Washington’s housing fix taking shape

Senate Democrats and Republicans agree to compromise on bill aimed at averting foreclosures and helping those hurt in housing crisis.

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: April 3, 2008: 6:28 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Senate Democrats and Republicans, under election-year pressure to do more about the mortgage crisis, worked around the clock Wednesday to draft a bipartisan housing bill that has been fast-tracked for a debate and vote.

Some details on the agreement were released Wednesday evening, and the bill may go before the full Senate for discussion Thursday.

The legislation is expected to contain funding to help borrowers avert foreclosures and help boost activity in neighborhoods with vacant properties. It’s also expected to include a business tax break and possibly some measures designed to make loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration more accessible. MUCH MORE

We know that millions of American families have already lost their homes, and while Congressional action may help in the long-run, so many vacant homes are creating another crisis - one that is completely being ignored by almost all aspects of the mainstream news media and even Congress. When a family loses their home, where do they go? Obviously, since their credit is ruined, their only option is to seek rental property, and in many markets, their misery is compounded and many are jumping out of the frying pan into the proverbial fire! As the mortgage crisis grinds on, the list of vacant homes is growing, and so far, I haven’t found the information that would give us an approximation of how many homes in the United States remain vacant:

As Houses Empty, Cities Seek Ways To Fill The Void

February 6, 2008; WSJ

By MICHAEL CORKERY and RUTH SIMON

Cities are scrambling to cope with a surge in vacant homes and abandoned properties in the latest fallout from the mortgage-lending crisis.

Nationwide, the homeowner-vacancy rate, which measures the number of vacant homes for sale, rose to 2.8% in the fourth quarter, the Census Bureau recently reported. That matches a record set in the first quarter of 2007 and is the highest since the government began tracking vacant homes in the 1960s.

The current vacancy rate could be the highest since the Great Depression, when an exodus of Americans left the Dust Bowl states for the West Coast, says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com.. Data “strongly suggest that vacancies are at their highest level since the 1930s,” he says, adding that the empty homes aren’t only depressing property values, “they are weighing on the collective psyche of communities. … It’s kind of like playing for a losing team. It’s debilitating.” MORE

Obviously, it’s an enormous figure - and as more homes become vacant because of foreclosure, properties on the rental market are beginning to become scarce, and in the capitalist spirit of America, landlords are raising their prices - taking advantage of those who have already lost everything. The rental crisis goes deeper then that - hitting those who can afford it the least, and many on fixed incomes throughout the United States are going hungry as they attempt to cope with soaring rental costs, food and fuel increases while their incomes remain stationary. Some, my family included, have been searching for a home in a rural area that is less money per month, and properties that most of us would view as being below par in almost every aspect mirror the cost of where we live now - which is nice property.

They MSM states millions of Americans are sliding into poverty, but from my perspective, they aren’t sliding anymore, they’re plunging from one existence to another in a matter of just a few short years, and for millions more, in just a few more short months. Imagine one day being in a middle-class neighborhood, and the next, waking-up in a home that often costs more than their previous mortgage payment but is in fact, a home that most of us would consider to be sub-standard at best. The nation is suffering economically, but for millions, adding insult to injury, they also feel the humiliation and anger of being thrown into poverty while the government’s first interest was helping the corporations - not the people they are supposed to serve (sic.)

 1  |  2