House Burns Sunday AM

Shortly before 8 am Sunday, Public Safety arrived to flames rolling from the front porch at a Sharpe Street home. The home was a total loss.

It was reported that the occupants tried to put out the fire before calling 911. No one was injured in the blaze that consumed the home. Decatur County Fire and Rescue and volunteers from several stations were called as the heat took it's toll on the Public Safety Officers.

It was the home of Barbara Myrick since 1989. The home where she raised 7 children and 23 grandchildren is now in ashes.

Surrounded by family, all Ms Myrick could do was watch. She told us that she had no insurance on the home, "It got too expensive to insure" she said, "because the house was so old."

Now with nothing but memories, she will start over. Ms. Myrick has been employed at the hospital for 3 years in the housekeeping department. If you would like to help Ms. Myrick please contact her at 246-2443 or 400-6470.

Demographic Profile Germany: Government Policies

The taboos that long paralyzed population and family policies in Germany are disappearing, but it could already be too late to prevent steep demographic decline. The government is looking for ways to cope with an aging population and better integrate the country's seven million immigrants.

Family Policy

The fact that the Nazis pushed German mothers to have as many children as possible during the 1930s and 1940s has cast a shadow over postwar governments willingness to tackle population issues. Even though the birthrate has been clearly sinking since the early 1970s, politicians have been reluctant to intervene for fear of being branded as far-right.


But after over thirty years of neglect, German politicians can no longer ignore population issues. To soften what is likely to be a bumpy demographic decent from the "baby boom" heights of the 1960s, the quickest solution would be to start having more kids - fast. But with more women in the workforce than forty years ago, fewer are willing to sacrifice their careers to start families.


Since 2005, government has tried enable young women to have both - a career and kids. The centerpiece of this new family policy is Elterngeld ("parent money"), a concept taken from successful Scandinavian family policies begun in the 1970s. The German government now pays one parent per household two thirds of their net wage (up to 1,800 euros) while they take up to a year off to care for their baby. Elterngeld is extended by another two months if another parent - usually the father - also wants to stay home.


The German family ministry has also pledged to invest 1.8 billion euros to triple the number of daycare places in Germany by 2013, and give parents a legal right to a daycare place for all children under three years old. Nurseries will also stay open later into the afternoon, whereas they traditionally closed around lunchtime.

Fed falls short

Two years after the mortgage meltdown started, the Federal Reserve finally released updates to its mortgage regulations this week, replacing rules that were so lax and ineffective that the Fed bears significant responsibility for the mortgage debacle and the larger financial fallout.

Unfortunately, the Fed still hasn't gotten at many of the root causes of the problem. In the face of the collapse of IndyMac — the second-largest thrift failure in U.S. history — and the foundering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, one expected more.

The new rules are heavy on regulating mortgage advertising and require income-verification for subprime borrowers. The rules also place some restrictions on when lenders can charge prepayment penalties and require escrow accounts for property taxes and homeowners insurance on some loans.

But the Fed failed to tackle one of the most important players in the subprime market: mortgage brokers.

More than half

The Fed's own report states that 60 percent of loans were originated through mortgage brokers in the past several years. The report candidly acknowledges that consumers "often are unaware, however, that a broker's interests may diverge from, and conflict with, their own interests."

And yet the Fed left the brokers alone.

Particularly problematic has been the abuse of "yield-spread premiums," which gave brokers higher compensation for placing a consumer in a higher-interest, riskier loan. Instead of stamping out this perverse abuse, the Fed withdrew its proposal for even a modest rule requiring brokers to disclose whether they were getting a premium.

The regulations also fail to establish a fiduciary-duty standard for mortgage brokers, with common-sense requirements such as making reasonable efforts to secure a loan advantageous to the borrower considering all the circumstances; safeguarding and accounting for money handled by the borrower; acting with reasonable skill, care and diligence, and following all reasonable and lawful instructions from the borrower.

