Help--Bush and Home Ownership

[Barney Rocks]

Today I talked with an undecided voter (YES apparently there still are some)!!! OK, she said that she had not decided yet but that she is going to base her decision on Bush's home ownership program. She is saving to get a house and is checking into this program.

OK--I don't anything about what Bush is offering--his site didn't have anything clear about home ownership. Can people help me--understand his program, debunk it for this lady, and contrast Kerry's stand? I really feel that this woman could be a Kerry voter--she just needs to be pursuaded that Kerry will help her get into a house.

[drdigi420]

1. there is no program, only rhetoric

[Barney Rocks]

3. OK. that is good

(and informative--because she seemed sure there was some kind of program). I will tell her that there is NO program (contrary to the hype).

Is Kerry offering to do anything to encourage first time home owners?

[Kierkegaard]

4. Not to mention the economy.

How can anyone afford a house if you don't have a freakin job? Unless, that is, Scrub is planning on telling us we're going to get them for free if we vote for him...

Try telling her the world doesn't revolve around her. Our votes are supposed to count toward everyone's best interests, not just hers.

[Barney Rocks]

6. You are so right.

But unfortunately, lots of people are very selfish. They won't come right out and say that the world should revolve around them, but they certainly act as if it should.

Sometimes that is very hard to deal with. People like this really frustrate me.

[Kierkegaard]

8. They frustrate me too.

But I have to concede my views are a little idealistic.

Modern society has built up an immunity to common sense, decency and unity. Self interest is more common now than at any other time I can remember.

[cthrumatrix]

18. LOL....this is assanine....home ownership is "the issue"....braindead

[Roland99]

2. The only reason why home ownership is so high...

is because of the incredibly low interest rates due to the recent recession and the current FLAT economy. It's certainly nothing to do with any Bush program.

Besides, go talk to any mortgage broker (a friend of mine works for one) and they can tell you about anyone can get a mortgage. There are people less than one year out of Ch. 7 Bankruptcy that are getting 100% ($0 money-down) loans and the rates are about 7%. That's higher than a standard-credit person but still pretty damn low!

[Barney Rocks]

5. Holy Shit! I

should be buying a house too! Thanks--I really think we can get this woman on our side! She just really wants to own a place--and apparently she has seen a few commercials where Bush drones about encouraging home ownership--so she was leaning that way. A good debunking--and she will vote Democratic, I feel sure of it.

[spooky3]

10. Tell her that the Bush tax cuts to his rich friends and expensive

unnecessary war in Iraq will drive up interest rates. (You may need to walk her through the "why.") When interest rates go up she will not be able to afford a house. She needs to vote for someone who is responsible about the budget, who will get us out of Iraq as soon as feasible and who will take away the wealthy's tax cuts to get the budget back in balance.--Kerry.

[cheshire]

7. Dems started, fanny mae, freddie mac. Pubs always take $ from these

programs. How did she do under Reagan? You can tell by history, Like the last 4 yrs. They have cut SS why would they help her. He says your on your own with SS, insurance and other things. He isn't going to be any different on Home ownership. He didn't do anything he said he would 4 yrs ago, why believe him now. Show here she can get a house with the programs in place now.

[Barney Rocks]

9. She was born in 1973,

so she probably doesn't remember much about life under Reagan (I didn't ask--but I did find out how old she is). It sounds like you really know your stuff on the lenders and programs.

What are the best programs for a first time home owner? I think I will recommend a few of those to her--and tell her that Republicans usually cut these programs--her best bet of getting in a good program will be under a Democratic administration.

How does that sound?

[cheshire]

23. If she can look those two names online you will find all kinds of programs

Also your local real estate person will have all the answers. The progams I talked about only help insure your loan, but they are very helpful. If she wants a house she needs to just look. My hubby and I bought ours 5 yrs ago, it is pretty easy. Credit can be cleared up and should before but at least by closing. Buying a house is too easy and has been. There is nothing that * can do to help. He is saying he wants all of us to be on our own. Like SS, and insurance. He is trying to stop all government subsidised help. He is only saying if you want a house take my shitting little tax credit and good luck because you'll need it. Good luck

[cheshire]

24. I just wrote this, don't know where it went. Go online or ask a realitor

they are very helpful. Bush wants her to go out and do it on her own. There a many programs that will help but they basically insure that you will pay back the loan, that makes the loaner happy to give you the loan. We bought our home and we have problems. We had to clean up our credit. It took maybe 2 months and did it thru escrow. It is so doable right now. If she waits some of these programs will be scratched because that is what he is doing, getting rid of programs that help seniors, children, poor and middle class. That means don't get sick, don't expect SS and save that minimum wage to by your own damn house. Tent anyone. Good luck

[Barney Rocks]

25. Thanks! I am

going to get this voter for Kerry! I appreciate the info, this is not an area I am very familiar with (apartment dweller).

