Bob CollinsThe Washington Post is reporting this afternoon that presidential candidate Michele Bachmann benefited from a federally-back home loan program she’s railed against on the campaign trail.
Just a few weeks before Bachmann called for dismantling the programs during a House Financial Services Committee hearing, she and her husband signed for a $417,000 home loan to help finance their move to a 5,200-square-foot golf course home, public records show. Experts who examined the loan documents for The Washington Post say they are confident that the loan was backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
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Bachmann bought a home in the upscale Stillwater community on Aug. 29, 2008, as she campaigned for a second congressional term, paying $760,000 and financing $666,999, records show.
Three experts who examined the mortgage documents say it appears the Bachmanns put down about $93,001 or 12 percent. Experts said the downpayment would have been fairly common in 2008; most lenders now require at least 20 percent.
The couple’s previous home was still on the market at the time and had two loans outstanding. When the house sold a few months later for $334,423, the Bachmanns paid off whatever remained on two prior equity loans for $100,000 and $200,000, records show.
Did the Bachmanns benefit from a program the congresswoman wants to scuttle for other would-be homebuyers?
“The Congresswoman’s personal financial disclosures will speak for themselves,” her spokesman said. She hasn’t released them yet.
