Getting Real

Posts in category "Government Programs"

Should The Government Be Bailing Out Underwater Homeowners?

For some time the Obama administration has been pushing a number of programs to help out homeowners whose mortgage balances are greater than the value of their homes. Recently the administration expanded a Fannie Mae/ Freddie Mac refinance program and in an effort to promote that program President Obama went to Reno, Nevada a little... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
Monday at 8:34 am

• 8 comments

The Missing Solution For Underwater Mortgages

The government and the mortgage industry have spent a lot of energy trying to figure out how to help homeowners with their underwater mortgages. There are initiatives underway to help homeowners refinance their mortgages or to write down the principal balances for homeowners that would like to stay in their homes at a lower cost... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
March 5, 2012 at 6:12 am

• 5 comments

Is The Foreclosure Abuse Settlement A Good Thing?

I’ve been debating all day about whether or not to write this post about today’s announcement about the $25 Billion foreclosure abuse settlement between the US government and 5 major banks. As I understand it the settlement includes several provisions as to where the money from the banks will go: $1.5 Billion goes to borrowers... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
February 9, 2012 at 10:34 pm

• 5 comments

How The Government Actually Makes It Harder To Buy And Sell Short Sales

In response to my last blog post about how a bank refused to pay my commission on a short sale that I was buying for myself the Chicago area MLS did some further research on the issue and was in contact with the Chicago Association of Realtors with their findings. They referred me to so... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
February 4, 2012 at 9:29 pm

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Please Gore My Ox With Higher Fannie And Freddie Fees

Warren Buffett got a lot of attention a while back by begging the government to raise his taxes so I thought I would go for the same publicity by begging the government to raise the guarantee fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge on mortgages that they guarantee. The National Association of Realtors, The... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
December 17, 2011 at 8:26 am

• 2 comments

Isn't It Time For The Government To Get Out Of The Housing Market?

Consider everything the government does to support the housing market – and this has all been going on for quite a while: Tax deductibility of mortgage interest Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Government National Mortgage Association (Ginne Mae – GNMA) US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae – FNMA)... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
November 15, 2011 at 7:08 am

• 2 comments

Should Foreigners Be Able To Buy A Visa?

A couple of senators (one from each side) have come up with a rather interesting idea. Since we have so much bargain real estate that needs to be sopped up and since foreigners like to buy bargains in the US why not give them an additional incentive to buy more of our troubled real estate... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
October 21, 2011 at 10:03 am

• 2 comments

A New Twist On Mortgage Rates - More Record Lows?

Just how low can mortgage rates go? It’s been incredible how mortgage rates just keep hitting new record lows every week. The last data I have shows the 30 year at 4.09%! And for over a year now I’ve been thinking that mortgage rates would spike up at any minute. I even tried locking in... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
September 22, 2011 at 9:37 am

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Government Looking To Steal Money From Investors For Homeowner Handouts

When Obama delivered his jobs speech about a week ago he dropped a hint about a proposed program to work with federal agencies to help responsible, underwater homeowners refinance their mortgages. As he described it this would “put more than $2,000 a year in a family’s pocket, and give a lift to an economy still... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
September 17, 2011 at 12:39 am

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The US Budget Problem Explained In One Chart

This has nothing to do with real estate – except for the fact that if we don’t fix our budget deficit problem in Washington mortgage rates will eventually rise to 20%. For quite some time I’ve been wondering about just how big of a problem the major entitlement programs are for the country. I’ve periodically... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
July 18, 2011 at 7:07 am

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