Heard that yesterday on-air

Post #297,788 by mvitale 10/10/08 8:52:15 AM Reply	Heard that yesterday on-air Was suitably impressed (once again) by his subtle wit and ideas. $100B total cost for the government to pay off all mortgages (understanding that he's a poet and not an economist, and his numbers might be off)? And that would make every single one of the mortgage-backed securities AAA-grade? He just might be onto something... -Mike
Post #297,803 by Scott 10/10/08 3:45:25 PM Reply	Re: Heard that yesterday on-air No, all those mortgage backed securities would become worthless, because the underlying mortgages would be paid off--no more interest from the mortgages=no more security. The question is, if the government pays off my home mortgage, who owns the house--me or Uncle Sam? What amount of equity do I have in the property? What is the value of the house in case I want to borrow against it? Scott --------------------------------- "Aaah! There's an alien on my head. Kill it!"
Post #297,804 by boxley 10/10/08 3:49:34 PM Reply	who owns the house? uncle sam and you now have a huge gift tax bill :-)
Post #298,060 by CRConrad 10/17/08 7:46:59 AM Reply	"Gift Tax", Bill? If he has to pay a "gift tax", then that would presumably be because the house was given to him... So then it would be he, not "Uncle Sam", who owns the house. Germans, Jehovah, yadda yadda -- It's complicated...
Post #298,062 by boxley 10/17/08 8:16:14 AM Reply	current tax law, if you short sell your house and the bank agrees to take less than you owe. you pay income tax on the difference. Similary if you walk away from a 100k mortgage, the bank takes your house and doesnt sue you, there is income tax on the money you didnt have to pay. Wierd but true. thanx, bill if lemmy and god had a wrestling match who would win?
Post #298,064 by mvitale 10/17/08 8:44:53 AM Reply	Well, that's the thing when dealing with the government... ...They make the rules, so they could make 'em say whatever they want it to say. They could say that they own the house, or they could say that the homeowner does. Additionally, if they actually were to pay off mortgages for everyone in the country, they could elect to pay them off with full interest paid (or not, or partial, or whatever). No matter, though. This is all a thought exercise. -Mike

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