Tight Credit? Why Ben Bernanke Couldn’t Refinance His Mortgage

[Singlebyte]

Credit crunch.....lol

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/10/02/tight-credit-why-ben-bernanke-couldnt-refinance-his-mortgage/

[jaysabi]

I like how his response is that credit is too tight now, even though it was the loose credit under him and his predecessor that created the mess in the first place.

If you can't afford your house Ben, maybe you shouldn't be living outside your means!

[aigeezer]

Why would a Master of the Universe want/need a mortgage? I assume he thinks he can profit on it somehow, at the expense of some patsy or other.

[jaysabi]

Why would a Master of the Universe want/need a mortgage? I assume he thinks he can profit on it somehow, at the expense of some patsy or other.

Just because he's rich and powerful doesn't mean he doesn't buy more house than he can afford upfront like just about everyone else in America who buys a house. He's just doing it on a much grander scale I reckon.

[Lethn]

..... I could not have wished for a better ending, his own economic policy backfiring on him! LOL!

“It’s entirely possible” that lenders “may have gone a little bit too far on mortgage credit conditions,” he said at a conference in Chicago, according to Bloomberg News.

Best quote ever, I almost thought this was an onion news network post.

[jaysabi]

..... I could not have wished for a better ending, his own economic policy backfiring on him! LOL!

“It’s entirely possible” that lenders “may have gone a little bit too far on mortgage credit conditions,” he said at a conference in Chicago, according to Bloomberg News.

Best quote ever, I almost thought this was an onion news network post.

He's talking about being too strict though. He's arguing for NOT being so strict in lending. His policy is still loose money, which means it hasn't backfired on him; he just hasn't learned his lesson.

[aigeezer]

Why would a Master of the Universe want/need a mortgage? I assume he thinks he can profit on it somehow, at the expense of some patsy or other.

Just because he's rich and powerful doesn't mean he doesn't buy more house than he can afford upfront like just about everyone else in America who buys a house. He's just doing it on a much grander scale I reckon.

The scale does not seem particularly grand, by contemporary Washington standards. For example, here is an arbitrary DC real estate list sorted from high to low:

http://www.jamesgrantproperties.com/results-gallery/?status=A&sort=listprice

Bernanke's seems to be nowhere near the high end. As for the mortgage, according to the article:

"The Journal reported in 2011 that he owed $672,000 on his mortgage after refinancing it that September. The refinance closed days before the conforming loan limit—the maximum amount that qualifies for backing from Fannie and Freddie—in the Washington, D.C., area dropped to $625,500, from the previous limit of $729,750."

I infer from this that he grabbed a bargain rate from F&F at taxpayer expense - an investment, if you will.

Various media sources claim that the Bernank "earns" $200,000 to $400,000 per speech these days, which is why I suggest he does not NEED a mortgage (of $672k).

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2014/05/25/ben-bernankes-post-fed-speaking-fees-send-a-scary-economic-message/

[jaysabi]

Speculation as to why he would want a mortgage isn't of any value to me. The only thing of importance here is he wants one but was denied and his opinion is that's a sign banks are being too responsible about loan terms.

[a447513372]

He probably overextended himself and borrowed too much money in a similar way that the US government is borrowing too much money

[Window2Wall]

Why would a Master of the Universe want/need a mortgage? I assume he thinks he can profit on it somehow, at the expense of some patsy or other.

Just because he's rich and powerful doesn't mean he doesn't buy more house than he can afford upfront like just about everyone else in America who buys a house. He's just doing it on a much grander scale I reckon.

The scale does not seem particularly grand, by contemporary Washington standards. For example, here is an arbitrary DC real estate list sorted from high to low:

http://www.jamesgrantproperties.com/results-gallery/?status=A&sort=listprice

Bernanke's seems to be nowhere near the high end. As for the mortgage, according to the article:

"The Journal reported in 2011 that he owed $672,000 on his mortgage after refinancing it that September. The refinance closed days before the conforming loan limit—the maximum amount that qualifies for backing from Fannie and Freddie—in the Washington, D.C., area dropped to $625,500, from the previous limit of $729,750."

I infer from this that he grabbed a bargain rate from F&F at taxpayer expense - an investment, if you will.

Various media sources claim that the Bernank "earns" $200,000 to $400,000 per speech these days, which is why I suggest he does not NEED a mortgage (of $672k).

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2014/05/25/ben-bernankes-post-fed-speaking-fees-send-a-scary-economic-message/

I would suggest that he probably applied for a loan with incomplete information or did not provide appropriate income/asset documentation so he would be denied for this reason and so he could truthfully say that he was denied a mortgage to further Obama's policies on easy credit for people who have no business owing a home

[boraf]

Why would a Master of the Universe want/need a mortgage? I assume he thinks he can profit on it somehow, at the expense of some patsy or other.

Anyone who can borrow should do it to take advantage of the low interest. That is how some of the upper class family get insanely wealthy.

[EternalWingsofGod]

Nice when Ben Bernanke is not living within his means that becomes an interesting article
Chairman of the Federal Reserve denied a loan 
Well ex abstensia since he did step down in January (But Ben's good for it guess the law kind of nipped him in the butt)
__
One thing that may have changed for Mr. Bernanke besides his employment situation: His loan might be too big to qualify for government backing. The Journal reported in 2011 that he owed $672,000 on his mortgage after refinancing it that September. The refinance closed days before the conforming loan limit—the maximum amount that qualifies for backing from Fannie and Freddie—in the Washington, D.C., area dropped to $625,500, from the previous limit of $729,750.

[mnmShadyBTC]

Nice when Ben Bernanke is not living within his means that becomes an interesting article
Chairman of the Federal Reserve denied a loan 
Well ex abstensia since he did step down in January (But Ben's good for it guess the law kind of nipped him in the butt)
__
One thing that may have changed for Mr. Bernanke besides his employment situation: His loan might be too big to qualify for government backing. The Journal reported in 2011 that he owed $672,000 on his mortgage after refinancing it that September. The refinance closed days before the conforming loan limit—the maximum amount that qualifies for backing from Fannie and Freddie—in the Washington, D.C., area dropped to $625,500, from the previous limit of $729,750.

Knowing how the rest of the Obama administration operates, I would say that it was probably more of a political statement then anything. Obama has a tendency to manipulate facts to further his agenda and I would not be surprised if the same was done in this case.

[pitham1]

Why would a Master of the Universe want/need a mortgage? I assume he thinks he can profit on it somehow, at the expense of some patsy or other.

Anyone who can borrow should do it to take advantage of the low interest. That is how some of the upper class family get insanely wealthy.

People who borrowed to invest in real estate, because they thought rising house prices and low interest rates would make them insanely rich, were left holding the bag when real estate prices crashed.