Yahoo finance has an interesting blurb - . Positive information for affordable housing
But not really for people trying to get mortgages!
Along with Jim’s find. (Video link on MHP’s)
We have to come up with a good argument for congress to understand why they should allow park owners to finance for buyers.
I have seen this in my main profession (healthcare) and many laws are enacted late at night in empty rooms b.c elected officials do not understand what they are voting for or allowing. They have so many bills in front of them and many decisions based on who shouts the loudest.
I talked to my state representative’s office, and they said that the odds of passing a bill for mobile home parks owners was near zero – it’s not a big enough group for Congress to waste time on helping. The better shot at amending the law comes from the giant single-family home lobby, who has been trying to get it fixed. But the problem is that nobody really cares except for that small group that wants to carry financing on homes. Politicians try to impress and please large groups of constituents, and there are much more main-stream bills to pass and work on that would help you stay in office.The bottom line is that we are not very optimistic on change right now.
Just like frank has been talking about. The attention to this ability to repay hasn’t seemed to creep up much in the news but I don’t keep up regularly. Thanks for the great direction to keep us thinking the right way
I follow the story closely, and they anticipate a bunch of billboards going up in the near future that say “Can’t pay your mortgage? You may be able to get cash damages! The Law Office of Jones & Smith.” The Ability to Repay Law is going to be every personal injury lawyer’s dream. It will take the place of the “Hurt on the Job?” ads in the TV guide. I seriously think that, of all the SAFE Act and Dodd-Frank foolishness, the Ability to Repay Law may take the whole ship down, as it could be the catalyst to cause mortgage companies to stop writing new mortgages for most of the U.S. population (the poorer ones) and start a grass-roots movement to overturn the whole thing at a future date and with the right party in control – kind of like the end of Prohibition. I’m actually glad they passed it – up until then nothing was stupid enough to cause the average American to give a darn.
Frank any predictions for when we see this start to take mainstream effect ? It just sounds like it could potentially rally big. I always wonder how far down housing would drop of credit dried up and everything returned to cash buyers. Better yet what if it you needed 20% down. That would still probably have a drastic effect
Unfortunately, there are rumors constantly – many of which the government starts – that never actually ever materialize. It just makes people feel good and buys time (FDR used this system to get us through the Depression, with the hope that good times are just around the corner). While we would certainly welcome Fannie and Freddie doing such a thing for mobile homes, I would not bet on it.
I agree it will not happen for mobile homes, and put the chances at 50/50 for sfh. With sch homes values at historic lows, however gradually recovering, the policy may seem to make sense.
If a rumor, it would have to be an inside rumor based on the CBS story.
If you’re interested in general housing/economy news and commentary, you can’t do much better than the Calculated Risk website (http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/). I started reading them in 2006 when they were among the lonely voices tracking the housing bubble and the collapse of lending standards. It has an excellent readership (seen in the comments) and great resources. This post on housing prices and sale vs. rent metrics is typical of what you’ll find. Basically, we’re back at 2002 on the sale vs. rent comparison, but the ratios are trending upward, which suggests that home prices are again rising faster than rental rates.http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2014/05/comment-on-house-prices-real-prices.htmlWill