OpenCongress.org: HR 5830: Homeownership Retention Act of 2008
MapLight.org: HR 5830: Homeownership Retention Act of 2008
I find it mostly insane that in order for my wife and I to have qualified for assistance via this bill, we'd have had to have bought (by my nebulous calculations) a home somewhere in the $400k range. Which, by extension, would mean that we'd be carrying a payment of at least $2,400 per month (principal & interest only).
Would such a payment cause us "financial hardship?"
Uh ... yeah.
From the bill:
CURRENT BORROWER DEBT-TO-INCOME RATIO — As of March 1, 2008, the mortgagor shall have had a ratio of mortgage debt to income, taking into consideration all existing mortgages at such time, greater than 35 percent.
A wee bit vague there (sounds like the "35 percent" means "payment as including principal and interest" to me, though I could be wrong) but still a face-slap. As a means of comparison, given that (1) Oklahoma never contracted Property Fever, and (2) my wife and I have basic budgeting and math skills, our current house payment is a nudge under $700.
That is principal, interest, taxes, and insurance.
On a 15-year fixed-rate note.
Please don't tell me all about how "It's different in [Cali / Ariz / Fla / Nev]" or any of that. I'm totally not interested in the (admittedly vast) differences between a $400k house in Oklahoma City and a $400k house in San Diego.
If yuo cannot afford $400k in Oklahoma, then yuo cannot afford $400k in Cali. 'Tis not my fault you couldn't do math. Or read the fine print. Or question the motivations of your mortgage broker and/or relitter (that's "realtor" for the non-Calculated Risk readers out there).
Or move.
Once more, color me against any and all taxpayer-backed, bubble-inspired mortgage assistance.
Labels: Homeownership
