Obama talks mortgage relief in Reno visit

RENO - President Barack Obama sat at her dinner table and saved her $240 a month in mortgage payments, but homeowner Valerie Keller still was not sure Friday whether she can vote for him in November.

"I am one of those undecided," Keller said, after Obama and dozens of Secret Service agents and police officers left her middle-class neighborhood in northeast Reno. "I am still watching the economy, and that is going to make up my decision."

Moments earlier, Keller and her husband, Paul, stood in their driveway next to the president as he told about 100 of their neighbors that his bill to expand the mortgage refinancing program that helped them would improve the economy for everybody.

"More homeowners could refinance their homes at today's low rates," he said. "A lot of folks could save $3,000 a year. It is a huge boost for the economy."

But Republican House Speaker John Boehner earlier this week questioned whether another Obama mortgage refinancing program would help many people. And in a teleconference call earlier Friday, Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said that Obama's mortgage refinancing efforts have helped only "tens of Nevadans."

Amodei called Obama "the landlord of Nevada," noting 85 percent of the land in the state is federally managed. He added the president could create hundreds of jobs in rural Nevada if he would allow land use agencies to open lands near Yerington and Fallon to private business use.

Obama generally received a warm reception from the Kellers' neighbors, who gathered behind a barricade across the street from their driveway. He spent 14 minutes in the Keller home and then talked for about 15 minutes about his mortgage plan. Before leaving, he signed autographs and posed for pictures with many, if not most, of the neighbors. Obama held babies and told mothers they had beautiful children.

"You can't beat daughters," the first father of two girls told a woman who stood with her daughters.

But down the street, Richard Vierich preferred to plant flowers in his garden, rather than walking up to eye the president. He said that he dislikes all politicians because they somehow suddenly become rich serving in Washington.

One home in the Kellers' immediate neighborhood had a re-elect Obama sign in the front yard, and a van bearing an "Obama Sucks" banner drove slowly up and down streets - except for the closed block where the president visited.

But Obama, who picked up $15 million in political contributions Thursday at the home of actor George Clooney, was upbeat as he told neighbors that if they refinance their mortgages, then they will have money to go to Reno restaurants or to indulge their grandchildren with more presents.

He asked the neighbors to email, call, tweet or find any form of communication to plead with their representatives in Congress to support the refinancing bill, part of his "to-do list," announced Tuesday.

"You can even write letters like I do, the old-fashioned way," he said.

Obama acknowledged that it is taking a long time for the economy to "fully recover," but unlike some Republicans, he remains optimistic. He noted mortgage interest rates are at historic lows and responsible homeowners should not be locked into high rates. Current mortgage interest rates are 3.83 percent on 30-year, fixed-rate loans.

The Kellers took advantage of a mortgage refinancing plan Obama announced last October while visiting a Las Vegas home, the residence of Jose and Lissette Bonilla.

That program that helped the Kellers was limited to people who were current on their mortgage payments but whose home value had fallen to less than what they owned on their homes. And it was limited only to people with federally insured loans.

Attempts to find the number of Nevadans helped by the program have been unsuccessful. The White House press office referred a reporter to John Mechem, vice president of communications for the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington, D.C. Mechem said Friday there are no "actual numbers" yet on the number of Nevadans who have benefited.

The Kellers had bought their home for $168,000, but because of declining values, it is now worth $100,000.

The new refinancing program would be open even to people whose homes are not federally insured and whose current home values exceed what is left on their mortgages. The administration estimated Thursday that 3.5 million homeowners might benefit. Several of the Kellers' neighbors said they would consider refinancing if the bill passes. One said her interest rate is 7.75 percent and another 9.2 percent.

"The program is a good deal," Michelle Graham said . "We looked at it Wednesday after I talked with Val (Keller)."

Graham, an Obama fan with buttons, hats and a photo album of the president, added it was "such unbelievable dream" that Obama showed up in her neighborhood.

While Valerie Keller would not say whether she voted for Obama in 2008 or discuss her political leaning, she did say the president was a thoughtful man during their private chat over a pine table in her home.

"He asked about ourselves," Keller said. "It was a quiet conversation. He was very nice."

Keller added that the Secret Service agents, under fire for consorting with prostitutes in Colombia, have been in the neighborhood working on security measures since Monday. She called them considerate and "the nicest people in the world."

Contact reporter Ed Vogel at
evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.