Housing Bill Of The Day
Is it just me, or is anyone else getting tired of a new bill coming out of one side of Congress or the other every day proposing to change the FHA guidelines?
I just received a great quote in an email from Cato Institute chairman William Niskanen:
“The Senate has again demonstrated that its guiding principle is ‘Don’t just sit there. Do something really dumb in response to the current perceived crisis.’ This week’s example is the Foreclosure Prevention Act, which passed the Senate by a vote of 84 to 12. One provision of this act is a temporary $7,000 tax credit for buyers of foreclosed properties, the primary benefits of which would accrue to those grieving bankers who made bad loans. Another provision is a temporary tax deduction worth up to $1,000 for families who pay property taxes, the primary beneficiaries of which would be high-income home owners. The most expensive provision is a three-year tax break for homebuilders, which would increase the supply of unsold homes and delay the recovery of housing prices.
