Housing Market Woes Hit Home for Geithner

Treasury secretary can't sell, stuck renting out his NY home

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 3, 2009 9:57 AM CDT

(Newser) – Housing market troubles are getting personal for Tim Geithner, the AP reports. The Treasury secretary bought his five-bedroom suburban New York Tudor for $1.6 million in 2004; after moving to Washington, he tried to sell it for $1.635 million. The price later dropped to $1.575 million, but it still didn’t sell. In May he began renting it out for $7,500 a month—likely less than his mortgage payment.

This March 9, 2009 file photo shows the home of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in Larchmont, NY. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner participates in a question and answer session with Newsweek editor Jon Meacham Monday, May 18, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner participates in a question and answer session with Newsweek editor Jon Meacham on the topic of "Recession and Recovery: The Road Ahead," Monday, May 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

$26B Mortgage Settlement a 'Modest' Help: Experts

Many struggling homeowners not covered in deal

(NEWSER) - The $26 billion mortgage settlement announced yesterday will be a boon for some—but the terms of the deal leave many homeowners out in the cold. Recipients of loans owned by the Federal Housing Administration, for instance, won't directly benefit from the settlement; nor will those with mortgages held by private investors, the New York Times reports. Millions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans—about half of America's mortgages—aren't part of the plan, either. More»

Freddie Mac Bet Billions Against Homeowners

Has financial stake in limiting refinancing for struggling people

(NEWSER) - Freddie Mac was designed to help homeowners—but in 2010 and 2011 it wagered billions against them. The company invested in security packages that meant more cash for Freddie when homeowners couldn't refinance their mortgages. But Freddie itself regulates refinancing—and in fact has been increasingly denying refinances to struggling homeowners—prompting questions over a conflict of interest, reports NPR and ProPublica . "We were actually shocked they did this," says an exec at a firm that trades in mortgage-backed securities. "It seemed so out of line with their mission, out of line with what Congress wanted them to do." More»

Geithner: Obama Won't Ask Me to Stay

Treasury secretary says he's done after election

(NEWSER) - Tim Geithner is pretty sure he's going to be joining the ranks of the jobless after the election: The Treasury secretary—the longest serving member of President Obama's economic team—tells Bloomberg that Obama is "not going to ask me to stay on, I’m pretty confident. I’m confident he’ll be president. But I’m also confident he’s going to have the privilege of having another secretary of the Treasury." The White House announced in August that Geithner would stay put through the election, amid Beltway rumblings that he would step down. More»

Ex-Banker: Yeah, Collapse Was Our Fault

So why haven't homeowners been bailed out?

(NEWSER) - If you were trying to get a loan in southern Florida in 2007, bankers like James Theckston were there to help. "If you had some old bag lady walking down the street and she had a decent credit score, she got a loan," Chase's then-regional VP of Home Finance tells Nicholas Kristof. And Theckston says there's no doubt that though borrowers bear some responsibility for what Kristof describes as their "harebrained decisions," the bankers "were far more culpable," writes the New York Times columnist. More»

Geithner Blew Off Obama's Order to Dissolve Citigroup

New book says Obama's team routinely undermined him

(NEWSER) - In March 2009, in the throes of the financial crisis, Barack Obama told Tim Geithner to focus on a proposal to dissolve Citigroup—but the Treasury Secretary ignored him and never developed a plan, according to former Wall Street Journal reporter Ron Suskind’s new book Confidence Men. In the book, which was obtained early by the AP and the New York Times , Suskind writes that Obama’s “authority was being systematically undermined or hedged by his seasoned advisers.” More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Housing Market Woes Hit Home for Geithner

Treasury secretary can't sell, stuck renting out his NY home

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

housing market • mortgage • home sales • rent • housing sales • Treasury secretary • financial crisis • Timothy Geithner

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

$26B Mortgage Settlement a 'Modest' Help: Experts

Many struggling homeowners not covered in deal

Freddie Mac Bet Billions Against Homeowners

Has financial stake in limiting refinancing for struggling people

Geithner: Obama Won't Ask Me to Stay

Treasury secretary says he's done after election

Ex-Banker: Yeah, Collapse Was Our Fault

So why haven't homeowners been bailed out?

Geithner Blew Off Obama's Order to Dissolve Citigroup

New book says Obama's team routinely undermined him

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Housing Market Woes Hit Home for Geithner

Treasury secretary can't sell, stuck renting out his NY home

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

housing market • mortgage • home sales • rent • housing sales • Treasury secretary • financial crisis • Timothy Geithner

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

$26B Mortgage Settlement a 'Modest' Help: Experts

Many struggling homeowners not covered in deal

Freddie Mac Bet Billions Against Homeowners

Has financial stake in limiting refinancing for struggling people

Geithner: Obama Won't Ask Me to Stay

Treasury secretary says he's done after election

Ex-Banker: Yeah, Collapse Was Our Fault

So why haven't homeowners been bailed out?

Geithner Blew Off Obama's Order to Dissolve Citigroup

New book says Obama's team routinely undermined him

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?