Legal Commentary

Where's the Story?

By TChris

A story in yesterday's Washington Post seems to imply that there is something nefarious (or at least newsworthy) about the fact that Barack Obama financed the purchase of his Chicago home with a mortgage loan that Northern Trust extended at an interest rate that was "below the average" interest rate offered at the time for 30 year fixed rate loans. He paid 5.625 percent while the average was 5.93 percent.

As this response points out, interest rates are determined in part by creditworthiness. Senator Obama, with a good job, the recent sale of a condo, a recently signed book deal that promised to give him more than the price he paid for the house, little debt, and (presumably) a strong credit history, was extraordinarily creditworthy. So where's the story?

Full post as published by TalkLeft on July 02, 2008 (boomark / email).