare weekend session, overwhelmingly approved the measure, 72 to 13, a reflection of the election-year jitters on Capitol Hill over the troubled economy." All the votes opposing the legislation were cast by Republicans."