Reality, not Realty

Well, the Feds and the mortgage companies are once again fighting about how best to fix the home lending mess the country's in. The Federal Reserve is developing a plan that would restrict lending practices to customers that can realistically afford to re-pay a mortgage loan. The banks are saying this would discourage them from lending to creditworthy borrowers.

I say let's use some commonsense here. Who really wins when a bank knowingly makes a bad loan that goes into default? It's easy to say the bank wins but do they really? After a bank incurs the expense to process a foreclosure they rarely make any money at all on the back end. Sure they get the original fees to make the loan in the first place but this money pales in comparison to the thousands of dollars they may lose on a short sale.

I think it's time for the American borrower to take stock of his or her financial situation. Sure the iconic American dream is to own a house, but at what expense? To lose it two, three or five years later to foreclosure? Some folks just aren't ready to own the house of their dreams quite yet. Some never will be. Through slick magazine ads and flashy television commercials we're all led to believe that anyone can get -- hey, you even deserve -- anything you want. Take that next vacation to the Bahamas, buy that new car or get the house of your dreams. Just sign here.

It's high time some of us accept the fact that we will never be financially responsible enough to afford a home, no matter what the banks, or the Fed, say. It's not shameful to rent your home. Getting a loan that you can't afford is.

Home sales dip again

As one of our former presidents was fond of saying: "Well, here we go again." Reports that home prices and numbers of home sales are falling will come as no surprise to those still hanging on and trying to figure out where their next mortgage payment is coming from. These are tough times for everyone but they're particularly tough on those who have staked their lives on the American Dream.

The news today shows that sales of new homes fell 1.8 percent in February. That's another blow to a fragile market that experienced a 1.6 percent decline in January. How much further can this go? Well, there is an end in sight according to a report released this week from the National Association of Realtors. They've predicted a continued slide for the next month or two, then a leveling off by summer. They believe home sales and prices will actually start to rise again in the third quarter. While that's small comfort to those about to get the ugly foreclosure papers in the mail from their banks, it does provide a small glimmer of hope that the nation's economy may be turning around. That means we may actually avoid the much-feared, ugly monster called a recession.

While the economy may be turning around, inflation is still dealing nasty surprises all over the family budget. Gas is hovering at all-time highs which makes everything else that must be trucked in from somewhere else more expensive. Bread, eggs, milk, fresh produce, etc. are all taking a bite out of already tight circumstances.

All I can say is that we must hang in there and fight the good fight. We must continue to make better decisions about money and try to avoid the most expensive loans. If you find yourself in a bad predictament due to an ARM about to re-adjust or bills that just won't go away, please contact us and we'll try to help. We can buy your house, all cash, very quickly. Visit our Web site, for more details.

Selling your Louisville house

Check here often for tips, tricks and techniques on how to easily sell your house in Louisville, KY. We'll cover topics about what makes a house sell quickly and how you can do it too, how to make your house stand out from the crowd and what to expect from fussy buyers in a sluggish economy.

If you want to sell immediately go to Acme Housing Company and get our FREE Special Report on how to sell your house in less than five days.