President Barack Obama
In the run up to a forthcoming settlement with major banks over alleged foreclosure abuses, the Obama administration is attracting criticism from Republican and even some Democratic officials who say the agreement won’t do enough to penalize the financial industry for its wrongs, the Wall Street Journal reported. [more]
With almost half of homes in Broward and Palm Beach counties underwater, homeowners the region could get a boost from a new proposal by the Obama administration, the Sun Sentinel reported. The program, which would cut some home appraisal and underwriting regulations, along with facilitating refinancing, could benefit potentially hundreds of thousands in South Florida. [more]
Developer Donald Trump had some advice for the Occupy Wall Street protesters, who have camped out in a New York City park for more than a month, in an interview with Sean Hannity that appeared on Fox News last night (see video above).
“If I could speak to that group,” he said, jokingly admitting he’s probably not the person they’d want to hear from, “I’d say, ‘Folks, let’s go. Let’s hop on the train, let’s hop on the planes — we’re going down to Washington.’”
That answer was prompted in part by Hannity, who showed no restraint in expressing his dismay for the Obama administration’s policy towards the banks.
But earlier in the interview, Trump admitted banks “have not been treating people properly.” [more]
President Barack ObamaThe $15 billion housing stimulus in President Barack Obama’s recently proposed American Jobs Act would be a challenge in South Florida thanks to the proliferation of all-cash investors and the extremely tight lending standards, according to the Palm Beach Post.
The program, known as Project Rebuild, calls for grants to various agencies that would use the money to renovate and resell foreclosed homes. Florida could receive as much as $2.7 billion in grants — some of which could go to assist distressed homeowners.
But an existing program with similar intentions, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, has already been used in Florida, including $90 million worth of grants in Palm Beach County, with limited success. [more]
Real estate developer Donald Trump was on Sean Hannity’s show last night talking about why he should be president of the United States. He will announce whether he’s running for the highest office before June. He said the polls have been “really amazing.” He criticized President Barack Obama as being a “horrible president,” in fact “the worst president ever.” All the talk about Trump running for office isn’t a joke or just a way to promote his show “Celebrity Apprentice,” he said. People dig him, he said, because “I think I’m known as a really good businessman.” Trump would run as a Republican but he’s a “very conservative person.” If he didn’t get the Republican nomination, Trump said he would run as an Independent if he felt certain he could win.
Just because President Barack Obama’s latest budget proposal calls for rollbacks in mortgage interest deductions solely for high-income taxpayers, should a homeowner assume that all of his or her write-offs are secure from attack? Absolutely not. In fact, those tax benefits — from capital gains exclusions to home equity and second-home interest deductions — might be more vulnerable to broad-based cutbacks during the next two years than at any time in decades.
Here’s why: An influential, bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill — led by a so-called “gang of six” in the Senate — is drafting a legislative framework that would essentially seek to implement much of the president’s deficit-reduction commission report released last December. [more]
President Barack Obama’s job approval rating might be up to 50 percent but, according to a recent poll, the commander-in-chief is just as popular with the public as real estate tycoon Donald Trump. The Newsweek/Daily Beast poll, which asked which contender respondents would vote for in an Obama-Trump match-up, showed that 43 percent would vote for the president, while 40 percent would vote for Trump. In this evening’s episode of “Inside Edition,” Trump responds to the poll, saying that he’s “very honored by it,” but he’s “not that surprised because it’s not me, it’s a message and people get it.” Trump has hinted at the possibility of a presidential bid numerous times, stating that he’s displeased with the country’s current direction. On tonight’s show, Trump said he’s likely to announce his presidential intentions (or lack thereof) “sometime in June or prior to June” on the program. [InsideEdition]
Hundreds of homeowners packed a mortgage assistance workshop yesterday in West Palm Beach organized by the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable program, the HOPE NOW Alliance and NeighborWorks America. South Florida has accounted for nearly five percent of all mortgage modifications under the program, with the tri-county area ranking fifth among all metro areas in loan modifications with nearly 30,000 through September, according to Making Home Affordable. [Palm Beach Post] [more]
With uncertainty surrounding the status of federal tax cuts, longtime U.S. property owners are testing the sales market, setting the stage for a jump in transactions, followed by a decline, Robert Knakal told Crain’s. Knakal, chairman of Massey Knakal Realty Services, said his brokerage firm has already seen a surge in deals, with contract signings reaching their highest monthly totals in three years. “This is just like ‘cash for clunkers’ or the first-time homebuyers’ tax credit,” Knakal said. “It’s essentially going to steal activity from the beginning of next year to the end of this year.” President Barack Obama has proposed ending the tax cuts enacted by George W. Bush for families making more than $250,000 a year and raising levies on capital gains, which include real estate profits, to 20 percent from 15 percent for those same earners. Republicans want to make the reductions permanent for all Americans. Congress will continue debating the issue when it returns for a session starting Nov. 15. [Crain's]
The federal government under President Barack Obama has unveiled several
plans in the last few years to help modify and refinance mortgages to
help underwater borrowers. While the plans have seen some success, they are
now widely considered to be confusing and bureaucratic with little
positive effect. Borrowers complain that lenders offer only lip service
when met with complaints, and that paperwork gets lost amid red tape.
Lenders say homeowners are simply expecting miracles. Mike Larson, a
housing analyst in Jupiter, said disappointing results aren’t
surprising. [Sun
Sentinel]
