Mortgage problems and real estate, Fox's Neal Cavuto talks with President Bush
While flipping through the television late yesterday afternoon, I came across Neal Cavuto on Fox in his daily closing piece, Common Sense. He was talking about his interview with President Bush earlier in the show and Bush's view on mortgage problems and real estate. Because I missed the first few seconds and his interview with President Bush, I searched for the video on the Internet, and played it over and over so that I could transcribe it.
Click here for the video, Tough Love From The President.
It is a little over a minute and yes, there is a brief commercial before and after.
My transcription:
“Sometimes, the toughest thing about freedom is recognizing that you are also free to screw up, to make mistakes, to not read mortgage fine print or to understand that adjustable rates can also adjust up. In a free society, you are also free not to learn these things; you are free to assume that when you make the biggest purchase in your life, you do not have to do the most amount of research on the purchase in your life. You are free to study everything, or study nothing. You are free to be duped. It is not fair, my friends, it is not right.
I think the President in his discussions with me today cut to the core of the problem in some mortgages today. Some didn’t know what they were getting into. Some buyers didn’t read, some lenders did not care, some stories did not end well. Some presidential candidates say ‘make the government make them well. Help them out, bail them out.’
But, the President today offering me a not so politically correct answer - ‘no’. No bailouts, no gains, no money for the very same folks who some say created the mess in the first place. Force them to be transparent? Yes. Force them to write in English? Yes. Force them to do everything to help borrowers before dumping them on Uncle Sam? Yes. But, you don’t correct a problem by throwing more money at the problem. I think that what the President was saying is that in the end, it is up to us to know when we’re getting in too deep. Good night.”
While I certainly feel sorry for those who are in trouble financially, I have to agree with Neal's commentary.
I also noticed that the previous day's Common Sense looked interesting so here is a link to that video.
Click here for the video, When is a "meltdown" not a meltdown?
My quick takeaway:
Not every mortgage for every home on every street in every neighborhood has gone unpaid
4% of mortgages have been affected and are delinquent but 96% of mortgages are being paid on time
As to subprime mortgages, even 9 out of 10 subprime mortgages are still being paid on time
Most borrowers are still getting loans, most lenders are still lending
It's a slowdown, not a meltdown and irresponsible journalism focusing only on the negative is a letdown