The looming mortgage crisis has affected almost everyone in all facets of life. When the homes stop selling the builders stop building, the carpenters stop nailing, the painters stop painting, paint stores stop selling and Home Depot stock hits record lows. Vertical damage is universal in almost all aspects of retail, services and durable goods. Let’s face it; America is a nation that is fueled by land development and salesmanship. Unfortunately, ingenuity, invention and production have taken a back seat to Americans selling products owned or built by other countries. For Goodness sake, GM is second in sales to Toyota now, who’d a thunk it?

The reason for this article is not to bemoan today’s economic footprint but to help people understand the most common myths that you hear about the housing and mortgage debacle. What you hear from our completely un-biased and non-partisan media auspiciously omits some of the important facts that might help the average American better understand exactly what we are up against.

Living in Atlanta, right around the corner from CNN, I have originated my fair share of mortgages for reporters and correspondents, who will remain nameless. I can honestly attest that news reporters, anchors and correspondents have the exact same blank stare and vacant head nod as John Q. Public does when loan officers dive into the details. However, now that we have a mortgage crisis they have mysteriously morphed into expert authors as they recite Democratic talking points. If questioned, most reporters that write columns about the mortgage industry have no clue as to the real life ramifications of the political solutions they publicize and promote.

As evidence I have taken excerpts from an article by Andrew Jakabovics named “Myth vs. Fact: Helping Homeowners” and corrected some of the Democratic talking points he has recited. Mr. Jakabovics writes for americanprogress.org, an organization that resembles the aforementioned non-partisan press. My initial intention was to post this article as a rebuttal to his article on his company’s website. However, after taking a glance at the website it would appear that any article that fails to blame President Bush for personally orchestrating the entire debacle will fall on deaf ears.

The bill referred to in Mr. Jakabovics‘s article is the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008; a bill that will raise taxes on mortgages to the tune of $500 million per year. The bill is a part of a larger piece of legislation that will eventually transfer $300 billion dollars of “at risk” mortgages that have been hand-picked from our nation’s lenders portfolios. These loans will carry a higher default rate that will cost the Federal Housing Administration dearly that will be made up by additional funding from Uncle Sam. Guess where Uncle Sam gets his money

Mr. Jakabovics Wrote:

1. Myth: “The bill offers a bailout to speculators.” • Mr. Jakabovics: “All legislation under consideration requires owners to live in the homes they want refinanced.” • Correct Answer: Agreed, however I do not know how much of a “myth” this is. Let’s move on.

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