Ripoffs to continue

Study after study showed that from 55 percent to 61 percent of borrowers had a high enough credit score to qualify for traditional fixed-rate home loans but were steered into riskier subprime loans. Why? In part because mortgage brokers were able to line their own pockets that way. Without adequate new regulations and broker duties, unscrupulous brokers will continue to get away with ripping off consumers.

Other predatory practices stayed out of the Fed's sights too. It didn't ban "negative-amortization loans," which allow the consumer to pay back less than even the interest on the loan each month. Instead, the difference keeps being added to the principal, leading toward a balloon payment that few homeowners can afford.

The Fed also failed to regulate "loan flipping," in which a lender or broker refinances a borrower into a new loan in a short period with little to no advantage to the borrower.

At the height of the mortgage frenzy, the Fed bought the mortgage industry's arguments that it should be left alone. Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan even argued in a now-infamous speech on Feb. 23, 2004, that nontraditional loans offer better value to the homeowner.

Greenspan was wrong

The massive market failure of the past two years has revealed just how wrong Greenspan, the Fed and the home-loan industry were.

But even now, as the Fed tries to make amends, it is falling far short of what is needed.

It's up to the states now to fill in the gap and close the loopholes. Legislatures in New York and North Carolina, for example, have gone far above and beyond the Fed's proposals to rein in out-of-control lending practices. Other states should do the same.

Ted W. Lieu represents California's 53rd Assembly District. A Democrat, he is a former chairman of the Assembly's Banking and Finance Committee.

New homes for just £104,996

An innovative new scheme from George Wimpey East Midlands lets househunters move immediately onto the property ladder for just an amazing £104,996. The ‘easystart' scheme means the buyer does not even have to worry about saving up a deposit. They simply secure a mortgage for 75% of the purchase price through Halifax. George Wimpey then provides a rent and interest-free loan on the remaining 25% of the purchase price for up to 10 years. From day one the purchaser owns 100% of their new home for 75% of the price.

The scheme is available on a range of George Wimpey properties at its Poppyfields development in Corby, Northamptonshire. The ‘easystart' prices for homes available under the scheme include the three-bedroom ‘Heather' for just £104,996 and the three-bedroom ‘Davenport' townhouse for £116,996.

"This scheme just couldn't be more straightforward," says Lynne Hartshorn, regional sales and marketing director. "The purchaser owns 100% of the property from day one and is free to make payments during the 10 years period to suit their individual circumstances - this could mean up to three smaller payments, repaying the total amount early or waiting until the end of the period.

"We believe that this is just the sort of simple and effective scheme that people are currently looking for and we're expecting a great deal of interest from savvy buyers."

As an alternative to the ‘easystart' scheme, George Wimpey's ‘easymover' programme provides a range of special incentives on selected properties for first-time buyers, while customers with a house to sell can reserve their new home and then sit back and relax while the housebuilder finds a buyer for their current property - guaranteeing 100% of the market value - and pays the estate agents' fees.

Customers can also take advantage of the leading housebuilder's House 2 Home bespoke moving package comprising free UK removal regardless of distance or size of property, full packing and unpacking service and insurance cover.

Poppyfields is located just over a mile from Corby town centre, home to a wide choice of shops, leisure amenities and schools catering for children of all ages.

For commuters, the development is a short drive from the A14, providing easy links to the M6 and M1, and regular services operate from Corby rail station to the main line at Kettering, putting London just an hour away by train.

Over the next few years, up-and-coming Corby is to undergo a visionary transformation, including a new £60 million town centre with new shopping, leisure and cultural facilities, new schools and colleges and thousands of new jobs. To find out more about the regeneration project, visit Moreincorby.co.uk.

For further details about ‘easystart', including full terms and conditions, visit the Sales Centre, located off Butland Road, Corby, and open every day from 10.30am to 5.30pm, or log on to Georgewimpey.co.uk/easystart.