Or Ferris Marc and Faoiltiama Madge, loosely translated in Norse and Irish origins as the warrior wolf that tried to eat the sun, and the wolf lady who soaked her nails in dishwater… 

Do you think “Ferris” and “Faoiltiama” would have endeared themselves enough to Congress & the Feds to amass over 1/2 of the U.S. mortgage debt at the tune of 5 trillion in mortgages?

Because the names Freddie & Fannie sound so gosh darn cute and friendly, I believe their agencies were allowed to grow to such mammoth proportions because Congress and the government did not take them too seriously.  But sun eating wolf and wolf lady with claws in dish soap (and a bow clipped charmingly above right fuzzy ear) aka Ferris Marc and Faoiltiama Madge— by the mere mention of their austere names— may have earned more immediate & constant scrutiny.

Well, too late for name changes as Freddie and Fannie are certainly being scrutinized now—albeit being bailed out of their own credit availability problems while being “scrubbed”.   I’ve tried to grab a pen and paper each time the radio gives an update on these government backed mortgage agencies so I could gain some very basic understanding and pass it on to you.  Here’s what has piled up in my hastily scribbled notes—I hope I’ve got it right…

Who/what is Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae?

FM and FM are government “backed” or insured mortgage agencies that are a rare breed; e.g. they act like private companies with private management, boards of directors and shareholders, but they also have a sort of government status as the federal government provides private backing or insurance on the mortgages that these agencies have made to mostly low & moderate income families.

For the record, Fannie is much older than Freddie.  Fannie was born in 1938 to Roosevelt and his new deal after the depression.  FDR created Fannie to provide local banks with federal money to finance home mortgages in order to make more people home owners rather than box car riders.

And then Freddie came along in 1968 (which puts him in…what…the class of 1986)?  Freddie is considered a GSE (government sponsored enterprise) with lovely protections from the feds in the form of lines of credit through the U.S. treasury, exemption from local and state income taxes and no review by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).  Sweet deal that.

What’s the big hub bub about FM and FM and why all the news now?

Freddie and Fannie “float” bonds in debt markets and they use the money they raise from this floating to fund mortgages and guarantee mortgages.  FM & FM need investors to back these bonds, but investors have become a little nervous lately because of all the press about high foreclosure rates and these investors have slowed their investments in Freddie and Fannie.   The government has recently announced that a line of credit will be extended to FM & FM and they will be able to continue to support the mortgage market.

Will people planning on purchasing a home be affected by the current FM and FM situation?

Yes, in a good way now that FM & FM have received a credit extension.  For sure, the credit markets are tighter now due to so many homes in foreclosure in large part due to mortgages that were made without proof of income, or not enough proof of income to support the mortgage, but as long as you heed some very basic advice from my years of home ownership (read this but find a professional mortgage lender for clarification & verification) you should be happy and cozy in your new home for as long as you are able to pay your monthly mortgage payments.

·          Don’t consider an ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) with initial low rates and low monthly payments because you’re SURE you’re going to get that BIG raise right around the same time that your rate is due to rise.   Remember: stuff happens.

·          Do your own “can I afford it” worksheet; be honest with yourself about all your debts and all your income.  Remembering “stuff happens” build in some “what if” scenarios.

·          Shop for mortgages and work hard to understand what you are signing before you sign and accept a mortgage.  Don’t pretend to understand what you don’t understand

·          Don’t ignore the reality of your mortgage rate and live in a dream world with the help of your new extra large plasma TV, because then, stuff will happen and you won’t know it until it’s kind of late to turn the stuff around.

Whew.  I wish you well in finding your new home and obtaining a mortgage backed by Freddie and Fannie—or perhaps Ferris and Faoiltiama.  Thanks for reading.  Patti P.  (Perhaps this is a good time to reveal my own complex surname that earns me a little scrutiny from time to time: for the record, it’s PRZYBYLINSKI.) 

Gasp; let your soil breathe already…sheesh.

Having ears like radar, dragging hoses across our Austin lawn this weekend I swear I heard little gasping noises coming out of my grass.  And I was totally sober.  Once I determined the little wheezers weren’t coming from the hose or my not so little bowsers, I started to leap like a gazelle with thighs across the rest of the lawn in fear that thatch was going to link around my ankles and wrestle me to the ground leaving my husband to find me tied to the lawn like Gulliver (picture a smaller Gullivette in a pretty embroidered tunic—thank you).

Making it to the garage I turned on the computer and quickly “wikied” what might make my soil gasp.  I quickly came to the conclusion that I’m suffering from compaction & thatch.  My soil that is.   Serious problem with a semi-simple cure.  Read on.  Especially if you’re looking for a greener lawn to frame your home which you’re getting ready to put on this competitive real estate market for sale…

Thatch is meant for huts not lawns.

Thatch is usually dried botanical material (straw, reeds, rushes or heathers) layered on roofs to shed water from material that lies below.  So if you have thatch (layers of live & not so live organic material lying between your semi-green grass and the soil surface) it’s going to be very hard for any precious water, nutrients and vital air to penetrate the thatch and feed your soil.  Thus the audible gasping.

How do you know you have thatch? 

Moisten a patch of lawn (don’t make it WET, just moist) and wiggle a screwdriver down into the soil.  If the screwdriver goes down a few inches with ease, you’re probably thatch less and don’t need to read on…oh but do.  I promise to entertain as I love your company.

OK, you’re still with me.  Which means I’m wicked persuasive and/or you tried the screwdriver test and it did not penetrate the soil easily.  Did you hear the gasping too?  You have thatch and most likely compacted soil. 

In Austin, summer is the time to treat the thatch on St. Augustine and Bermuda grass, so make some lemonade, put on your best brimmed sun hat and get to work; preferably early in the morning when soil is just moist—again not wet—if you work with wet soil, you’ll just make compacted soil balls.

Notes to the compulsive and short-cutters:

DON’T try MORE water as over watering probably caused your compaction and thatch in the first place.  Once your lawn is compacted water will just run off to your least favorite neighbor’s yard or the street (wasteful) and hits you in your wallet.

DON’T add more fertilizer as this probably caused your grass to grow too fast, thus the compaction and gasping for air.  Your grass is suffering from a post- Thanksgiving dinner.

DO go to your favorite gardening center (mine is the Natural Gardener in Austin) and purchase a sod corer for $25.

What is a sod corer?

A sod corer looks a like an aluminum pitchfork except a corer has only two tines and they are hollow.  This lightweight corer has a bar above the hollow tines where you can place your foot to push the corer down into the moist soil.  The hollow tines push up tubes of soil just like a play dough maker pushes out stars and hearts and moons.  Leave the little tubes of soil lying on top of the lawn and keep moving along pushing up more tubes.  It is kind of meditative or at least brings you back to good Play dough memories…as long as you didn’t eat the stuff. 

Note: if you are trying to “aerify” a large lawn you may want to consider renting a commercial rotary sod corer at your local hardware store.  I’m going to continue with my Play dough/aluminum manual sod corer as I don’t want to spew gas or pay for gas to allow my lawn to breathe.

Benefits of using the sod corer:

1. your lawn will breathe again because you are loosening up compacted soil
2. the corer will make nice breathing holes in the compaction and thatch
3. coring will stimulate new grass growth & will save you $$$ by reducing water running off
4. your lawn will start to look lush as the corer cuts through roots; just like a starfish, the grass will quickly grow back new “arms” to cover any open spaces

So, liberate your grass this Fourth of July!  Let it breathe!  Drop us a line and let us know how your coring fared.  Thanks for reading–Patti P