Look Out! Fannie Mae Wants You Permanently Indebted

I am actually laughing out loud at the latest press release from Fannie Mae. According to the release - And I assume they think we have all forgotten the disaster they created by lending money to anyone with a pulse - yes - the SUBPRIME CRISIS!!! - Fannie Mae wants to Help Educate Homeowners and Potential Home Buyers"

Just exactly what are they qualified to teach? How to get in over your head with a mortgage you are not qualified to borrow and we didn't bother doing any due diligence on before we sold it to some unsuspecting broker?

Either way - this is the release - make of it what you will. I would think long and hare before talking a Fannie Mae loan after the way they ruined the US economy. And - oddly - no one except poor old Bernie Madoff went to prison. How about that. The saga continues:

First Three Tip Lists Focus on Home Buying, Housing Counselors and Mortgage Modification Scams

WASHINGTON, DC -- Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) today launched the first three in a series of “Five Step” guides, offering useful information for current homeowners, those interested in purchasing a home and homeowners who may be struggling with their current mortgage. Each guide focuses on a different topic and provides five specific tips.

The first three guides released today provide tips on the following subjects:

· Actions to Take Before Buying a Home - As the housing downturn has shown, homeownership is about more than buying a home. It’s important to make sure you can keep your home over the long-term. Fannie Mae offers five steps to help those thinking about buying a home select the right house for them and understand the affordable financing options that can help make homeownership a long-term success.

· How Housing Counselors Can Help – Whether you’re thinking about buying a home or you’re a current homeowner, Fannie Mae highlights five key ways housing counselors can help make homeownership successful for you. Housing counselors offer professional advice, ensuring you can sustain your home purchase over the long term and providing guidance if unforeseen circumstances make it difficult for you to continue paying your mortgage.

· Protect Yourself from Mortgage Modification Scams – Mortgage modification scams can occur when unscrupulous people prey on borrowers who are struggling to keep their homes. While they promise to help, the people who perpetuate mortgage scams do little to no work, charge excessive fees, and use tactics that often put the homeowner at greater risk of losing their home. If you’re modifying your mortgage or facing foreclosure, Fannie Mae offers five keys ways to protect yourself from mortgage rescue scams.

The guides are available at http://www.fanniemae.com/kb/index?page=home&c=fivesteps.

Fannie Mae exists to expand affordable housing and bring global capital to local communities in order to serve the U.S. housing market. Fannie Mae has a federal charter and operates in America's secondary mortgage market to enhance the liquidity of the mortgage market by providing funds to mortgage bankers and other lenders so that they may lend to home buyers. Our job is to help those who house America.

I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them.