HUD to mess stuff up even more.

[Manedwolf]

Coming to your neighborhood soon..."adequate rental housing!". Got an unoccupied house in your neighborhood? Why, you might get some interesting neighbors courtesy of HUD.

And why do we have to limit the number of foreclosures? Why can't people be allowed to be forced to downsize their home from a McMansion to something they can actually pay for? With their own money?

Put a bottom on housing prices? So they'll never reach 2.5X salary even as wages fall like a stone? That's supposed to help?

And why am I bothering to be responsible instead of trying to get in on this handout and get a free house?

Donovan: Well, let me say that there are really four things that we have to do. First and foremost, this crisis started as a mortgage crisis, but what is really driving the foreclosure crisis right now is that people are losing their jobs. And so job number one is to pass a recovery bill that will add three to four million jobs in this country. That's first.

Second, we have to limit the number of foreclosures. I've seen recent numbers that almost half of the home sales in this country are distressed sales, right now. And so, as the President has said, we will have a comprehensive, aggressive plan to limit foreclosures, announced in the coming weeks.

Third, we have to make sure that the foreclosures that actually happen, don't have a devastating impact on families and on communities. And HUD is really the lead in doing that, through neighborhood stabilization efforts, but also efforts to make sure there's adequate rental housing, and to limit homelessness. And there are in the recovery bill, significant efforts at doing all of those things. And then finally, we've got to put a bottom on housing prices and begin to help the market turn back upwards.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/07/news/economy/willis_donovan/index.htm

[AZRedhawk44]

Maned, the silver lining is right there for you:

The more they screw around with artificial controls, the worse the situation gets.  Housing prices will plummet more, if they artificially attempt to control them.  An artificial bottom on housing prices will deter buyers like you and me from entering the market, reducing demand and bloating supply.

I'm just about ready to buy, man.  I've got most of my down payment set aside... once I get my tax return and pay for some free-lance jobs I've been doing on the side during weekends, I'm ready to see what I can get for loans and start shopping for a house.

But, I won't do it in an artificially imposed market.

It's like the stocks I bought a few months ago.  I bought GS at about $75 a share.  It used to be valued at about $250 a share, 18 months ago or so.  It dropped to $65 a share after I bought it... but today it's at $96.  If a floor were imposed on GS (or any stock) back when it was at $125 and falling, my money wouldn't have made it into the market at all.

If the McMansions here drop from $400K to a natural market point of $225K, I might be tempted to buy one.  If  they get price-fixed to a floor of $350K though, there's no way.  I'll buy something smaller and older and let those idiots who bought the McMansion @ $400K roast in their own juices.

That is, unless Obama can somehow dictate that I HAVE to buy a McMansion at $350K because I have the MEANS and someone else NEEDS me to do so.  At that point I blow my entire house down payment on gold, silver, copper and lead.

[Fjolnirsson]

I have a HUD renter next door. When the landowner told me he was going to start taking HUD, I had hoped we'd be lucky, maybe get one of the few HUD renters who use it to get back on their feet. No such luck. The woman officially on the lease is running a brothel, and has at least thirteen people living in a three bedroom house, while only she and her two children are supposed to be there. Three of those are her "co-workers".

I've given serious consideration to burning the house down. Left a message for HUD last week, we'll see what happens.

[Standing Wolf]

Left a message for HUD last week, we'll see what happens.

Yeah. Right. HUD to the rescue.

If 'twere me, I believe I'd call my local elected misrepresentatives and write to both them and the boys and girls in the blue uniforms: letters are considerably harder to ignore than telephone calls.

[Scout26]

I have a HUD renter next door. When the landowner told me he was going to start taking HUD, I had hoped we'd be lucky, maybe get one of the few HUD renters who use it to get back on their feet. No such luck. The woman officially on the lease is running a brothel, and has at least thirteen people living in a three bedroom house, while only she and her two children are supposed to be there. Three of those are her "co-workers".

I've given serious consideration to burning the house down. Left a message for HUD last week, we'll see what happens.

Most towns have some type of "No more then X number of unrelated or even related adults living in a house/apartment."

I'd definitely give your town/village/city code enforcement a call and ask the question.......

