Banks have been fair in their loans requiring a responsible down payment policy. However the mortgage brokers are unregulated and initiated irresponsible loan incentives, such as little or no money down loans. They sold the concept of real estate as value that could only go up.

We know different now.

Now Fannie Mae has re-entered and stepped into the picture. Fannie Mae today withdrew its declining market policy and adopted uniform national down payment requirements. This they say is making financing more affordable and available and stabilizing the credit markets, said the National Association of REALTORS®.

Fannie Mae took action to remove the extra 5 percent down payment on homes. Fannie Mae will be replacing the existing policy that required higher minimum down payments for properties in markets that are considered declining, for a policy that allows buyers to borrow up to 97 percent loan-to-value, even in markets in which prices have declined.

With little “skin” in the game, homeowners will be severely tested if market values decline further. The temptation will be to walk away from homes that experience a decline in market value when compare to the loan amount signed.

Received this email. Thought I’d pass it along. Sleepless nights….

Dear Friends: Last night I had the strangest dream. It was so real, so life-like and so vivid I woke up in a cold sweat. Let me describe it to you briefly…

1. Hillary wins the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States.

2. Naturally, she wants to choose as her running mate someone with a lot of knowledge and experience in government and foreign affairs, someone who is a seasoned campaigner who could bring a lot of strength to the ticket. Who better than Bill, her husband?

3. Hill and Bill go on to win the election in November and the Democrats maintain control of the House and the Senate.

4. Hillary is sworn in as President on 20JAN09. The next day, after all the inauguration parties are over, she calls a press conference to make an announcement: She is resigning as President!!! Bill, as the Vice President, immediately becomes President!!! This is all perfectly legal under the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution; for it states that “no person may be elected as president more than twice”. Bill is not being elected for a third term but is merely serving out the remainder of Hillary’s term - all four years of it.

5. But wait! There’s more! The following day Bill calls a press conference to make an announcement. He has chosen someone to fill the now-vacant office of Vice President. Guess who he picks? Why, Hillary, of course! And in four years she can run again to succeed him!

Misery loves company….Now you might stay awake too! : )

A dollar don’t buy what it used to. I don’t have to tell you that, but checking the lower half of households in the U.S. we find household income is not keeping up with expenses. When most employees in retail stores here in the East make $8.00 to $10.00 an hour, it’s no wonder. Think of all the employees in the malls and retail stores across America and their take home pay.

• If we break households in groups of 20% each by income, well over half of household income (55%) was held by the richest fifth in 2005, the highest such share on record; • The share of income held by the top 1% has climbed from 9% in 1979 to 18% in 2005. • Check after-tax income of the bottom 20% grew 6%, or $1,800 over these years (1979-2005, in 2005 dollars); the middle-class gained $11,000, up 21%, over these 26 years. The average income of the top 1%, more than tripled, up 228%, for a gain $781,000. • By 2005, the average post-tax income of the bottom fifth was $15,300, the middle fifth: $50,200, and the top 1%: $1.1 million.

Huge different growth rates, the pressure of illegal’s keeping wages down supported by big business as well as Democrats looking for their future vote, have led to much greater economic distance between income classes over the years.

We know about supply and demand. Even with high employment rates, the supply of labor has not changed because of open borders. The politicians vie for votes or are in the pockets of business special interest groups. The native born American who is average, armed with only a High School degree earns practically the same wage as they did 10-years ago, except food, energy and sales and property taxes have seriously increased.

Open borders are unsustainable in a democratic society. The traditional distribution mechanism of supply and demand are distorted by inflating the supply of low-income workers.

So who are you going to vote for? The liberals want open borders and to give everyone here legal status in order to get their votes because 95% of them will vote Democratic.

Other than a few conservatives, traditional republicans and democrats looked the other way because of lobby pressures from business.

Now if half of Americas disposable income keeps decreasing, what do you think is going to happen to the incomes of the upper half?

It’s your paycheck. So, who are you going to vote for?

An atheist was walking through the woods. “What majestic trees”! “What powerful rivers”! “What beautiful animals”! He said to himself.

As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the
bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear
charge towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder &
saw that the bear was closing in on him.

He looked over his shoulder again, & the bear was even closer. He
tripped & fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but
saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his
left paw & raising his right paw to strike him.

At that instant the Atheist cried out, “Oh my God!”

Time Stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky.
“You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don’t
exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident.” “Do you expect me
to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer”? The atheist looked directly into the light, “It would be hypocritical
of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps
you could make the BEAR a Christian”?

“Very Well,” said the voice.

The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear
dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head &
spoke:

“Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty
through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

Checking a USA Today report using June 2006 stats, only 21.7 Detroit public school students graduated. It’s hard to believe your eyes when you read that statistic. It has the lowest graduation rate of the 50 largest school districts in the nation. Philadelphia is not far behind.

What will these teenagers turn to? What opportunities will they have to succeed in life without the high school diploma? What problems will they bring to societies bank in the future? What are the social costs?

In these school districts there is wanton destruction of property, profanities hurled at teachers and assaults. Verbal abuse is routine for both teacher and student. Throwing money at the problem has not cured it.

What is unanimously found is that school officials lack the GUTS to stop the abuse. Tolerance is preached instead of insisting on civilized standards of conduct. There are no checks and balances, no carrots and sticks approach to behavior. This lunatic blindfolding holds hostage academic learning for other students. School becomes demoralizing and instead becomes barbaric training for the onlookers.

Those schools are mostly composed of a black population. Those who bank on and desperately need education and achievement the most are patronized by a no backbone liberal tolerance for debilitating acts as well as parents who don’t give a damn. Is this American tragedy the reward to the sweat and struggle of Martin Luther King and those brave enough to stand up?