Counting Houses

“You have many houses, one for every season.” -Judy Collins

In a time when many Americans are trying to keep just one roof over their heads, presidential candidate John McCain could not remember how many houses he owns. Text from DJCline.com

How many houses do you own? Text from DJCline.com

For lots of people the answer is zero. I can go down any street these days and see homeless people walking past empty houses. I don’t consider paying off a mortgage on a house as “owning” a home. I consider that a thirty year lease agreement with eviction after missing a few payments. Equity works only if somebody wants to pay you more for it when you are done with it and that is unlikely to happen these days. Text from DJCline.com

There has been talk about not helping people facing foreclosure because it could reward bad behavior. I don’t think some struggling family trying to get their kids out of a bad neighborhood and into a good school is bad judgment. They may not understand the process, but few do. Buying a house is as complicated and expensive as a shuttle launch. Text from DJCline.com

Foreclosing, evicting and bankrupting ordinary people is disruptive for everyone. Let’s find a way to keep their lives from being upended. Help them refinance at a more sane rate. Put a moratorium on foreclosures. Let’s have a reality check on what houses are worth. Let’s work toward at least one roof per family. Text from DJCline.com

Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

Posted by dj in Blumbers, Commentary [1,123 Views]