Legal Commentary

The Mighty HOLC

By Big Tent Democrat

Remember HOLC? Via Atrios, Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) is talking about it again:

If the government could purchase, either by voluntary sale or by eminent domain, distressed mortgages for 30 to 50 cents on the dollar, there would be ample room to reduce the principal to make the mortgage affordable. In other cases, the government could buy the home in exchange for cancelling the mortgage and enter into a long-term lease with the former homeowner.

[. . .] The Obama administration can establish a new HOLC without any additional action by Congress. The Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) legislation already gives the Treasury Department the power to acquire financial assets, specifically mortgages, and Treasury could fund the program with the $75 billion of the TARP appropriation allocated for HAMP.

The time for a new HOLC was last year. But better late than never.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 24, 2010 (boomark / email).