I'll keep this short and sweet (well not really sweet).

I think the U.S. Senate provides and encourages drug and alcohol use before they meet. How else can you explain the new suggested $7000 tax credit to anyone who buys a foreclosed home?

The worst part is that they are promoting this as "help" to homeowners and the housing markets. This is a load of crap.

The only ones benefiting from this are the banks. Yes, it's important to the housing market that the banks unload their inventory and get back to doing what they should be, making loans, but this only helps the banks, it helps NO homeowners.

If they really wanted to help homeowners and improve the housing market why not offer that incentive to ANY person that buys a property in todays market? By offering this incentive towards foreclosed, bank owned, REO properties they are hurting regular home owners who need to sell (remember them, the ones that really do need to sell). How can a regular home owner compete? They could drop their price by $7000, but then the foreclosed properties would do the same. There is no was that they can compete.

So to recap, this is a bad idea. Doing nothing would be better and no I don't really think they are drinking or doing drugs on the job... they must be sleeping through the discussion on this one!

What do you all think?

Edited to add: Neglected homes are the banks responsibility. They need to be made to mow the lawn and properly secure the home. It is the banks job to make sure homeless people are not taking over their REO's.

My point is that this hurts regular home sellers. These same people are also being hurt by REO's... I agree, but I'm starting to think that any help that is put towards the housing market is just being thrown down the toilet. I've yet to see anything offered to help homeowners... it's only helping the banks. Help the homeowners or do nothing.