Well... actually they ascend (to go up) on Capitol Hill because it actually does sit on a slight bluff and they would have to walk up the stairs of the US Capitol Building.... but first they all would have to descend (to go down) there; but that also assumes they are all coming from north of Washington, DC to travel down there to DC. What if they were all coming up from the south ? Then they would be ascending upon the Capitol in more ways than one ? LOL : )
Ok, ok.... the real story here is that they (ehem, WE) are there this week to lobby Congress to oppose a proposed amendment by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to shut down Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. "Congress must restructure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a way that keeps the federal government involved in the secondary market to ensure mortgage liquidity in all markets and in all conditions. In past economic crises, private capital flees the market first," said Giovaniello. Actually, I think they really should be shut down; especially in light of their DISMAL malfeasant performance and involvement in the whole sub-prime lending debacle.
Realtors want both the House and Senate to pass H.R. 5072, sponsored by Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Shelley Moore Capitol (R-W.Va.), that would strengthen the Federal Housing Administration while still allowing access to safe and affordable financing by responsible borrowers. They also pressed legislators to pass H.R. 2483, by Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Gary Miller (R-Calif.) that would make the current FHA loan limits permanent. The current limit in high-cost areas, set to expire Dec. 31, 2010, is $729,500. This is sensible and I go along with this. "You must tell your Senators and Representatives that legislation should not increase buyer down payments," said Jerry Giovaniello, NAR senior vice president and chief lobbyist.
Of course increasing buyer down payments is sensible, although it would certainly make it more difficult for people to buy and own their own home; so you can see why Realtors would oppose any such measure that could affect their livelihood and decrease home sales. Greater down payments (or lowering the LTV - loan to value ratio) obviously gives lenders greater protection in the case of default. Perhaps a solution could be that if someone wanted or needed to put down less than 20% down payment (your typical conforming and full doc loan) they would pay a higher interest rate on the loan than someone with the same credit score and debt to income ratio who was putting 20% or more down ? Less risk, less interest rate ? Greater risk, greater Interest rate ? Given a full doc loan where the buyer could afford the payments and had a low debt to income ratio, there really is no reason to restrict the amount of down payment. The banks would make more money by financing it over a longer period of time actually. And if the banks want the loan "insured" somehow (as with a FHA loan), why not also require the borrow to pay for loan "insurance" if the LTV is above a certain threshold ? They already do that in a way, but they call it the "MIP" (mortgage insurance premium) or "PMI" (private mortgage insurance) but it is not so much "insurance" per se that would kick it in the event of default, but is really just extra money that goes back to the bank or lender; almost like that higher interest rate thing I suggested above if someone wanted or needed to put down less than 20%.
Realtors also urged Congress to take action to enhance liquidity in the commercial real estate market to avoid driving down economic recovery. Most commercial mortgages, unlike residential mortgages, are short-term loans that re-adjust rates every few years, or must be refinanced. Lenders have not been willing to refinance such loans in the current economic crisis, thus throwing many commercial real estate properties into default. I definitely agree with this one ! If a commercial business had better loan terms on their property holdings and weren't going down or under, then maybe they could keep the employees they had or expand operations and hire more people having a positive impact and effect on unemployment.
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