Homeowner Afford Ability and Stability Plan Fact Sheet
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Source:
Help for homeowners
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 9:36 am
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/02/18/Help-for-homeowners/
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof. —John Kenneth Galbraith
Retail Sales in Jan rose .4% headline m/o/m, .7% ex auto's, .6% ex auto's and gasoline and .7% at the core. The headline figure was less than expected while the rest were slightly better. But, with respect to non headline sales, because Dec figures were revised lower, taking the two months together were about in line with forecasts overall. Sales rose in electronics, building materials, food/beverages, clothing, sporting goods, dept stores and restaurant/bars and fell interestingly for online retailers, health/personal care, furniture and motor vehicle/parts. Bottom line, headline sales were below expectations due to the greater than expected fall m/o/m...
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February 18th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Barry you should read Pultin’s speach if you haven’t. Russia talking about free market asset valuation???
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12087
February 18th, 2009 at 11:29 am
todays fractal – buy financials.
tradepostings.blogspot.com
February 18th, 2009 at 11:30 am
“Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan”
Is that the most Orwellian title since 1984?
To make homes affordable, we’ll pump massive amounts of government largesse at them, in the form of interest rate subsidies, etc., to prop up their prices, which will serve to keep them unaffordable. To stabilize the home markets, we’ll make the prices paid for homes an illusory mirage, propped up by the wizard behind the monetary policy curtain, and only as stable as the direction in which the political wind blows.
And we’ll do it all with money we’ve borrowed from the Chinese, even while Chinese social engineering has produced a cohort of excess males in the population that are rapidly reaching the age where unattached males create mayhem.
I get up in the morning only just for the excitement of finding out what stupid government program to carry us further into our demise has been concocted today.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:33 am
@Curmudgeon:
The onlt thing left to try is print up one million dollars per family, send it out and watch them spend…instant boom.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:41 am
It’s all very amusing, really. Here is how the speech might go, if Bruce in TN were giving it in local patois…
“Y’all screwed up big time and bought too much house – but now we’re going to help y’all out (and that very nice gentleman in the pinstriped suit who sold you the option-ARM loan as well) by borrowing (stealing is more accurate, actually) some money from your children and also from these heah kind folks in the rental apartments over there, with them coin jars, piggy banks and savings accounts. Oh and we’ll pick Lefty’s pocket as well, or Mister AMT as we call him. Y’all, if you rearrange the letters of AMT, y’all know what ya git? Yep, ATM.”
February 18th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Let me guess – each one of these mortgage “adjustment’ transactions will generate nice fees for brokers and banks involved…
February 18th, 2009 at 11:49 am
“Let me guess – each one of these mortgage “adjustment’ transactions will generate nice fees for brokers and banks involved…”
$1,000 per loan modified for servicer, up front, and then $1,000 per year for servicer if borrower stays current.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:49 am
If only Rapunzel were a guy.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Let’s create “mortgage stamps”…like food stamps. All us taxpayers who saved and didn’t run up debts will pay for it.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
You nihilists are really getting me down with all of this thoughtful, critical analysis.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this “plan” does nothing the assist those with Jumbo-type loans – only conforming loans (Freddie and Fannie). Is there not a significant problem (in California especially) with Jumbo loans – due to the high cost of housing? Additionally, as long as there is not a guarantee program for larger loans (Jumbo’s), the housing market will continue to deteriorate – esecially (again) in California as it is very difficult to get a Jumbo loan.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Haven’t read this yet..I hope it helps the poor folks who bought million dollar McMansions.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Off Topic Alert but I couldn’t resist: Bloomberg reporting that Sir Alan (Stanford) has gone missing. The authorities cannot locate him at the moment. Good times. Perhaps he’s hanging with Bernie on the Upper East Side.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
come on guys – admit it – it could have been a lot worse! (from the point of view of responsible fiscal conservatives, I mean)…
and that’s why this program won’t be transformational – because it’s not viciously egregious.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I have to admit – It’s not saying much, but I like this plan FAR more than haphazardly throwing more good money after bad at the banks. I’m not for artificially propping up housing prices but as an avowed anti-nihilist I do think something needs to be done to at least try staunch the downward spiral we are seeing. Is this the right plan? Who knows. Time will tell, I guess.
But I would prefer the feds shore up the worker safety net (e.g. unemployment, health coverage, etc.) during what will no doubt be a very difficult time period and hopefully they will do that soon. That, to me, would be money well spent.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
This plan costs “only” $75B. If Obama can restrain his urge to go beyond that, then this is only $75B worth of harm.
(Harm, that is, because the tooth fairy may not be willing to pay for this one).
February 18th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
As an addendum to my above post: I meant, “that would be money well borrowed”. Key distinction there.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Mannwich @ 12:35
“…I do think something needs to be done to at least try to staunch the downward spiral we are seeing.”
At what cost?
How much money will it take (trillions, I think), and is it worth it?