[Monkeyleg]

Why do I have this mental picture of El Tejon watching a family of 15 "undocumented workers" moving in across the street from him? Those '64 Impala lowriders would look righteous in his neighborhood.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

whats a hud rental? they started renting out all those fha foreclosures  they end up owning?

[Unisaw]

The new #2 guy at HUD will be Ron Simms, the former county executive for King County, Washington.  As county executive, he tried to pass something called the critical areas ordinance that restricted a landowner's ability to clear vegetation from his own land.  For many landowners, it effectively amounted to the county seizing private property without any compensation.   There are many more examples of his handiwork, but you get the idea.

Our gain will be the country's loss.

[mtnbkr]

Why do I have this mental picture of El Tejon watching a family of 15 "undocumented workers" moving in across the street from him? Those '64 Impala lowriders would look righteous in his neighborhood.

Surely you jest.  Those types don't exist in his universe, only unwashed, porch sitting, southern hillbillies. 

Chris

[RevDisk]

I'm just about ready to buy, man.  I've got most of my down payment set aside... once I get my tax return and pay for some free-lance jobs I've been doing on the side during weekends, I'm ready to see what I can get for loans and start shopping for a house.

But, I won't do it in an artificially imposed market.

I'm a year, maybe two, from being in the same boat.  I'm putting money off to the side for a hefty down payment.  But housing prices are so hideously over inflated, it ain't happening.  I love the fact that no one makes starter houses anymore.  Your options are starter homes from the 70's or 80's (which are getting rarer and rarer), condos or row homes.  Hrm.  Bah

I'm looking at 100-150k free standing house (2 bed, 1 bath, pref with a basement) in decent condition not in a city, which aren't on the market here in Central PA.  I'm getting more and more tempted to just buy the land, and get a small prefab house put on it.

[Manedwolf]

There are starter houses here. New ones, still.

$350k for a 1200sq/ft plastic-facade faux New England box in a cluster of the same with no trees. And horribly cheap construction materials as well.

No thank you.

[RevDisk]

There are starter houses here. New ones, still.

$350k for a 1200sq/ft plastic-facade faux New England box in a cluster of the same with no trees. And horribly cheap construction materials as well.

No thank you.

Perhaps I should have specified "preferably constructed with materials that will last 20 or 30 years".  There's a place that's local that does good pre-fab.  I'm seriously looking at this one...  I went with a buddy of mine that's built everything from homes to cars to Lear jets, and he approved of their construction and materials with no real complaints.

[Manedwolf]

I'm just aghast at some of the construction. Even high-priced new houses.

Last year, a million-dollar new McMansion in Windham took a lightning strike to the attic. Nobody was home. Within a few minutes, the second floor was engulfed and had fallen into the first floor and basement. The firefighters on the scene were absolutely stunned.

If I owned any of the other houses build by the same builder, I'd want to get out. That sounds like a bunch of deathtraps right there.

[El Tejon]

Surely you jest.  Those types don't exist in his universe, only unwashed, porch sitting, southern hillbillies.

We've had both in our neighborhood.  Give me lowriders any day.  At least I can communicate to them what is appropriate behavior.

[Manedwolf]

We've had both in our neighborhood.  Give me lowriders any day.  At least I can communicate to them what is appropriate behavior.

..."No habla Ingles, senor..."

That's what was pulled here when people were told that the signs at a lake in Merrimack clearly prohibited drinking, throwing bottles everywhere, loud music and fighting.

Suddenly, English is forgotten.

They had to go ahead and make the lake for town residents only, since it was people coming up from Lowell who were doing all that.

[buzz_knox]

I'd say property taxes will increase to cover the necessary growth in fire departments.  A similar plan was tried in my home area and was stopped only when it was made very clear that the house intended for this purpose would no longer exist if the plan was pushed.

[El Tejon]

Mane, it's O.K., my Spanish is passable.  The Mexicans would listen and comply.  The banjos would just look at me.  Banjos would not cut their lawns, park their cars in the garage, put away their trash cans, or take care of their property in any way.  It was like an entire family of Ron Paul voters, minus the Wookie suits, but add NASCAR hats and beer guts.