7 Ways for Obama to Save the Housing Market

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Hi, I have a simple idea. What if the government, passed tax cuts aimed at the home
rental industry? Say a accelerated depreciation schedule, and a ten year amnesty on
recaptured capital gains. Give landlords the same tax breaks as homesteaded, owner occupied homes. First $250,000 in profits tax free. I believe for the private home market to recover, we will have to move many
people from home ownership to the rental market. So we must make it a winning bet for a
investor to speculate, that when he buys a home to rent, that he will have at least a break
even cash flow, and favorable tax treatment when he sells. benefits : entrepreneurship, many new opportunities for every day middle class
people to become landlords.
Little cost to the government : It will take a long time for home values to rise
above the $250,000.00 in profits, which is exempt for tax on homesteaded, owner
occupied homes. So that tax money will not be collected anyway.
Easy to implement. As easy to do as any tax cut.
It' fair, will not take money from one tax payer, to give it to another.
Raise values of all homes. As inventory is removed from market, prices will
stabilize.
Good for banks, As home values stabilize so will defaults on mortgages, which
will also help to keep new "low priced " inventory off the
market
Good for local governments, as home values increase so will tax payments to
government.
Good for new jobs, and its good for the kind of jobs hit hardest by downturn.
Land lords will put to work, painters, carpenters, etc.
Targeted tax break, can be applied only to single family home
rentals.

catfishjoe of FL 3:15PM June 23, 2011

Many people did live Way above their means and many did push these arms BUT I think...one would have to be naive to think they,re the majority. I think everyone ,if we got right down to it would be amazed at how many homeowners there are out there that NEVER lived above their means...had conventional mortgages but either lost their jobs, had their salaries cut and just could no longer keep up with all the rising costs as they watched their homes go under water. Everyone knows, real estate markets fluctuate and most of us do know there could come a time when we lose SOME value in our homes ,BUT when you go under or MOST are going under by $60,000-$125,000, thats a little bit different...just a little out of the norm.

Karen M. of CT 1:37PM November 23, 2009

My husband and I USED to have good credit ,But the housing market and unscrupulous lenders have destoyed us!We have been hanging by a thread for the past 6 months...and thats exactly how long we,ve been working with our lenders. In that time one of our lenders gave us a very minute modification, almost laughable But we took it for whatever. Our second lender BOA told us they would work with us, but paperwork was lost, misplaced, faxes not faxed (they claimed ) and they,ve had us running around for months just to find out last week "their investors won,t agree to a modification " These modifications were a total joke...and these banks for the most part are just stringing people on never intending to give anyone any real help! We need to bring our home values down to or near where the market says they are at...that is the ONLY way we have a level playing field with which to fight back with! If our homes are worth what they,re saying they,re worth and our homes are adjusted accordingly...that in itself would end up putting money back in our pockets and ultimately back into the ailing economy , I really feel until this happens...more and more people are going to lose their homes, bringing other homes values down even more and ultimately end up destroying even more lives! Even if you inundate the housing market with more buyers by giving them tax incentives...these people are buying the foreclosures, the homes that will bring the homes of those struggling to stay afloat, down in value even MORE!!! I,m glad for the first time homeowner who can finally buy a home...BUT at what cost? Does anyone out there think of the families that have lost those homes or the families that will be effected in the future by these people purchasing all these foreclosures? I can only see more and more foreclosures in the near future if we don,t get this right. WE NEED A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD and WE NEEDED IT MONTHS AGO!!!

Karen M. of CT 5:06PM November 22, 2009

Flat rate listings and buyer rebates will also help. The consumer is no longer in the dark that they mortgage 6% of a purchase price. They are looking for savings on services provided.
http://www.impactmovie.com/flat_rate/flatraterealty_wb.swf

Flat Rate Realty of GA 9:42AM August 14, 2009

the seven plans are good to review but they do not make sense.
put yourself on my shoe ,i am about to loose everything.spoke to my creditors several times and was all refused because i do not qualify.how can a computor decide whether i qualify when i was independant owned business doing well and suddenly lost most customers bwecause they all went out of business or relocated.have lots of debts and paid more than 260000 in all interest only for 5yrs to the creditors and the silly thing is i still owe the same amount 520000usd.the rates suddenly adjusted which i never read
my fault.to help me now
who can help the only thing to help
1 freeze all interest for 5yrs
2change the interest to 2% to meet our pockets
3let us pay on all the capital
that way the banks will get back what they lent
instead they are all going down they have to borrow deeper to sustain and still want all the assets which will cost more to foreclose plus to renovate
people are homeless and moving out of state
the carribbean is no longer heading for usa but for other islands the pakistanis are no longer heading for usa they are all going dubai
the chinese are going south america and panama for investing
the mexicans are the poor still heading for the usa who are jobless
where will they stand
the creditors will have cash back the people will save their homes and the population will have an incentive to find work to maintain there homes that will be worth it as the capital will decrease .the unions should not have there way because there are millions out there needing a job and outsourcing will decline.give free healthcare like canada and england it is a necessity not a luxury .cut the costs for unecessary spending power .save the homes save the homes do not take them away.
and in 5 yrs the values will rise again .the debts will decrease
the people will owe less and they will be able to spend in a balanced formula.screen the new investors with all documents that can be verified . i would have never ventured into business if i had known but in life when you want to own things you borrow to buy and this is not a crime.it is just unfortunate that even the lenders never saw it coming.
it would be a disaster to borrow more money to bale who the banks.you will be inviting the exact situation to accur. To be able to keep you borrow and who will bale this one out .certainly the world is in recession and each needs help.
digging a hole to full a hole is not very intelligent , but then again america was once the greatest country and now it has lost its golden touch
wake up smell the coffeE people and see who needs the help.the home owners that are not being helped.what happened to the money given to boa.i called them i pleaded o begged i wrote ahardship letter but sadly enough .I am still hoping for the best.if i cant have a stressed free life in this one maybe i will in the next.