[carpetbagger]

11. He's at least thought about eliminating the interest deduction

There was a good article in The Economist, but I can't get to it. There was a memo on tax reform from Paul O'Neill, which laid out a national sales tax/flat tax proposal. Bush recently called it "an interesting idea".

[delete_bush]

12. Tell her that if Kerry wins, he will have an

extra house when he moves to DC, and will give it to her in exchange for her support.

[Barney Rocks]

16. ha ha--I guess

that you didn't know, but I am first in line for that extra house.

(just joking)

[delete_bush]

19. Or maybe put the house in a national lottery..

proceeds to help retire the bush deficit. Would be a great campaign ad!

[bain_sidhe]

13. Misheard slogan, likely...

Bush has been talking about an "ownership society" - which means, basically, that individuals "own" all the risks (and the costs) and corporations own all the benefits.

Ok, that's an extreme translation. But the basis of his proposal IS to have people set up their "own" retirement accounts (instead of Social Security and Medicare), their "own" medical insurance accounts (health savings accounts that require you to pay huge deductibles before you get any insurance benefits - but, hey, you get to save money to use for those costs "tax free" - assuming you're making enough money to save anything at all, of course), their "own" education accounts (essentially the same deal as the health savings accounts - tax free savings, assuming you can save anything). Of course, in all those cases, if your investments fall through, or you can't save anything, or no (private, highly profitable) insurance company will SELL you health insurance (or you can't afford it if they will sell it to you), well then, you're sh*t outta luck.

This is bu**sh**'s "Ownership Society." Again, my translation of it is, YOU own the risks, THEY own the profits.

[HFishbine]

14. Not to mention interest rates

Over time, a growing budget defecit pushes interest rates up.

[Barney Rocks]

15. yes--the thought of high interest

rates should be very discouraging to any potential home buyer. I am sure that this will be enough ammunition to convince her! She apparently saw some glossy ads--and was impressed by the Bush spin on this issue--apparently she wants a house quite badly--3 kids, 2 dogs, early 30's, has never had a nice home. She is not someone who should be a Bush voter and I think that if I take the home ownership meme off the table, we will have her!

[AzDar]

17. I wonder if she is talking about Bush's oft-repeated line ....

"home ownership is at an all time high in this country"...?
While technically true, the fact is that home ownership has increased EVERY year, no matter who was occupying the Oval Office.
What Dumbass IS NOT touting at campaign appearances, however, is that home foreclosures,as well as personal bankruptcies, reached a record high in 2003!

[Lefty48197]

20. Bush says he has created the highest rate of homeownership in US history

Of course, homeownership was at it's highest rate in US History, when Shrub took office. That's one thing that he hasn't f'd up. (yet)

[leetrisck]

21. Home foreclosures are at an all time high

so it really doesn't matter if home ownership is up - if you buy a house, lose your job - you lose your house.

[ScreamingMeemie]

22. As an appraiser, I must say, the real estate bubble has been pricked

and is about to burst. The only reason homes are moving is because of ridiculous fly by night mortgage companies offering 10 year interest only loans which end up with a $300 a month payment, but a killer mortgage mounting up...to where homes end up costing the purchasers sometimes up to 7 times their actual value. Let her think about that. I have never in my life seen so many foreclosure appraisals cross my desk.

In a nutshell, Kerry won't lie to her about the economy...which in turn, will help her to eventually own her own home without losing it.

[Barney Rocks]

26. Thanks. you are

obviously very knowledgeable, this is going to be a big help!

[ellacott]

27. I just bought a house

and I looked into his program. It's called American Dream and it's a downpayment assistance program. Supposedly they give an average of $5,000 down payment assistance. I was never able to find anyone who was familiar with this program so I wasn't able to take advantage of this. I've heard of some people who claimed to have received money. Your income can be no more than 80% of the median income in your area. There are a number of other programs that offer down payment assistance so this program so this program is not unique.

While this may sound great you can mention to your friend that one of Bush's proposals is to overhaul the IRS. If he gets his wish this may involve a national sales tax and an added value tax. The part that may be troubling is that all deductions could be eliminated. This would include the mortgage interest deduction. This would be thousands of dollars depending on the mortgage. This is very troubling for me because I was looking forward to finally claiming this reduction. A house is a huge expense and not being able to take that deduction would have a definate impact on the middle class.

Let her know that people have benefitted finacially from this deduction for years and now they want to take it away.

[ScreamingMeemie]

28. A cousin of mine bought a house based on "American Dream". The kicker

is the interest rate is much higher than it would be without the cash down. It's a glorified FHA without the stigma. My cousin? She ended up selling and moving when she lost her job. :hi:

[Barney Rocks]

29. Why is there a stigma attached to FHA

loans? (All I know about FHA--is they are federally insured--I think?)I truly am not up on this area at all and am enjoying the intelligent input from people in the know.

