Congress Considers $15,000 Rebate Checks For All Home Buyers

As a longtime realtor in Cobb County, Sen. Johnny Isakson has seen housing downturns before. "We had recessions in 1968, 1974, 1982, and 1991, by every measurement, this is going to be a deeper and bigger recession in residential housing. It's a significant event."

Isakson is pitching an idea to his colleagues in Congress: a $15,000 tax rebate check to anyone who agrees to buy a home. Congressional budget analysts project the program would cost $14 billion over the next few years. But Isakson said the rebate checks are well worth the hefty price tag. "If we can convince buyers to come back to the marketplace and buy these houses, then the houses aren't vacant. It's replaced by an owner-occupant, who is there making payments on a loan and helping all of the other houses around."

<!--stopindex-->Senate Republican leaders have signed on to the rebate check idea. But they have to corral support from Democrats. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is instead pushing a foreclosure relief proposal called The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, which would offer $4 billion to cities to rehab or knock down foreclosed properties. Reid's Democratic colleague Sen. Bob Casey said, "It's important that we have as much money as possible in the hands of local communities, to get it into communities, where they know how to spend those dollars and help families through this crisis."

Figures compiled for wsbtv.com by mortgage analysts with RealtyTrac show a surge in Atlanta-area foreclosures. In 2006, RealtyTrac reported 33,018 foreclosure filings in the Atlanta region. In 2007, 50,271 people were foreclosed upon.

The Senate is expected to debate both competing foreclosure proposals. Presidential candidates have also publicly announced proposals to ease the housing crisis. Sen. Hillary Clinton has proposed a temporary freeze on all home foreclosures.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/15575616/detail.html

 

Re: Congress Considers $15,000 Rebate Checks For All Home Bu

Wow, I never realized how many of those congressmen had second jobs such that they could afford giving away their hard earned money like that. They are really swell fellas!

That is really going to solve the problem. The problem now isn't that people don't want to buy a home. The problem is credit is tighter and fewer qualify, and then you have house values dropping like rocks. Plus tighter employment and rapid inflation of consumer goods. That $15k can evaoprate in a couple of bad months.

But, heck, if those politicians have all that money just sloshing around in their pockets they might as well burn it up quick. Just wait until those happy homeowners find out the next April that they are going to be taxed on that sudden $15K "gift" and they end up owing a few thousand they hadn't planned for.

And why in the heck is every socialist wealth redistribution ploy now called a "rebate?" A rebate is when you get a portion of your own payment back from the seller. Stealing is when you take from one man and give to another at the point of a gun.

Of course some of us stupid sheep might just figure out this rebate is better than any gun buy back. Let's see, if I sell my house to my daughter for $16,000 does she get $15,000 rebate. And then if I buy it back from her can I get the rebate too? Heck I might just be able o make $75K - $90K on this here govmt giveaway. Hope you all paid your taxes so there is plenty of money for my family to get our share of rebates!