SANDY of FL 9:58PM February 02, 2009

YES- Take all the good points and COMBINE TO A Great plan that helps EVERY Single Homeowner -(of over 2 yrs ) Even those who are NOT ! 60-90 days behind- BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS HAD A SEVERE HURT ON THERE HOME VALUE- I work in a Real Est. Office , have for 8 yrs.. people are sitting on there hands - scared to buy - others want to sell but lost too much in Value- others sell because they just want out ( short sale) almost all communites have been affected - is there any that haven't been ? maybe Martha's Vineyard- well we live in a nice sub. area in N. Scottsdale, did a Re-fi 2 yrs ago - right before Indy Mac tanked and left 100K in equity /Value - now the Value is gone and after a recent hospital emg.(husband surgery) & 30 day of lost work( husband )& cash out savings- 401k for mortgage because of lost wages- asked Indy Mac for 30 day ext. they basically laughed(Said we could fig or REFI_and said it had to be 3 mons.of non pay)( my husband is Self Empl. so now - made every payment on time every month -yet is not eligble to refinance - under new "rules" Can't qualify for the house we have lived in for 7 years ? how bad does that stink ? So what do we do ? Can't sell our home - its a minus 0 equity - we don't want miss a pymt.& haven't but it caused UNECESSARY STRESS ...AS THEY COULD have given but wo Extension and allowed us to _recop- on Income- and not drain all our savings- i hope they COMBINE ALL THE GOOD IDEAS AND ALLOW ANYONE WITH A MORTGAGE OF 3 YRS OR MORE SHOULD BE OFFERED UNCONDITIONALLY A INTEREST RATE OF 4.5 TO 5.5 (ON FIRST & SECONDS) INDY MAC - AND COUTRYWIDE AND OTHERS SHOULD SEND A INVITATION TO ALL CUSTOMERS OFFERING A SIMPLIFIED SHORT FORM OFFERING RATE CHANGE AND JUST A VERIFICATION THAT WORK AND SITUALTION IS SAME - AND REWRITE OR AMMEND THE LOAN - WITH A 30to 60 DAY REPREVE TO EACH HOMEOWNER - IF THEY DID THIS- EACH OWNER - COULD HAVE A "CATCH-UP " WHICH EVERYONE-- would love- to replenish there savings , allow for a little weekend vaaction- and take the immense stress out of thee life- would it not be nice to not live in fear - of house values going down farther- and not being able to visit there out of state children and grandkids- its so VERY frustrating - and next are the Credit Card companies uping the rates - there has to be a CAP- period- anything over 12% is sick-and making americans sicker- everyone needs a B-R-E-A- K - NOT A SHOT IN THE FOOT - For yers Lenders Ad's to take 2nd- mortgage- use your Credit - have fun - on Vacation -& now W/NO missed payments - Creditors raising there rates- have we not been beat up enough ? If they are smart enough to" Revise" the Loans for everyone - esp. offering to help GOOD Customers- i mean do they not Forsee the problems that this has caused for every single Homeowner ? The banks should jump at the Chance to Reward the Homeowners Current with there loans- with a reduced rate and thank you - TO INSURE THEM TO BE ABLE TO STAY IN THERE HOME - it would help immensely

janet of AZ 3:10PM January 22, 2009

There is a large core of home owners who are being neglected. The hard working lower-middle class conservatives that have lived within their means and are still managing to pay their bills. WE need/deserve relief BEFORE we fall behind. All these bailouts for banks and renegotiations for consumers that are already behind because they bought a house they couldn't afford with a preditary loan is probably throwing good money after bad. My home value has plumeted and I no longer have enough equity to refinance at the decent rates that are now available.
Myself and many others are proven "good risks" that should be nurtured like the fragile crop we are by the banks and government. Instead, we're being bled dry to cover all the folks who have fallen behind due to poor judgement (including the banks). We need interest cuts on OUR mortgages and consumer loans so we can continue to carry this country as we have done so many years

