Now that the feds have taken control of Fannie and Freddie, I hope they realize that further tightening of underwriting criteria will only exacerbate our current housing crisis and will likely lead to more bank failures and billions of dollars in taxpayer dollars. There is no question that the availability of mortgage credit got far too liberal in recent years but the pendulum can swing too far the other way and cut off affordable credit to millions of qualified and deserving homebuyers. Until home prices stabilize the market will continue to get worse and reducing the pool of potential homebuyers will cause even greater downward pressure on prices. The feds need to start opening up the flood gates - at least a slowly. Hopefully this weekends action will be a move in the right direction. GA  

Word is that the feds are ready to take control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This will further exacerbate the current housing downturn and depress housing values even further. There may be some good in all of this but I personally dont believe that the ultimate reduction of homeownership opportunities for many first time homebuyers will be in the best interest of our country. I may not have always agreed with their tactics but there is no question that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made homeownership possible for millions of families that have used their “piece of the rock” to achieve their version of the American dream by using home equity to fund college educations and small businesses. I fear that this latest development will further increase the already sizable cavern between the haves and have-nots. GA