Everett, WA

I recommend you to read the New York Times op/ed piece and then forward it to your Representative. We all need to be pro-active and engage our representation. The days of standing up for your party should be over .... you should be standing up for your family, your schools, your infrastructure your country.

The tiring rhetoric from both fringes leave out the most important group....most of us...the two hundred million plus. Do yourself a favor...quit carrying the water for those that do not care and speak for yourself.

See below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/opinion/14wed1.html?_r=3

I wish us all well.

Historically it is the lobbyist that writes the bills and our representation puts a bow on it and calls it representing "their constituency". Whats transparent are the lobbyists stomping around trying to get 'their say' in writing to water what they can down be it Health Care, Wall Street regulation or what the next 'stimulus' package should look like...or what I like to call the "simulus" package" (simulates or poses as a solution the result being modest and very short term results and terrible waste of money).

Harold Meyerson writes a great piece today and I wish to point it out to all plus I encourage you to send it to your Representative to remind them there is a little thing called the economy out there. The same old lobby activity goes on and this piece points out the usual players and the resistance toward the fixing of America and getting back on track.

Here is the link - very good read:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/13/AR2009101302653.html

I hope very much you all are taking a moment to email your representation and voicing your concern. Try not to rant. (Believe me it is hard at times) Articulate specifically your concerns and how you want your representative to represent you. IF you don't then you are part of the problem.

By the way for those that are interested in carrying the water and regurgitating talking points for their particular party....stop it. All parties in DC played a part in this debacle and the sooner you learn the facts (sometimes facts fly directly in the face of the rhetoric you are use to spewing) the better we all are and perhaps real reform in many areas can begin.

I wish us all well.

Snohomish County, Extending the Tax Credit for First Time Buyers

By: Don Sieb

According to the New York Times, The Democratic leaders met with the president to discuss a broad range of options to combat persistent high unemployment, officials say. The existing credit for first-time home buyers will expire at the end of next month if not extended, and two other components of the economic safety net — unemployment compensation and health care benefits for those who have been out of work for long periods — will expire at the end of the year.

Besides the likelihood of extending those measures, which were part of the $787 billion stimulus law earlier this year, the president and Congress were also weighing additional steps, given projections that jobs will continue to be lost into the middle of next year despite signs of economic recovery, possibly driving the unemployment rate above 10 percent. But they insist that any package will not add up to a second stimulus package, a prospect that would invite Republicans’ attacks on the effectiveness of the first.

Keeping the home-buyers credit and broadening it has been a priority for real estate agents and the home builders lobbies. By the time it is scheduled to expire, for home purchases that close before Dec. 1, the home-buyers credit will be responsible for nearly 400,000 sales of new and existing homes. Allowing the credit to expire this year would result in a decline in sales of homes that are not facing foreclosure just as sales of foreclosed homes are expected to pick up, Mr. Zandi said in an interview, “putting further downward pressure on house prices.” “The economic recovery will not evolve into a self-sustaining economic expansion and risks unraveling back into recession until house prices stop falling,” he added. But the tax break is not cheap. Congressional analysts put the cost in lost tax revenues at about $1 billion a month. of the credit to more home buyers through August would cost perhaps $30 billion.

While Democrats in Congress and the White House emphasize that no decisions have been made about the home buyers credit or any other measures, two officials said that the cost of extending the credit could be covered by redirecting money in the two-year $787 billion stimulus package that was scheduled to be spent after this year.

The current credit is limited to buyers who earn up to $75,000 a year, or couples who make $150,000; in gradually smaller amounts the credit is available to individuals with income from $75,000 to $95,000 and to couples making from $150,000 to $170,000. While the housing industry supports lifting the income caps so that even wealthy home buyers are eligible, White House and Congressional aides say that is not under discussion.

On Thursday, the House is expected to pass legislation from Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to extend the credit through 2010 for people who have been out of the country this year in the military or intelligence or foreign services. Mr. Reid is a co-sponsor of a bipartisan Senate bill that would extend the existing credit for six months, through May.

The home-buyers credit has come in for criticism similar to that lodged against another popular stimulus program, the “Cash for Clunkers” subsidy that went to people who traded in vehicles for more fuel-efficient models — that the credit persuades people to act faster on purchases, depressing activity later. Industry officials counter that expediting home sales helps to stabilize home values now, which is essential for sustaining economic growth. And unlike car sales, home sales have a multiplier effect that spurs job-creating growth throughout the economy.

