Thursday, January 31, 2008

Boost in Loan Limits: Jumbo Loans

Bush: Stimulus Package
By Henry J. Pulizzi
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)-


U.S. President George W. Bush praised House lawmakers for agreeing on measures to boost the flagging U.S. economy, saying the stimulus package unveiled Thursday is "effective, robust and temporary."

Bush, in brief remarks on the stimulus, called on the House and Senate to pass the package as soon as possible.

"This package has the right set of policies and is the right size," he said. " The incentives in this package will lead to higher consumer spending and increased business investment this year."
Hammered out after days of talks between Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, House GOP Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the deal includes rebates worth up to $1,200 for as many as 117 million citizens and a boost in the loan limits for the Federal Housing Association and government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE).

The package must now move through both houses of Congress. Senate Democrats already are indicating some resistance. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D- Mont., said his panel will offer its own stimulus legislation, a proposal that will extend expired unemployment benefits and possibly include increased infrastructure spending.

Both Paulson and Pelosi acknowledged that they are not completely satisfied with their stimulus package, but said the deal is simple enough to move quickly through Congress with bipartisan support.

"This thing could easily have looked like a Christmas tree," Paulson said.
The $150 billion plan would provide tax rebates of up to $600 for a single taxpayer or $1,200 for a married couple, and working parents could also benefit from a bonus payment of $300 per child.


Tax filers earning too little to pay income taxes could still receive a $300 rebate if they had annual income of at least $3,000.

Paulson said rebate checks could begin being sent around 60 days after enactment of the stimulus package.

The negotiators also agreed to allow business to immediately write off 50% of the costs of capital purchases and to allow small businesses to write off all of the costs of some additional purchases.
Over Paulson's objections, the agreement between the administration and House leaders would increase the FHA and GSE loan limits to $725,000 from $362,000 and to $625,000 from $417,000, respectively.


"I got run down by a bipartisan steamroller," Paulson said of the GSE provisions. He said the pact would raise the conforming loan limit for GSEs for a temporary period through Dec 31.
He added that he was pleased that Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd said this expansion won't get in the way of broader reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Paulson was concerned this loan limit expansion would reduce the momentum for the GSE overhaul bill, but said he will still work for its passage just the same.
Bush was again optimistic about the U.S. economy's long-term prospects. The White House, unlike many economists, isn't forecasting a recession, but Bush conceded that growth is cooling.
"Our economy is structurally sound, but it is dealing with short-term disruptions in the housing market and the impact of higher energy prices. These challenges are slowing growth," he said. "Because the country needs this boost to the economy now, I urge the House and the Senate to enact this economic growth agreement into law as soon as possible."


On a separate economic issue, Paulson repeated that a strong dollar is in the U.S.'s interest. He said the fundamental long-term strength of the U.S. economy will be reflected in currency markets.

-By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

About Me

Philadelphia, PA, United States
Bob Diamond is a practicing real estate attorney, real estate developer, and published author of three books on foreclosure investing. You may be familiar with Bob from his appearances on FOX, NBC, or CNBC or on his real estate radio show. Inside the investor world, Bob is known as the ‘guru’s guru’ and teaches advanced real estate investing techniques including buying discounted liens, notes and judgments, buying out of bankruptcy, short sales, taking under and subject to, straight equity purchases, multi-units and even condo conversions.