Now Here is a Novel Idea for Leasing

You know, the more I thought about it and the more I researched it, it just makes sense to lease all or most of the distressed properties in the US from the federal government instead of foreclosing on them all.  And I am not alone.  Shaun Donovan, Secretary of HUD, is actually thinking about it!

Think about it.  Consumer confidence is down big time. What with all the ridiculous gas prices, fear of interest rates rising, and inflation it's not a wonder that the only people out there buying are investors.  Yeah, we love them now, don't we.  Because without them we would be in a world of hurt.  But this can't last forever because these same investors want rid of these homes just as fast as they buy them, which puts them back on the market that is already flooded.  A whopping record 35% of all sales are cash, and 22% of sales are to investors.  It's just a temporary fix in other words. 

So, the rental market picks up in a big kind of way, and ironically, the same people who are reluctant to buy are the ones who are paying big bucks to rent.  I know, I have seen it as a rental specialist and property manager here in South Florida.  What should be renting for, say $1700. is renting for over $2000.  Imagine what kind of home you could buy with a mortgage payment like that.  Ahhh, if only you could get the darned loan!  Talk about a catch-22.

This leads me to an even better fix, leasing distressed properties.  I am not saying that the feds should take them all because, quite frankly, they would be overwhelmed and probably screw up things even more, but why not take a chunk of like 10% of them for starters and test the market?  I wouldn't call it Section 8 per se, but rather a leasing plan for normal folks who can afford reasonable housing.  By doing so at least have a shot at getting the house back in one piece.

In the end, however, maybe the native Indians had it right all along and we just screwed them up.  They never bought or sold anything and lived in relative peace and harmony amongst themselves for thousands of years without an economic collapse.  As a matter of fact, had they not fought amongst themselves for so long it's possible we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.