February 18th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Mannwich: Allen Stanford is probably watching the cricket in Antigua. For the last time…
February 18th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
*****
“Pay for Success” Incentives to Services.” Servicers will receive an up-front fee of $1000 for each eligible modification meeting guidelines established under this initiative. They will also receive “pay for success” fees – awarded monthly as long as the borrower stays current on the lona – up to $1000 each year for three years.
“Reaching Borrowers Early” To keep lenders focused on reaching borrowers who are trying their best to stay current on their mortgages, an incentive payment of $500 will be paid to services, and an incentive payment of $1500 will be paid to mortgage holders, if they modify at-risk loans before the borrower fals behind.
*****
Are you f—ing kidding me? It’s like “here, you’re too stupid to help yourselves by modifying these crappy loans so that you won’t lose ALL your money. You might be able to save some profit and performance from them if you did. So here, take some free cash for doing what you should be doing anyways if you were a smart businessperson. God forbid you should have to take some loss if you avoid doing something reasonable and work something out with your borrowers. Now, please, take this money and be a good boy. Pretty please?
February 18th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
@ Mannwich
“Perhaps he’s hanging with Bernie on the Upper East Side”
or perhaps he is just hanging?
February 18th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
@DL: I agree with that. It’s something that I’m struggling with, for sure. If I recall some of your other comments, I do think we can agree that money that is spent on strengthening the social safety net, at least during this difficult time period, will be worth the cost. We at least need to ensure that all chaos doesn’t ensue. Things could really unravel quickly if something substantive isn’t done on that front (e.g. unemployment pay, health care, etc.). And since I’m no nihilist like others on this blog assert, I’d really rather not have that happen.
@lb: You’re probably right. Taking his last ride in the gold-plated helicopter. Maybe they can melt down the helicopter and sell off the proceeds to repay his clients, I mean, victims……
Hate to say it, but I think it’s time to tax the hell out of people like Stanford, Madoff, Wall Street execs who have such uber-wealth again. I’m starting to think we need to assume that most of these folks did something unseemly (in many cases a lot of unseemly, even illegal, acts) in their lives to accumulate such wealth. It’s hard for me to shake that nagging thought as these frauds are uncovered.
February 18th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Mannwich @ 12:54
Yes. Financial support to the unemployed… absolutely.
February 18th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Taking his last ride in the gold-plated helicopter. Maybe they can melt down the helicopter and sell off the proceeds to repay his clients, I mean, victims……
Can we leave him in it when we do that?
Hate to say it, but I think it’s time to tax the hell out of people like Stanford, Madoff, Wall Street execs who have such uber-wealth again. I’m starting to think we need to assume that most of these folks did something unseemly (in many cases a lot of unseemly, even illegal, acts) in their lives to accumulate such wealth. It’s hard for me to shake that nagging thought as these frauds are uncovered.
You do realize that if you do that Barry won’t be able to afford the second dog
February 18th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
The HASP will NOT help speculators, irresponsible borrowers, or irresponsible banks. Good news is that it should be implemented and done in a couple weeks once the 176 borrowers it can help are identified.
February 18th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
@Common: Is Barry really in THAT stratosphere of wealth? If so, goood for him but I’m talking the titans of uber-wealth here. Nobody gets in that stratosphere along the way without doing something that is at least highly questionable (and usually far worse than that).
February 18th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Market boring the arse off you today, Jeff? I’m watching the cricket, myself…
February 18th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
“Lenders will also be able to bring down monthly payments by reducing the principal owed on the mortgage, with Treasury sharing in the costs.”
Here is the biggest piece of the plan. Taxpayers are going to help paydown loans. BTW, I rent.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:15 am
@Mannwich Says: February 18th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
You’re probably right. He’s probably a few ubers short of stratospherically wealthy. But watch him! Once his dogs start shrinking he’s giving off uber signs. The littler the dogs, the greater the wealth. Look at the Queen and all her corgis. Very uber
March 5th, 2009 at 12:14 am
There is so much ignornance in this room that it is creeping out the seems of my mouse and keyboard. LOOK.. I am a republican and did not vote for the ‘bama. Fact is, I’ve lost my job of 6 years at a multi-million dollar, previously stable company. Now what? I am applying for new jobs, I am calling people, I am emailing, reading job postings and doing everything else I can to get back the 70K a year I just lost. My house is a regular 4 bedroom house and I paid 300K for it. It’s my first house and we put what we had down. Our payment is 2K a month. Now.. somebody tell me why these IDIOTS (who probably don’t even own homes) are spouting off like this. It’s not my fault I lost my job. My company “let our department go”. I’m still paying for the 40K masters degree. FACT IS: those of yall that have been mouthing off need to shut the *%$* up and realize that we really are falling on hard times here, it’s not just the news. In fact, get out and help somebody who needs it instead of wasting good American’s time on your retarded internet postings. Geezze..