Comments on: H.R. 3915 Goes to Vote in the House

By: Mike Volpe

Mike Volpe — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:36:14 +0000

I think you mentioned this bill has bi partisan support. In the final vote that was not the case. It was nearly entirely party line. No Democrat voted against the bill and only a handful of Reps voted for it. I think this bill creates an opportunity to paint the Dems as incompetent, naive, big government regulators, and counter productive.

It can be done by repeating these words over and over and over again,

THE DEMOCRATS THINK YOU HAVEN’T SIGNED ENOUGH PAPERWORK YET.

The interesting thing is that places like the Daily Kos and other liberal bloggers oppose this bill along with plenty of conservatives, and of course mortgage professionals. This bill is the perfect outlet for showing the power of the internet. I hope we take it. Here is my latest piece.

http://www.proprietornation.blogspot.com/2007/11/hr3915-democrats-think-you-havent.html

I hope the forces on the net take this opportunity to stand up and be heard. This bill can become a symbol of everything that is wrong in Washington and we all have the power to make it happen.

By: Mike Volpe

Mike Volpe — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:22:52 +0000

The irony is that Congress is as responsible for ripping off consumers as anyone.

Does anyone know why it is so easy for unscrupulous mortgage brokers to rip people off? Do you think it has anything to do with the mountain of paperwork that needs to be signed? Do you think it is a lot easier to rip someone off when the important document is buried among a hundred other useless documents? So, it is ironic that they have created a new law that will probably double the amount of paperwork, between the net tangible benefits (already in play in Illinois as a disclosure), reasonable ability to pay, and all sorts of things regarding foreclosure, anti steering, and safe harbor, there will be a whole new batch of useless disclosures.

here is how I saw it…

http://www.proprietornation.blogspot.com/2007/11/defining-predatory-lending.html

By: Morgan Brown

Morgan Brown — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:00:22 +0000

Thanks PJ – noted and updated!

By: P. Jackson

P. Jackson — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 05:52:07 +0000

Morgan – FYI, this doesn’t go the floor for debate until 10am EST on Thursday, November 15. It was not on the docket for today.

By: Fielding Mellish

Fielding Mellish — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 04:38:18 +0000

I predict HR 3915 will sail through both chambers & be signed into law so fast it’ll make your head spin. In my state a very similar bill passed easily – unanimously in one chamber of our bi-cameral legislature! Not many laws are passed UNANIMOUSLY. And that was before the current crisis came to a head. Congresspeople may or may not realize possible negative economic consequences of the bill. What they DO realize is that voting against this bill is bad politics, with them being seen to side with slimey mortgage brokers (a seemingly redundant term) against the poor ol’ consumer. In contrast, any consequences of this bill that are detrimental to the housing market and/or general economy are not likely to be associated with this bill in the minds of average voters.

Brokers will find it tougher to stay in business, since they’ll have to disclose (and stand by) their gross compensation. Theoretically, they could disclose a 200 basis point origination fee & the borrower could use YSP to cover all or part of those two points, but I suspect it will be a race to the bottom in terms of gross commission. Mortgage Banking companies will not have this problem.

By: keith

keith — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 03:21:10 +0000

This would completely destroy the housing market forcing us into a deep depression. Do the Congressmen really not undestand the consequences for what they are doing? They claim it is for the consumer yet the only ones who benefit from this bill are attorneys and the very large banks.Even the banks will be in trouble if this bill passes. God help us all