CNN 2010-06-29

This seems pretty big. What is this all about?

Yes. It's huge when you really think about it. You know, really, homeowners or potential home buyers have about three options when you're looking at financing a home. It's Fannie Mae, it's Freddie Mac or the Federal Home Loan Administration, which is FHA. They do about 95 percent of the houses that were financed last year.

So, I mean that, so, clearly it has to be big. And it has to be impacting millions of people. Why is Fannie Mae doing this?

Well, the main thing is because of strategic defaulters. They really want to get the people that are walking away from their homes. And the strategic defaulters are someone that abandons their property. They say that not because they can't make the payment, but because the house is underwater, because they owe more in the house than the house is actually worth. And they make a decision to walk away.

And so, they really want these people to hold up to their responsibility and really settle it, you know, in good faith.

So, they can technically¹ pay but they're opting² to kind of get the easy out, is the problem, and that's what they want them to stop.

Yeah, and they got different situations. About 10 million people or more are actually underwater right now in the U.S. in their homes. So, it's a hard situation. It's hard to tell exactly whose situation is what and why they're actually walking away.

And I want to get into that in a second. But what is the potential fallout here of this one decision by Fannie Mae?

I mean, it's going to hurt millions of people that potentially could qualify for a house three or four years down the road but they can't because of this action. So, it's going to hurt a lot of people.

Also, I mean, you're thinking about, really, we need a boost in the housing market right now. This just seems a little bit counterproductive to what the president has been trying to do for the last three years in stabilizing³ the housing market. And so, you've got that issue.

So, there are several things that you really have to look at as far as the impact. You know, they really want people to, instead, you know, do a short sale, talk to them, do a deed and lose. So, they want to look at other options instead of just walking away.

They're trying to incentivize you to look for a different avenue ...

Exactly.

... including means that saving them money.

Exactly. Exactly.

So -- but some experts -- they announced this just this week -- but experts are already saying it's going to be near impossible for them to kind of implement⁴ this. I mean, how do you distinguish as giant Fannie Mae between someone who's really in trouble against someone who can pay but just isn't paying? There must be some real questions about this.

Yes. And that's one of the big questions that I have. I mean, how do you really do that? How do you determine that someone actually tried to modify their home or if they're in a situation where, you know, they just couldn't afford it anymore or the house is so much underwater the neighborhood has changed so much that sometime they don't feel safe in those neighborhoods.

And so, you've really got to look at each case individually and see exactly how each person is being affected⁵ by it.

It seems like there are a lot of details that still need to be worked out.

A lot of details that need to be worked out and, you know, you're getting a lot of mixed results. Some people feel that this is good. Some people feel that it's bad. But you really got to look at overall what it's doing to the economy and what's it doing to the housing market.

I'm going to need your help with this one. We're going to come back to you when we have more details to figure out what is going on.

Our financial analyst⁶ Clyde Anderson -- thank you, man. You're the best.

Thank you. Thank you, Kate.
 

1 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

2 opting   

v.选择，挑选( opt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• What courses are most students opting for? 多数学生选什么课程？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Wells doesn't rule out opting out and then re-signing with Houston. 威尔斯没有排除跳出合同再与火箭重签的可能。 来自互联网

3 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

4 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。