White House reaches mortgage deal (AP)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

I have no idea how good, bad, or bullshit, this deal is. But, no doubt, somebody's going to figure out a way to get rich. And, it ain't gonna be the po' folk.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071205/ap_on_go_pr_wh/mortgage_crisis_6;_ylt=AnrMGcyhia1XOKT8npvfJGUE1vAI

WASHINGTON - Congressional aides say the Bush administration has hammered out an agreement with industry to freeze interest rates for certain subprime mortgages for five years in an effort to combat a soaring tide of foreclosures.

These aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not yet been released, said the five-year moratorium represented a compromise between desires by banking regulators for a longer time frame of as much as seven years and industry arguments that the freeze should only last one to two years.

Another person familiar with the matter said the rate-freeze plan would apply to borrowers with loans made at the start of 2005 through July 30 of this year with rates that are scheduled to rise between Jan. 1, 2008, and July 31, 2010.

The administration said that President Bush will speak on the agreement at the White House on Thursday and the Treasury Department announced that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson would hold a joint news conference Thursday afternoon with officials of the mortgage industry.

[Virginia Dare]

1. hammered out an agreement..

yeah, they took the agreement that the industry brought to them and banged it with a hammer a few times.

[underpants]

4. W will be briefed on it next week...you know so as to provide plausible deniablility

Not that complicate mortgage stuff

on the hammer part
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Hammer-Safely

[Virginia Dare]

5. If I had a hammer...

this is too funny..:rofl:

Using the Hammer Correctly

1. Check the hammer before use. You should look for firm attachment of the head to the handle and for any splinters, loose wrapping or other deformities to the handle. If the hammer has any defects or is wobbly, do not use it. Not only will it require more energy to use but it is an accident waiting to happen.
2. Get a firm grip on the handle. This will ensure that you don’t lose your hold on the hammer and have it flying out of your hand.
3. Hold the hammer’s handle at the end. Beginners are often more comfortable with holding the hammer handle midway. Whilst it is more energy efficient to grip the handle firmly at the end, the best position for you to learn with is the one that feels most comfortable and secure for you. With practice, you will become more proficient at holding the hammer towards the end, affording yourself more leverage.
4. Hit your surface squarely with the hammer. Avoid banging a hammer sideways. Hit only with the head of the hammer and do not use the handle or the side of the hammer.

5. Use your whole arm and elbow. As well as maintaining a good grip, it is important to rely on the strength of your whole arm and elbow and not just rely on your wrist and hand to pound the hammer with. Most importantly, keep a straight wrist and allow the weight of the hammer itself to do the pounding, not your arm.
6. Use the hammer on a hard surface. Do not try to do hammering work on carpet or other soft surfaces, it requires more energy. Beginners, children or less proficient handypersons should hammer at waist height for the greatest ease. Only those hammering frequently are used to contorting their position and still successfully hammer in the nails.
7. Check before you swing. Always keep the workspace clear of other objects and check that nobody is standing behind you or too near you when you use the hammer. You need plenty of space to swing the hammer without catching your arm or the hammer on another person or object.
8. Practice. Good hammering technique comes from trial and error. You will develop your own technique over time that feels the most comfortable and works best for your projects.

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. ROFL

The free marketers!

:rofl:

[Supersedeas]

8. free to contract....not so much -- putting makeup on a pig and calling it fixed - Repig logic

[Eurobabe]

3. Is this agreement with the Blackwater Mortgage Banking Group?

:sarcasm:

[michreject]

6. This could be good news

I'm putting my house on the market in March.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

7. as bad as it sounds

a total real estate crash is in the best interests of the non-investor. Being forclosed on a mortgage that is many times greater than the reasonable value of the property in a sane market is the best thing that might every happen to some of these people. Especially since many of the subprime mortgage holders have minimal equity in their homes. Being "bailed out" so you can continue to service a $500,000 mortgage on a $100,000 home isn't helping the depressed home owner.

Hell during the last real estate meltdown people were buying the homes they were evicted from on the court house steps for the opening deposit bid. That is the greatest "fuck you" to the bankers available.

The easy unlimited credit that fueled the real estate boom that made massive mortgages available to virtually anybody is what drove the prices of homes into the stratosphere. People were bidding properties over the top with borrowed money.