{"id":3820,"date":"2008-08-09T08:10:25","date_gmt":"2008-08-09T15:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=3820"},"modified":"2008-08-09T08:10:40","modified_gmt":"2008-08-09T15:10:40","slug":"theres-more-to-the-mortgage-relief-bill-than-just-mortgage-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/3820\/theres-more-to-the-mortgage-relief-bill-than-just-mortgage-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"There’s more to the mortgage relief bill than just mortgage relief"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is my column for this week from the Arizona Republic<\/i> (permanent link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Notes for insiders: The legislative thumbprint of the National Association of Realtors is churn. The NAR is not necessarily for or against any legislation. Instead, their lobbyists will look for ways to introduce short-term incentives to churn real estate — artificial inducements to buy or sell real estate now rather than on the consumer’s own timetable. In this bill, getting rid of seller down-payment assistance, introducing the new-buyer tax-credit and revising the capital gains exclusion rules all promote short-term churn. What about the long-term? The NAR knows it will be able to lobby for new real estate-churning legislation next year — at every level of government. This is just another example of the fundamentally anti-consumer character of the NAR.<\/p>\n

Here’s another thought: Wouldn’t it be great if, instead of regurgitating Zillow’s gee whiz press releases<\/a>, the real estate reporters of the mainstream media actually reported on what is really going on in real estate?<\/p>\n

 
There’s more to the mortgage relief bill than just mortgage relief<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having trouble making your mortgage payments? You might be able to make a change in your loan, thanks to the mortgage relief bill President Bush recently signed into law. Under the bill, you can convert your high-interest adjustable-rate loan to a lower-interest fixed-rate note if you meet what might, in a declining market, seem to be Catch-22-like guidelines: Your payment must be more than 31% of your income, and your new loan cannot exceed 90% of your home’s value. Help is available — provided you don’t need it.<\/p>\n

Starting October 1st, seller-paid down-payment assistance grants will be outlawed for FHA loans. This is bad news for lower-priced neighborhoods in Metropolitan Phoenix, where as many as nine out of ten homes are being sold with down-payment assistance. Expect to see a flurry of this activity in the next two months.<\/p>\n

But the left hand gives where the right hand takes away: Buyers who have not owned a home for three years can take a $7,500 “refundable” tax-credit if they buy between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009. The credit Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is my column for this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link). Notes for insiders: The legislative thumbprint of the National Association of Realtors is churn. The NAR is not necessarily for or against any legislation. Instead, their lobbyists will look for ways to introduce short-term incentives to churn real estate — artificial inducements […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,26,6,5,30],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3820","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-investment","7":"category-lending","8":"category-marketing","9":"category-real-estate","10":"category-supplanting-the-nar","12":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8522,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/8522\/no-more-free-lunch-understanding-the-national-association-of-realtors-all-the-way-down-to-your-bones\/","url_meta":{"origin":3820,"position":0},"title":"No more free lunch! Understanding the National Association of Realtors — all the way down to your bones…","author":"Greg Swann","date":"May 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Michael DiMella wrote the remarks quoted below in a comment, but I've extracted them and my responses to him into a separate post. The meta issue is this: Is the NAR a criminal conspiracy against consumers, and, whether or not it is, is there nothing else good about it? Michael\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Egoism in Action"","block_context":{"text":"Egoism in Action","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/egoism-in-action\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14354,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/14354\/whats-the-best-thing-the-national-association-of-realtors-can-do-for-the-american-economy-it-could-drop-dead-but-it-wont-so-heres-how-you-can-kill-it-instead\/","url_meta":{"origin":3820,"position":1},"title":"What’s the best thing the National Association of Realtors can do for the American economy? It could drop dead — but it won’t — so here’s how you can kill it, instead.","author":"Greg Swann","date":"March 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey there, toothy-grinned, glad-handing Realtor: How's the world treating you? Business is not so good? Your house is worth less than half of what you paid for it? Your kid has three degrees but can't get a job? Are you looking for someone to blame for your troubles? Guess what?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Mother"","block_context":{"text":"Big Mother","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/big-mother\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8539,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/8539\/what-would-it-take-to-reform-the-national-association-of-realtors-to-turn-it-from-an-anti-consumer-cartel-into-a-steadfast-defender-of-the-right-of-american-citizens-to-own-use-and-enjoy-real-proper\/","url_meta":{"origin":3820,"position":2},"title":"What would it take to reform the National Association of Realtors, to turn it from an anti-consumer cartel into a steadfast defender of the right of American citizens to own, use and enjoy real property?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"May 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Joe Loomer: > what could and should NAR do to dispell your views of it as a criminal enterprise? In very broad outlines: 1. Stop writing and lobbying for legislation devised to churn the real estate markets. 2. Work tirelessly to eliminate all laws that serve to advance the interests\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15293,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/15293\/hey-ron-phipps-i-say-the-national-association-of-realtors-is-a-rent-seeking-rotarian-socialist-conspiracy-against-the-american-consumer-can-you-offer-even-one-argument-to-refute-that-claim\/","url_meta":{"origin":3820,"position":3},"title":"Hey, Ron Phipps: I say the National Association of Realtors is a rent-seeking Rotarian Socialist conspiracy against the American consumer. Can you offer even one argument to refute that claim?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"November 9, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"My friend and partner, the ever-more-Unchained Brian Brady, posted a Facebook link to a Wall Street Journal article on the current push by the National Association of Realtors for extended loan subsidies for the rich:To understand why 90% of U.S. mortgages are still underwritten by taxpayers, look no further than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5554,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/5554\/nar-promotes-housing-stimulus-plan\/","url_meta":{"origin":3820,"position":4},"title":"NAR Promotes Housing Stimulus Plan","author":"Dave Phillips","date":"November 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a fresh bone for Bloodhounds to chew on.\u00a0 This 4-point stimulus plan was approved by the NAR Board of Directors this past Monday and is being pushed heavily in Washington DC.\u00a0 The National Association of Realtors\u00ae will offer a four-point legislative plan to reinvigorate the housing market, calling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Mother"","block_context":{"text":"Big Mother","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/big-mother\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14390,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/14390\/what-might-have-happened-if-the-nar-had-not-caused-this-economic-downturn-we-dont-know-what-we-know-is-that-the-national-association-of-realtors-was-the-sine-qua-non-cause-of-the-great-recession\/","url_meta":{"origin":3820,"position":5},"title":"What might have happened if the NAR had not caused this economic downturn? We don’t know. What we know is that the National Association of Realtors was the sine qua non cause of the Great Recession.","author":"Greg Swann","date":"April 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is grown from a comment left by Brian Summerfield, editor of Realtor magazine. Before I begin, I want to commend Brian for daring to show up here to debate this topic. I think he's wrong, but the man has more guts than the people who pay him. Now\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3820"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3821,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3820\/revisions\/3821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}