Friday, February 6, 2015

FHFA DIRECTOR DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE INTERESTED IN HELPING STRUGGLING HOMEOWNERS


I am getting discouraged as I have spent over $100,000 in interest- only since 2008 for housing-related expenses (mortgage, homeowners insurance and property taxes).  

My income dropped (about half) to $36,000 upon my husband's death in July '08, right smack in the middle of the crash in real estate.

I am not going to post anything else until there is some positive indication coming out of Washington, D.C. that there is an effort to help struggling owners.  It is estimate it would take about $97 billion to "make things right" (i.e., principal forgiveness or lowering of interest rates for the millions of us who are underwater: about $20,000 to $30,000 average for each of us, depending on mortgage balance, amount underwater, our income-to-debt ratio, and other factors).  It seems they would rather put the money into Defense Department appropriations.

Saudia Arabia's King Salman is giving away $32 billion to its citizens, including all government employees, pensioners and students on government stipends.  Some Saudi companies are giving comparable bonuses for their employees, putting another few billion dollars into people's pockets.  [Seattle Times, Feb. 20, 2015]





One would hope that our government could find a way to lessen the burden on many of its citizens (those who haven't recovered from the Great Recession - that supposedly ended four years ago), or maybe our super-rich corporations could become generous and share some of their wealth.  But no, it isn't likely either sector will help us.  We as a war-mongering nation must put everything possible into other countries' treasuries, or fighting a battle that isn't ours to fight.

We do need to continue to fight evil, such as ISIS terrorists, but shouldn't we set aside some money to help our own citizens who are struggling day after day?


 I am going to concentrate on writing a book.  I expect this to be a two-year endeavor.  I will post something on this site if I  think it would be of interest - or if I become so enraged that I have to say something.

Here's more news:  Food bank visits are increasing; they are higher now than before the recession.  See March 14, 2015 article EVEN IN BETTER TIMES, FOOD-BANK VISITS ARE UP.  "Michelle Dillon made it all through graduate school eating rice and beans, bananas and other inexpensive food she purchased mainly from grocery outlets.  But several months after graduating with a master's degree in library and information science and looking without success for a full-time job using that degree, Dillon turned to the Rainier Valley Food Bank to supplement the groceries she buys.

"To be poor enough to need to use a fod bank, especially as a person born to privilege in this country, is to be the ultimate dirty secret of the new economy", says Dillon.

Article by Janet I.Tu
jtu@seattletimes.com
206-464-2272


Please go to HousingWire.com for information related to housing, including any updates on assistance for struggling homeowners.




S. J. Raynor
Feb. 2015 
jrapril@aol.com






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