Safe Online File Sharing & Storage. Store/Share/Access For Only $7.95/m
(Not Yet an eBay User? Register Now -- It's Easy and FREE!)

Most of America’s homeowners hope for ‘Fannie’ and ‘Freddie’ to stay well

I know very little about mortgages, mortgage lenders, and the whole mortgage industry. We've lived in the same old house (built in 1911, I think?) since 1980. Although we've refinanced it a few times, we haven't done so lately. But I do know this: When Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in trouble, we're all in trouble.

Those are the two federally established agencies that guarantee at one stage or another the majority of home mortgages in America. The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) was set up under FDR's New Deal then rechartered by Congress as a publicly traded company in 1968. It's the nation's largest mortgage buyer. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) is the nation's second largest.

If these two biggies go under as a result of the huge home foreclosure crisis, we might as well fold up our tents, figuratively, and steal off across the desert sands to throw our lot in with the Arabian oil magnates -- because there'll be little left of America that the Arabian nations, Japan, and China don't own. Many financial pundits are certain that the federal government simply will in no case allow Fannie and Freddie to fail. To do so would be, seriously, the destruction of much of our economy.

I hope and pray the pundits, in this case, are right, don't you?
[tags]mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, financial pundits, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]

July 12, 2008 | Filed Under Business News, National News 

Comments

One Response to “Most of America’s homeowners hope for ‘Fannie’ and ‘Freddie’ to stay well”

  1. Anna on July 13th, 2008 8:26 am

    I agree, Gary. We would take a huge downward spiral should Fannie and Freddie go under. It is frightening to think about, but like you said, hopefully the pundits are correct on this one.

Got something to say?