Okay, as long as we’re talking politics this week, let’s just dive in head first. I’d like to discuss the latest federal “relief” plan that made news this week. Here’s an AP story from Monday: Obama Offers Mortgage Relief on Western Trip LAS VEGAS — President Barack Obama offered mortgage relief on Monday to hundreds…
Category: Opinion
Opinion, commentary, etc.
Running the Numbers on the Flat Homeowner Deduction
[Read Part 1: Proposal: Replace the Mortgage Interest Deduction with a Flat Homeowner Deduction] In the comments on the proposal I made yesterday, Doug asked a reasonable question: Have you figured out what the deduction would be if you did this, and made it deficit neutral? That would be an interesting exercise. Good question. Let’s…
Proposal: Replace the Mortgage Interest Deduction with a Flat Homeowner Deduction
In our discussion on Sunday’s poll about whether government policy should be steering people into homebuying, I had an interesting idea that I thought was worth sharing with the whole class. The Problem There are numerous problems with the methods the government has used and is using to promote homebuying. One-time homebuyer tax credits just…
Good Ideas that Home Salespeople Hate
There are two good ideas that have been circulating recently that would help keep the housing market from experiencing another dangerous bubble: End (or greatly scale back) the mortgage interest tax deduction. Require at least a 20% down payment for purchases. Here’s a recent article that covers the arguments in favor of ending the deduction:…
Have You Given Big Banks the Boot Yet?
With the slimy moves, big fees, and generally anti-customer attitude of big banks, I find myself wondering who bothers with them anymore, and why? Over in the Weekend Open Thread, Pegasus points out a story in yesterday’s New York Times: U.S. Is Set to Sue a Dozen Big Banks Over Mortgages The federal agency that…