Thank you to everyone for the fabulous comments to my post Protecting Your Property Rights, Our Day on the Hill. The comments are so well said and so varied that I’m going to re- post many of them here. This legislation is huge and I want my readers to know that many of us are concerned for and passionate about what’s happening in/with/to our government.
If you haven’t read the original post, please take a moment to do that so these comments make sense to you. And, please, add your comments to the end of this article.
Very good, Karen. Anyone who wants to carry the note on their property would be damaged by such legislation. And as for the elected officials being willing to meet with us . . . they had better be willing to listen to those who elected–and could un-elect–them! :) Candice A Donofrio, Broker
Keep up the good work. Bills get changed radically by the time they reach a vote, so opposition can be helpful. Bills can also be destroyed by riders that have nothing to do with the bill and create a poison pill. As someone who worked for the Senate during college in DC in the 60′s, I went in a believer and a political science major. I winded up in philosophy. Politics is not for the faint of heart. Joe Pryor Realtor
Karen … Thanks for your advocacy at our nation’s Capitol about proposed laws that impact our clients and private property rights. I am also concerned about HR 4173, proposed Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the Senate proposed Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.
I have read some provisions of these and am also alarmed that US government is using the excuse of mortgage industry problems, so that it can regulate private real estate ownership and transactions.
I serve as chairperson for Local Government Relations Committee at Orange County Assoc. of Realtors and will ask that we look at this proposed legislation for possible recommendations to our board.
Please keep up your good work on behalf of clients and protection of private property rights. Harrison Long, Realtor, Broker
Leave it to the political people to take aim at what was not a problem… It was not the owner financing that killed the real estate industry. If they want to take aim at something, it should be the variable interest rate loans that should be outlawed. EVERY loan should be simple interest, set from the date of signing until paid of at one rate, no pre-pay… SIMPLE…
Also loans should have ONE FEE… The interest rate… There should be no additional charges allowed. As it stands now, even with the new RESPA disclosure it is all but impossible to compare loans. If all they could charge is an interest rate and no junk fees then it would be simple for the buyer to compare loans… Richard Foster ABR/M, CREN, CRS, GRI, RRG, SFR
This is just what we need, more regulation to add more unreasonable barriers to the home buying process. Are they afraid that the home owner willing to carry back is going to take millions away from the banks who are just chomping at the bit to provide loans? Thanks for catching this and attempting to do something about it. Jane Peters, Realtor
What brand of Kool Aid have you been drinking to actually think that any of these people in DC will “change their vote after hearing from as few as only two of their constituents”. (Jaw Drop) Lobbying $$ talks and BS walks…You have not a clue how legislation, pork, and laws are actually passed in this country. Sounds like you enjoyed your day on The Hill though! Norman Moran, Realtor
Being a REALTOR, Owner financing has been what has helped keep our Real Estate Office going the last year! We have a lot of folks that have had a bad run with their credit for different reasons, like coming out of a divorce, a spouse passing away etc. They have good jobs and good income but just need a couple of years to get straighten out. A lot of owners in Kentucky will Finance the properties for a couple of years til they get on their feet so to speak. I will be sending this to my Local Legislators. Thank you again and God bless you for caring!! Barbara, USA Realty, Inc.
I am never surprised about what is in or not in any bill anymore. I am not fundamentally opposed to special interests, as that in and of itself is not a bad thing. The bad thing is how fast things get ramrodded through the process, the lack of transparency, and the lack of oversight of an average person (say me) in trying to figure out what to e-mail my senator/congressperson if I can understand it, which seems next to impossible.
Chris Olsen Broker Owner
The biggest problem in DC at the moment seems to be that bills are getting packed with crap at the last minute. House and Senate leaders promise to allow public inspection of the bills before they vote… and then, IF they actually follow through with allowing time for people to study the bills, they add amendments at the very last minute that make wholesale chages…
And then the President promised to allow 5 days between passage and signature… but has yet to have a bill wait that long…
My favorite quote so far is Nancy Pelosi saying that a bill had to be PASSED so that we could find out what was in it… Really? Lane Bailey – REALTOR
Most of us would agree that the mortgage industry ran amuck, and does need some regulation. I saw waiters and carpet installers show up and become instant loan officers. There was, and still is rampant fraud. State laws and the Department of Commerce across the country needs to license and hold brokers accountable rather than the Federal government. Big government scares us all, and it is orchestrated so the media reports that it is in the interest of the American people.