[ellacott]

33. FHA charges extra fees

It's like PMI(private mortgage insurance). It's an added payment to protect the bank in case you foreclose. There's a stigma with FHA because people usually get an FHA loan if they can't qualify for a conventional loan.

[Barney Rocks]

36. this thread has been

as educational for me as taking a college class! Thanks to everyone! I am really going to be able to educate this voter (today I really didn't know much about this--so I was a little on the quiet side).

[ScreamingMeemie]

35. Many people liken FHA loans to welfare. FHA helps those who do not

have the down payment needed to purchase a home. When my husband and I bought our home, we made good money but had next to nothing in the bank, and credit card debt. We went FHA. With FHA you carry mortgage insurance until your equity equals the percentage of down payment (usually about 20%). Many people shy away from selling FHA because of stringent inspections. The home must pass an FHA evaluation to be approved for FHA. We were able to drop our PMI in 6 months (this was during the refinance boom and values really went up here).

The funny thing is, in my area, you can purchase a home costing over $200,000 with FHA financing...although the average is $160,000. I always encourage first time homebuyers to look into FHA. The money we saved was put into home improvement.

[Barney Rocks]

38. do you know anything

about buying HUD homes? This girl said she might look into getting a HUD home because she thought it would be cheaper? But that certainly is NOT a Bush program (I don't know who started it but I believe it has been around since the 1970's).

[ScreamingMeemie]

40. It's been around since the 60's...1965 I think. Please direct your

friend to this site:

http://www.hud.gov/

It will explain all she needs to know...otherwise I'd be writing a book. HUD housing can be a great thing...if she can qualify. :hi: It's also not a pet project of the Republicans these days.

[cheshire]

43. Hud homes are rare in some areas and some are damaged and unsurable.

[vetwife]

30. Everytime I bought a home ......hear me out

Was under a repug..Just because the economy was in the toilet and as soon as I got it. within a year or two I lost it. I lost my job and assessts. bingo...Foreclosure. The economy was so very bad that they had to sell to anyone good credit, bad credit, job, no job, but the trick is, you don't get to keep it. As ha ..had not read Ms. McGrumpy's post and she just confirmed what I said ! You lose what you buy under them !
Just another Bait and switch.

[Barney Rocks]

31. congratulations on your new

home and welcome to DU!!!

:toast:

I also appreciate the info on Bush's program--this woman definitely would not be interested in it! She has saved carefully for over ten years and has nearly 30 grand to put down on a place--she wants to finance as little as possible. So--if his program is downpayment assistance--it is definitely not for her! I will tell her tomorrow and I will try not to crow too much. She thought there was some kind of program--but had no idea what it was. This is going to really help me a lot. I appreciate it!

[vetwife]

32. Tell her I hope she keeps it. It sure hurts to lose a dream and a home

[Barney Rocks]

34. oh vetwife--

I am so sorry to hear that has happened to you. I have never even tried to buy a home--so I haven't gone through some of this, but it is just terrible that people do not get more help in our society. I feel so bad that you would lose your home to foreclosure. It is a shame that that happens to people at all. It really seems like we could do a better job of helping folks achieve their dreams.

[vetwife]

41. Well Thank you. the fire of an apt was bad too

and so was the bankruptcy that followed. Thank you for all of those job losses Mr. and Mrs. Republican Pie.
I never got any help on any of that ! The job just locked its doors, a Real Estate company after writing me a bad check and disappearing and guess who went finacially broke under Reagan and Bush and now its happening again under Bush the sequel !

[ellacott]

37. Thank you very much

and thank you for the welcome. :)

Make sure you let her know about Bush's tax proposal. I am not pleased about the prospect of not being able to write off my interest.

[Barney Rocks]

39. I will take care of it!

Thanks for giving me the scoop, so that I will have the ammunition to convince her when I talk to her again!

[ellacott]

42. I forgot to mention...

A big concern of mine when Bush ran against Gore were the proposed tax cuts. When I talk to Republicans about this they told me it's just a campaign promise and not to give it much thought. As it turns out he made good on that promise. Those tax cuts were made at the expense of payments to state programs. In order to pay for the tax cuts the states received decreased funding for many state programs. This made the state deficits even bigger. Since most states have to have a balanced budget there were many cuts throughout the state which meant that many cities received less money(particularly the schools). Out state raised state taxes to compensate and many cities raised property taxes to support school levies. Property taxes were also raised to compensate for other areas.

Republicans that I talk to now tell me not to worry about the IRS overhaul because it probably won't happen. I don't take them at their word.

[Barney Rocks]

44. smart.

Once bitten twice shy. I have learned quite a bit here and I am very grateful for all the help on this issue.