Chris Petty of GA 11:19AM January 04, 2009

i think u.s. government might destine some land near the sities as constuccion ground if there is a state property -and to create infrastructure by government money-paying this money to privite firms after some competicion -for to get reasonable low cost structures-later to offer it for house buildings and all the money recolected to be used as to support housing of poor families-part of their monthly paying back to the financial institucions,and also to support good students frough u.s.universities-mostly engineers and doctors/future/-that will create some hopes and real opportunities

mitko mondeshki of AK 4:16PM December 06, 2008

Thanks to former President Clinton, many high paying blue collar jobs have left this country. Most of us blue collar workers can not afford college, and even if we could get finacial aid for school, we can't afford to take time off from work to go to class. Most home schools programs are not accredited so they are a waste of time and money. This leaves the blue collar worker taking a lower paying job than the one they had when they signed that mortgage agreement.
Then there is minimum wage not being raised to an amount that matches the current cost of living. In NC some government officials have made the statement that we have gained more jobs than we have lost. This is true, but the jobs gained do not match the pay scale of the jobs lost. I am sorry but hotel and restaurant jobs don't pay $10 an hour and up. Most restaurants don't even pay minimum wage, they are allowed to let tips paid by customers to make up the differance(even 5star restaurants, that make millions every year). Not that minimum wage is enough to live on in the 21st century. We all know that minimum wage is at least 50% lower than it should be.
Any of you rich people that don't agree, please feel free to try to live on minimum wage for one month. I double dog dare you!!! I bet you don't make it a week before you give up.
That fact is the poor have no recourse to health insurance, fairhousing, reliable cars, higher eduction, etc...
And until we do, the economy will continue to fall. Because as the majority of the population, we are also the majority of spenders. As long as we can not afford to spend, big business will continue to lose money. Because they continue to put high price tags on everything. So only the rich can afford to buy.
If all the blue collar works of the USA would all call in sick or take vacation days, on the same week (say Feb 1st-7th 2009) as a protest against this unfair economic system that holds us down, maybe the rich and the poloticians will wise up.
Think about it, seven days of all blue collar workers staying home. The rich man would have to sweat for himself for a change. Think about the billions of dollars that HollyWood lost because of the writers strike. This would be the best wake-up call ever trust me.
They couldn't fire everyone and if they did, when they hired your replacement that person would have been one of the workers that stayed home too. Also jobs availible would go up, because all employers would be hiring across the country.

angela sachs of NC 12:52PM December 03, 2008

For years the government officials have given themselves at least a 3% raise every year, however at the same time they voted no the increasing the minimum wage. They said," we need the raise, the cost of living is going up". Well, guess what, the minimum wage effects the poor and the poor makeup the majority of people in the USA. The cost of living hints the poor the hardest. You give yourself a raise, but you say no to giving the poor a raise then you wonder why the economy is in trouble.
The majority of the people are now at such low incomes they can not afford to buy anything that isn't a need. Which means no care free spending; which means the economy drops.
This is why we can't afford homes, health insurance, or life insurance. This is why most people only have liability insurance on their cars. Also over the past 10 years there have been alot of unfair lending practices and illegal mortgages. Which has caused alot of foreclosures and bankruptcies.
Many lenders have and still base the borrowers affordability at 1/4th their monthly gross income, for a monthly house payment. It should be based on the borrowers net income. Why?, Because your gross income is not 100% spendible income. You have Fed, state taxes, SSI tax, medicare tax, coming out of that check before you ever see it. Some people also have insurance, child support, and other deductions coming out. This money isn't spendible and therefore should not be considered usable to repay any loan. It should not be considered as income at all on any application for finacial loans, aid, investiments, or anything. BECAUSE IT IS NOT SPENDIBLE INCOME.
When we got our first home loan we were told buy the bank and the real estate agent that we could afford 1/4th gross income. We believed them, after all they are the money experts. They lied, one of our lenders set the value of our home at $150,000.00, so they could loan us $20,000.00. What they did was illegal, our home was only valued at $75,000.00 buy the county tax office and we already owed $80,000.00. This lender should have said no to our loan application. We ended up with a bankruptcy and did not have to pay one penny on the $20,000 above what we had already paid them. And infact because of their unfair loan the bankruptcy judge made them pay back some of the money to our other lenders.
To better prepare future generations the government needs to require from 9th through 12th grade a class for understanding credit, loans, your credit report, interest rates, and household budgeting.
Our loan was VA approved, the VA should have looked at our income and said no. For that matter they should have told us that we could have gotten a real house for less money. Instead, they let us sign a contract on a moblehome land package deal,for $700.00 a month at 7.5% fixed 30yr mortgage. I hold the VA,FED GOV, REagent,and the bank responsible for our loss.
We poor are the leggs this country stands on, when we fall,the whole country falls.

angela sachs of NC 12:09PM December 03, 2008