Tag archives for Obama

Market News: “Gold Rush” is On into Online Gambling

Quietly, and just before the Christmas holidays, president Obama’s Justice Department reversed years of legal decisions and authorized states to make the decision about whether or not to allow web-based, non-sports gambling within state borders. As a result of that 13-page memo, what analysts are calling the “online poker gold rush” is likely on, just as it was before the Read full article »

President Considering Unveiling Mortgage Relief Program as Early as This Week

In his scheduled speech on job creation this Thursday, President Obama is likely to “include a nod” to his latest mortgage relief plan according to sources familiar with the administration’s plans. The administration has been gathering data and garnering opinions for weeks on a refinancing initiative designed to help borrowers refinance the loans on their homes at current low rates Read full article »

Government Considers Removing Foreclosed Homes, Renting Them Out

In an effort to clear out the glut of unsold properties in today’s real estate market and prevent home values from continuing their downward spiral, the Obama administration is considering pulling foreclosed properties owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac off the market and renting them out. This could, according to Credit Suisse analysts, ultimately help avert another 3-5 percent Read full article »

US Comptroller of Currency Splits With Administration on Foreclosure Deal

While the Obama administration and the country's lenders struggle to come to terms that both sides find acceptable to help settle foreclosure fraud and robo-signer issues on a national scale, the regulator of the nation’s largest banks (nearly all of whom are embroiled in the mess) is conspicuously absent from the fray. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Read full article »

TARP Inspector General Steps Down, Cites HAMP

Refusing to participate in a program that he says has put “many of the people it’s supposed to be helping…in a far worse place than they would have been had this program not existed,” Neil  Barofsky, special inspector general for TARP, has announced that he will be stepping down in March of this year. He believes that TARP has been Read full article »

The Politics of Real Estate

Few industries are as profoundly impacted by the political machinations in Washington as the real estate industry. Whether it's old legislation like Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act or Barack Obama's massive mortgage bailouts, the U.S. political machine has a huge impact (usually bad) on the business of real estate.

Ideally, we could ignore politics. But here at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, we insist on seeing the world with clarity - including the reality of Washington's aggressive involvement in every facet of our business, from mortgage lending to real estate sales license; from loan modification regulations to appraisal requirements... every piece of our business is profoundly impacted by politics. So rather than stick our heads in the sand and ignore reality, readers of the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter choose to be informed and prepared.

About Bryan Ellis

Bryan Ellis is an Atlanta-based real estate analyst and publisher of the widely read newsletter "The Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter". With over 200,000 subscribers - including real estate investors, agents, brokers, appraisers and other real estate professionals - the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter is among America's largest sources of unbiased coverage of politics and public policy for the real estate industry.

Bryan Ellis serves as editor in chief for the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter and is assisted by an extraordinary staff of writers, researchers and editors who are each real estate experts in their own right and who assure that the news we report is well researched, factual, and highly relevant to today's real estate industry.

Bryan is very happily married and has two wonderful daughters. He makes his home in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. You can contact the team at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter here.