Fannie Mae pours billions into area -- Mortgage giant seeks to put more people in homes

SFGate.com ^ | 8/26/03 | Kelly Zito

[arete]

Steve Diamond, a special education teacher in San Francisco, was able to buy a $195,000 condo on San Francisco's Ocean Beach three years ago through an affordable housing partnership between the city's Office of Housing and Fannie Mae that provided $50,000 toward his down payment.

Maybe life in the Republic of Kalifornia isn't so bad afterall.

Richard W.

[arete]

FYI

Comments and opinions welcome.

Richard W.

[Joe Bonforte]

So they tried to repeal the laws of supply and demand in the Bay area with rent control, and got out-of-control prices and a shortage of affordable housing.

And the solution? Squeeze the feds for more money.

Some people refuse to see reality when it kicks them in the teeth. If SF and surrounding communities would just get rid of rent control and their no-growth zoning bull^#$%, there would be plenty of housing built, and the prices of properties would fall in line with the rest of the country.

Of course, the people who own those high-priced properties now would take in the shorts. That's why it will never happen.

[Beck_isright]

Anything to keep from admitting to the Captain that the ship has hit an iceburg. So what's next? Free homes to everyone who has a job?

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Your Question: "Free homes to everyone who has a job?"

Response: No. Not everyone. Only those members of groups that vote as a bloc.

[Beck_isright]

LOL, well since San Fruitcisco is nothing but a community of "voting blocs" I guess all the freaks will be getting free condos soon.

[arete]

I'd bet that the guy in the article could now unload the condo at twice the price he paid (didn't pay) for it and walk away with a nice profit. Fannie will just put someone else in it at the higher price and keep the inflation going. Free housing and free money. Why aren't we all living in Kali?

Richard W.

[Beck_isright]

Amen.

[ARCADIA]

Streching the bubble just a little bit more....until [POP!]

[fishbabe]

i can top that...my friend bought a house thru the gov't ,paid 40,000 for it..the mortgage is 160.00 a month for her and the taxpayers pay the rest and in 20 years she will own the house but heres the kicker...its considered hers now,so she was able to take 45,000 {yes,45,000} dollars out of the house and use it for whatever....the house is now worth 100,000 but she has a mortagae worth a 100,000 and she can walk away and taxpayers will be left holding the bag,and she got 45,000 in cash!!!!!

[ex-Texan]

Mortgage Players "Fannie" and "Freddy" are just huge, risky hedge funds ? That is what some experienced financial experts believe.

The Truth is out there.

[arete]

If anyone doesn't see where all this government taking care of everything for everyone and paying them too, is going they're blind. I don't care what political party you belong to, we're heading right into socialism.

Richard W.

[nygoose]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be toast one of these days.

[AdamSelene235]

I Hate these guys.

Mortgage program boosts mass transit

By John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News

August 26, 2003

If you buy a home in the Denver area near a light-rail line or a bus station, you may be able to qualify for a larger mortgage under a program being unveiled today.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo.; Regional Transportation District General Manager Cal Marsella; Jay Wilson, state manager of National City Mortgage; and Tony Hernandez, director of Fannie Mae's Colorado Partnership Office, will release details of Fannie Mae's new Smart Commute Initiative at a news conference this morning at the light-rail station at Union Station at 17th and Wynkoop streets.

Colorado is the 13th state to launch the program, which is designed to promote homeownership near public transit.

Buyers within a half-mile of light rail or a quarter-mile of a bus stop typically will be able to qualify for a mortgage 6 percent to 8 percent larger than they would otherwise, Fannie Mae's Hernandez said.

The idea is that the closer you are to public transportation, the more likely you are to use it.

"Americans who live in close proximity to public transportation save a billion (dollars) each year by using public transportation," William Millard, president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Public Transportation Association, said last month, when Fannie Mae launched the program.

"For each participating household, the Smart Commute Initiative improves mobility options, access to job markets, helps protect the environment, conserves energy and boosts the potential for economic prosperity - all great benefits worth promoting," Millard said.

"This is a fascinating and important program," DeGette spokesman Josh Freed said.

Freed noted that housing in urban areas typically is more expensive, but if buyers can reduce their need for a car, they have more money for housing payments. The Smart Commute program is open to home buyers in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver and Jefferson counties.

Although there is no guarantee that a person living near public transportation will use it, Hernandez noted that lenders that make the loans will see how much borrowers are spending on car payments.

"If you have loans on three cars, you're not going to be riding the bus or light rail, and you won't qualify for a loan under this program," he said.

[Tauzero]

"The firm said the increase is due in part to the higher cost of housing in the Bay Area."

That is completely retarded.

This can only raise prices.

It is disturbing that the people running Fannie have such a poor grasp of economics.

Long-standing obtuseness, or an effect of the Clintonoids within it?

[Orangedog]

I still remember an old joke from high school:

What's the difference between San Francisco and a cup of yogert?...The cup of yogert has an active, growing and living culture.

What's the difference between San Francisco and the same cup of yogert 20 years later?...The yogert will still have and active, growing and living culture.

Well, I said it was old, not good.

[Orangedog]

Why aren't we all living in Kali?

Because we have standards. Low ones, but standards nonetheless.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Statement:"I guess all the freaks will be getting free condos soon."

Response: Yep! At taxpayer expense too.

[arete]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be toast one of these days

They own the best politicians money can buy. The GSE's are so big and powerful now that I'm not sure they aren't running the whole freaking country. Congress is actually afraid to investigate them. What does that tell you? Yeah, if anyone is going to take it in the neck and wallet, it is going to be you and me.

Richard W.