Fixing the Mortgage Finance Market was the talk of the week. HUD held a huge half-day seminar to try to get a sense of how all the players feel about the mortgage market and what role Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should play. The event was broadcast live, on the HUD site. We did live blogging of the governments Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac event.

Then, came the suggestion from Bill Gross, the PIMCO bond market maven, that the government should think about refinancing all performing loans at 4 percent, saving homeowners $46 billion in payments per year, which will give a boost to the economy. Will that work?

It’s an interesting concept. Imagine, if you’re on-time with your loan payments, the government would refinance your loan into a new 30-year mortgage at 4 percent. The loan would be government-backed, but you’d actually have a better loan quality because only homeowners with performing loans (who were on-time with their payments) would qualify. And, because they’d be paying significantly less each month, there would be more money for the economy.

Gross said that it would be a great solution for a Congress that is fractured and that can’t abide the thought of increasing the deficit, even if it means getting the economy going again.

It’s clear to almost all that the housing industry has completely fallen off a cliff. I’ve been talking for two years about how the government had the housing industry on life support. Pull back the support – like cutting off the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit and $6,500 long-term home buyer tax credit – and home buyer demand falls 50 percent, even with mortgage interest rates that are low as they’ve been in maybe 60 years.

The housing industry has drunk its own Kool-Aid (R) for a long time. Maybe too long.

Please leave your comments on the below.

How To Profit From Foreclosures and Other Real Estate Investments

For every house that goes into foreclosure, there’s a real estate investor waiting to scoop it up and turn it around for profit. That’s why we’re holding our next event, How to Profit from Foreclosures, this fall. Atlanta is one of the top cities for foreclosures in the nation, and prices are dropping. If you’ve ever thought about investing in real estate (single family homes, condos, townhomes, office buildings, strip centers, warehouses, etc.), now will probably be the best time in a generation.

Our How to Profit From Foreclosures event is designed to provide you with up-to-the-minute knowledge from the very best real estate investment professionals who do this every day for a living.

They’ll share their secrets, their tips, their insider information to help you make a smart investment decision. DON’T MISS THIS!

The ticket window is open. Just click on the Buy Tickets window and you’ll get to the right place. Use the “2for1” discount code for 50% off the ticket price.

We have some terrific people signed up as speakers and sponsors, including:

WSB’s Wes Moss

The Georgia Association of Enrolled Agents

Real Estate Attorney Eric Weiss

RE/MAX of Greater Atlanta

Top Atlanta Financial Planner Kay Shirley

…and others

We’ll be announcing new speakers and sponsors in the coming week. Check out the blog at RealWorldSeminars.com to read Q&As with our speakers for this exciting event.

Come ready to learn about buying and profiting from foreclosures.

Our 2for1 (50% off) discount won’t be available for long!

Use the discount code 2for1 to get 50% off one ticket or 100 tickets!

The 2for1 discount will expire in the next two weeks. Don’t wait until the last minute to lock in your savings on a ticket to this terrific event.

Wondering if it’s worthwhile to attend the event? Wondering if you’ll get your money’s worth. Here’s what past attendees say about ThinkGlink/RealWorldSeminars events.

Free Books and Ebooks from THINKGLINK

Get your FREE copy of my books: 50 Simple Steps You Can Take To Disaster-Proof Your Finances and The REALLY Useful Guide to Working Smarter Not Harder

You pay the shipping, and we’ll send you as many copies of each book as you want. They’re a great gift! If you want to buy more than 20 copies, contact [email protected] for a special deal on the shipping.

Buy 3 Get 1 Free EBOOK deal. You buy 3 ebooks at the ThinkGlink.com store and receive 1 of those for FREE when you use the code freeebook

Buying a House? Pick up your copies of Ilyce’s books, 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy Close Move In!

READ MORE ON THE EQUIFAX.COM PERSONAL FINANCE BLOG

Here are the links to this week’s posts on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog

Tax Tips for Commercial Real Estate Owners

Can Equifax Decline My Credit Application?

6 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes You Can Make

Insurance Agents vs. Insurance Websites: Where Will You Get The Better Buy?

Is Now The Right Time To Buy A Vacation Home Along The Gulf of Mexico?

HAVE YOU JOINED REALTYJOIN YET?

My latest gig is chief content strategist for RealtyJoin.com, a social networking and marketplace site for real estate investors and the companies they work with, including plumbers, electricians, professional home inspectors, appraisers, real estate brokers, mortgage lenders, architects and contractors.

It’s FREE to join and the real estate professionals who are online are already connecting with each other, and making money. Sign up now and connect with 5,000 real estate investors and other industry professionals. If you get 15 people to sign up, you’ll qualify for real estate investment educational materials worth $1,000! It’s FREE and it’s the best deal going.