Stay tuned...HomeSeeker center will follow these developments and provide updates on this legislation.

The credit score system has not only cannibalized the lending world creating false barriers preventing the deserving applicant experiencing life on life terms from getting a decent interest rate it has now given cover to lenders to create more barriers for the non-score applicant.

Traditionally HUD (FHA loan) allowed us to construct non-traditional credit ratings from sources such as the cable company, insurance agents the list goes on. Traditionally we would take the non-traditional credit and submit the file for what we call a manual underwrite which simply means a real person underwrites the file performing traditional risk analysis underwriting to determine the applicants credit worthiness and ability to repay the loan.

Today the lenders no longer allow us to represent the un-represented in this system of discrimination and that is the cash buyer. The person who refuses to be subjected to the non-sense of credit cards and chooses to make purchases by paying cash vs. credit is penalized. Does this make sense and is there a solution in this messed up system?

YES. Amazingly despite the inept ignorant (you pick the word) incoherent stewardship by our government, by accident (it is my belief) there is still one place you have a shot of home ownership with no credit score and that is the USDA loan.

This is not an automatic however and there are exceptions however there is a rational approach and resolution as long as you are strong in other areas such as having job stability and debt to income is within guidelines. There are other USDA requirements such as income caps and the property must be in area designated as rural.

So until some smart lawyer goes to trial to bust up the credit score system in its current form you will be living in the country.

I wish us all well.

Snohomish County, Making Homes Affordable Program: Help for the Unemployed?

By: Don Sieb

With all the fanfare surrounding the Making Home Affordable program, it’s easy to forget that one of the largest causes of foreclosure remains unaddressed–most lenders refuse to modify or refinance home loans for the unemployed, even when simply refinancing to today’s lower rates would make the loan safer.

Generally, there are guidelines that require the borrower to have sufficient income to refinance or make a modified payment before being granted a loan modification. So if you lose your job you are probably out of luck–in six months when you get a new one, you may have already lost your home to foreclosure.

Congress is trying to help you now. Reps. Barney Frank, Chaka Fattah, Elijah Cummings, and Sen. Jack Reed have introduced bills to offer loans to the unemployed. Representative Frank’s TARP for Main Street bill would provide $2 billion in TARP money to make loans that pay mortgages for those who don’t qualify for other assistance.

Fattah would set up a program that resembles Pennsylvania’s Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP), which provides assistance for the unemployed until they find work or for 24-36 months. All would get funds directly to homeowners to get their mortgages paid. A new loan program could use funds already earmarked for foreclosure prevention to stop mortgage defaults in the unemployed. With TARP funds being funneled to the banks, foreclosures continue at record pace, and they ARE preventable.

When the economy recovers (as many experts think it’s already starting to do), most jobless workers will be hired again and able to resume their mortgage payments. Timely bridge loans could keep them out of default until the borrowers get back to work or for some set time period. Even some portion of the $75 billion set aside for Making Home Affordable could bring many homeowners current and not leave them at the mercy of mortgage servicers who can’t or won’t help them.

Such a program would be much more efficient than the time-consuming loan modification program. It’s not hard to prove that you’re unemployed and to show what your mortgage payment is. You could be automatically be approved for a loan that would pay any mortgage above 31% of the household income (the target amount in Making Home Affordable modifications). The Treasury would make your mortgage payments and keep you out of default. Loans would be repayable with interest, but not until your income was sufficient to make that feasible.

Pennsylvania’s plan has actually made money for the state–about $10 million since its inception. Nothing else has worked. Very little of the bailout has actually helped homeowners. It’s time to bypass the banks, pay people’s mortgages directly, and halt the home losses that are destroying our security and our economy.

Home Seekers Center (HSC) is a one stop resource that provides information about local market conditions and to find properties that are priced well below current market value in the Puget Sound Area. Buyers can expect to save thousands of dollars on distressed property sales. HSC aggregates all available Distressed Property Sales, New Construction Homes, and Banked Owned Property and Building Lots in one convenient location. We are adding additional properties daily so please check back frequently.