5 Plans to Save the Housing Industry

[ptradmin]

HousingZone.com put out an article this week that looked at five of the more prominent plans to "save" housing. The plans ranged in scope, cost, and - frankly - sense... but overall the idea is that many of our state and federal politicians are putting their two sense in. The only problem is, the plans that make sense are the ones that are least likely to get implemented. They just aren't politically palatable. Here are two big hints: 1) If it comes out of Congress - run for your life, and 2) if it bears the name of the bill's sponsor, it's likely more about bringing notoriety to the politician than it is about fixing the actual problem. Keep this in mind as we go through the following plans one by one and evaluate them based on what we know of their authors and their details.

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[gwhiz]

So even though I've been in Who's Who in America for 30 years, raised two daughters and put them through college, owned 5 homes and now my own small business (because I was out of work for 2 years and had to create a job for myself) according to you, I'm a dead beat because I'm underwater in my home and I should be foreclosed on. I've sat on the board of directors of companies, called on virtually every major consumer products company in the US and virtually every major retailer's headquarters as well. I can tell you first-hand -- not from listening to corporate-sponsored talk radio -- that corporate America is responsible for mess our economy is in. They've been dismantling it for the last 30 years while the rest of the world laughed at our worship of the free market place, as if it were some sort of perfect solution to everything. When I started in business in the late 70's finance was 3% of the US economy and today its 33%. They've caused so much inflation while they sold companies and jobs to the highest bidder for a quick buck. I could go on and on and on. . .Who do you think is paying for all those lobbyists in DC and the self-serving, research they churn out that says we should let them do anything they want, anywhere, anytime. Check out your history. Our founding father's placed incredible restrictions on corporation. At the beginning they wouldn't even allow them to form for more than a few years. They saw the danger to us and Democracy that we're all blind to today!

[tool-mo-z]

Originally Posted by gwhiz

So even though I've been in Who's Who in America for 30 years, raised two daughters and put them through college, owned 5 homes and now my own small business (because I was out of work for 2 years and had to create a job for myself) according to you, I'm a dead beat because I'm underwater in my home and I should be foreclosed on.

You're not a deadbeat, but yes, you should be foreclosed on if you can't make your payments. You bought a house and you can no longer afford it. This isn't punishment, it's just cause and effect.

You haven't seen a true free market. No one has in this country - even less-so now than in the past. Government always interferes and the market isn't given a chance to correct on its own. The result is that banks and large corporations are (currently) more protected, and the rest of us have to endure downturns for longer because the corrections are dragged out.

[erngum]

My northern California neighborhood is relatively new (2003-2005) and almost everyone is underwater. Not all of the equity was lost due to the market. You can see lost equity parked in the driveways and garages. I call it "chrome equity" (Luxocars, boats, RV's, and Harley's mostly). Most of it is vintage 2005/6.

The equity ATM's are empty now and I shake my head when I hear them complain that "The government should do something!" I just change the subject and say something like, "Wow, you have a nice travel trailer. Is that a 50, or 60 footer?"

[GG2]

I agree with tool