Tag archives for Timothy Geithner

House Republicans Concerned About Elizabeth Warren’s Role in Mortgage-Servicing Negotiations

U.S. House Republicans have drafted a letter requesting copies of “any and all” communications between Elizabeth Warren and any state attorneys general since September 2010. The group is concerned that Warren, who is the White House adviser setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has gone “far beyond the mere offering of advice” and that she may be unduly influencing Read full article »

Foreclosure Actions Drop Dramatically in Colorado

While nearly every state in the country has experienced some degree of foreclosure slowdown, Colorado’s year-over-year foreclosure rates are nothing to sneeze at. The volume of foreclosures filed in February of 2011 is a full 34.7 percent lower than that of a year ago, with a tally of 1,986 versus 3,042. Foreclosure sales at auction also fell 10.7 percent from Read full article »

Obama Will Veto Bills Terminating “Foreclosure Prevention”

Lest there be any confusion, the Obama administration firmly stated yesterday that “President Barack Obama would veto a Republican-backed bill killing his signature mortgage foreclosure prevention program”. In a statement from the administration, it was stated that the Obama administration “strongly opposes” House action to eliminate HAMP” and that the president’s “senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill”. While Read full article »

Treasury Secretary Questions Small-Business Tax Advantages

In a hearing last Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made some suggestions on corporate tax reform that made many small business owners squirm. He suggested that the entire concept of the “pass through” business entity needed to be revisited. “Congress has to revisit this basic question about whether it makes sense to allow certain businesses to choose whether they Read full article »

Fannie and Freddie Show Profits, Keep Hands Out

Government-controlled GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appear to be profitable for the first time since the real estate market tanked. However, that does not mean that they don’t need major handouts (read: billions of dollars) each quarter from the Treasury Department in order to stay afloat. In fact, even though both companies pay 10 percent dividends on preferred shares 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.