Monday, August 15, 2011

Did you know - all of you are still buying houses for people in Puerto Rico?

OMG. You are gonna love this shit. Stay with me folks because the ending is the coolest thing ever.

"In Puerto Rico.
A stimulus program on the island, long ripe with vacant houses and condos, has sent sales of new homes surging 80% and sales of existing homes up 24% in the past 10 months from a year earlier, even as the market in much of the U.S. mainland is dead. "
Read more here.

Oh my gawd you say. That is awesome! Best news I've heard all year. But... how can that be, you say? Puerto Rico has a punishing unemployment rate. Sure I'm skeptical.

"This program could provide a road map for the rest of the country if the U.S. wants to get out of this recession," said Mr. Fortuño, who took office in 2009 and is seeking re-election next year."

Sounds awesome.

"One of the incentive program's popular provisions offers qualified buyers down-payment assistance for homes purchased with a mortgage, as well as a second mortgage of as much as $25,000 that can be used to make down payments and pay closing costs."

Same shit different day.

"As for the second mortgages, they are "silent seconds," held by the government rather than by banks. The government has dished out $60 million of funding for more than 4,500 silent seconds so far"

Stop the truck! WTF is this silent second thing? I've never heard of that before, but it sure does sound shitty. Let me google it.


What Does Silent Second Mortgage Mean?

A secondary mortgage placed on an asset that is not disclosed to the lender of the original loan. Silent second mortgages are used when a purchaser can't afford the down payment required by the initial mortgage. The mortgage is silent because the original lender is unaware of its presence. In many circumstances, a silent second mortgage is a type of fraud. Read more here.

I will just let that nugget sink in.

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