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mortgage: CRA and Acorn Caused Housing Crisis?
- 11/23/09 03:34 AM
If I told you that the floods that destroyed New Orleans in 2005 were the result of a solitary homeowner who left his lawn sprinkler on too long, you'd laugh out loud.
Well, that's essentially the argument some are making about the housing crisis. They are laying the blame for it on the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977.
The fact this urban myth is still around is further testimony that we Americans rely way too much on ideologically driven media for our news. The people pushing this fantasy have an agenda, and it's damn the facts, full speed ahead.
Facts? Here … (3 comments)
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mortgage: Bailouts Make for Strange Bedfellows
- 02/05/09 02:41 AM
So the latest thing out of the nation's capital is a proposal that would limit the salary of bank head honchos...if the bank they work for is taking Federal bailout money.
And you might be surprised where newly elected President Obama is finding support for this plan. More on that later.
The cap is $500,000 in cash salary, but, execs can earn a nearly unlimited amount in restricted stock. How is it restricted? It doesn't fully vest until the bank pays back you and I and the rest of the American taxpayers, for the so-called TARP money.
So in order to … (0 comments)
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mortgage: What are they waiting for?
- 01/09/09 02:53 AM
I've talked with a lot of consumers here in the Portland area who tell me they are waiting. Waiting to refinance or purchase property. What are the waiting for? A better economy? Lower real estate prices? A sign from a higher power?Turns out the answers are no, no and no. They are waiting for the 4.5% mortgage rates they've been hearing are right around the corner. So they are rolling the dice, some holding mortgages with rates over 6%, hoping for that magic 4 dot 5. And that means that they are saying, "No" to mortgage rates as low as 4.75%. … (0 comments)
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mortgage: Low Rates Alone Are NOT Enough
- 12/18/08 04:38 AM
So you read that the Federal Reserve Board cut rates, lowering their "target" rate to between 0 and .25%. Normally, a Fed cut can be bad for mortgage rates, because Fed rates are overnight and mortgages are, well, longer.
But Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) rallied. Why? Because in it's announcement, the Fed also signaled that it would buy even more MBS, particularly from newly government controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
That has sent fixed rate mortgages dropping to as low as 4.75%. But...
Those rates, at least right now, are only available for borrowers willing to pay, or able to … (0 comments)
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mortgage: Don't Blame the Victims
- 10/06/08 04:24 AM
Folks, I try not to get strident. I try not to YELL! I try to remain calm.
No more my friends.
There is a move, among certain circles, to lay blame for the credit crunch and the $700 billion bailout at the feet of African Americans and other minorities who have been given home loans over the past few years. Most of it based on a program started more than 30 years ago called the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). It's one of the most disgusting and reprehensible things I've ever heard coming out of Washington. And as we all know, there … (0 comments)
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mortgage: Fannie and Freddie Takeover Triggers Opportunities
- 09/11/08 11:08 AM
Home buyers and holders of existing mortgages were the first beneficiaries of the Federal Government's decision to take over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this past weekend.
To give you the details...Before the decision was announced the so called FNMA 5.50% coupon closed at $99.40. By Monday, the FNMA 5.50% OPENED at $100.50 and closed up over 100 basis points near $101.30. All that turned in to a .5% drop in fixed mortgage rates.
For historical perspective, fixed rate mortgage rates have not been this low since February of 1995.
So what does it all mean for buyers, and … (0 comments)
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If I told you that the floods that destroyed New Orleans in 2005 were the result of a solitary homeowner who left his lawn sprinkler on too long, you'd laugh out loud.
;)
;)