What we hear from the media on politics has almost nothing to do with what is really going on. I attended a town hall meeting with one of our local congressmen. He showed up and hour and 1/2 late, and paraded a couple of preselected ‘victims’ of the mortgage crisis who struggled with loan modification. “I want to go back to Washington to tell them that my people want loan modification!”
The meeting was a photo op. It was apparent he had no clue how the mortgage industry works, and had people chanting, “Loan mod, loan mod, we want loan mod.” Some of them had lost their jobs, and were translating ‘loan mod,’ to mean free. The congressman does not answer letters, emails or voicemail. He doesn’t have a clue how the mortgage and real estate industry works, but he knows how Washington works.
It is amazingly naive to think that a few vocal locals make a difference. Most politicians believe that their constituants are sheep and can’t see beyond the spin. The public is led by what the media feeds it, and the media is fed by two very powerful and manipulative political parties. Mary Jo Quay
Ridiculous, but what is going on in Washington now is not good. Packaging bills inside other bills that have NOTHING to do with the main bill is horrible.
Just like the Student Loan Bill being packaged in the Health Care Reform. Each bill should be a stand alone bill, debated and discussed. Missy Caulk
Thank you so much for your involvement. I agree, as Americans we have gotten lazy about keeping our politicians accountable. There continues to be so much over-regulation and where does it stop? Every time the government steps in they make a bigger mess of the problem. I strongly believe the government needs to step out of this completely. Don’t hold back foreclosures, don’t bail out banks, don’t control the mortgage industry. Some would say,”that will cause a collapse!!”. I say, “so what?”. If they allow all the foreclosures to hit the market at once and banks that had bad business practices to fail then it will hurt the market, but the recovery will happen and we will be stronger for it in the end. With the government getting involved we are taking the band-aid off slowly; prolonging the inevitable. The worst problem is people don’t learn their lesson. I say, tell our politicians to go home and stop getting involved. Tracy Anderson
This is simply an outrage! I heard about this bill but it sounded so outrageous that I didn’t give it a second thought.
Seldom government involvement, regulations and overseeing of programs produced anything worthy…start with Social Security (BROKE), Medicare (BROKE), Medicaid (BROKE), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (BROKE) and other smaller ones – definitely a pattern and it’s not a one you can be proud of…WE THE PEOPLE have been complacent for too long. Slowly but surely our freedoms and rights are being taken away and most the time WE THE PEOPLE don’t even realize it. It is done quietly, under the umbrella of ‘equality’, ‘fairness’, or ‘regulation’ etc..
Capitalism teaches that the individual is what matters, let the state be the servant of the individuals. What made or actually makes America great is rights and money in the hands of the people. The state or government is the servant hence the word: public servant.
Communism or socialism teaches that individual people are too dumb and stupid to know what to do with capital, that the capital belongs to the state and it has to be taken away and given to the all wise and all knowing state. Let the state run everything and let the stupid people show up for their assignment. I came from there…
But I am sure that with WE THE PEOPLE involvement we will GET OUR COUNTRY BACK! Thank you Karen! Bo Kociuba
This was my third Day on the Hill and I thought that this year was really no different than the previous two. Politicians are so blinded by party loyalty that if you aren’t talking about something that they are supporting then they really don’t want to listen. On the other hand, we actually dropped in on Bob Latta from Ohio (Republican) without an appointment and was pleasantly surprised that he visited with us for over 25 minutes. He actually listened to us and took immediate action ( or appeared to take action) by telling his Legislative Director who was also sitting in on the meeting to contact HUD and get them in his office. He actually looked directly at us when we talked and listened. I was very much impressed. I mentioned from the start that he was not in my district but he was close enough that what I had to say would affect his area as well. Of the four contacts we made, I walked out feeling good about politicians. The balance were all brush offs.
You know what? We still have to do what we have to do. I cannot make much of an impact as one citizen. It is what I do with it that will make the difference. I am now on the line to tell everyone I know who will listen and who won’t. But if I keep quite, the visit to Washington would have been in vain. Thanks for the blog! Don Newman – Toledo, Ohio
