Discover how Scots officially bought America.

Scots are known throughout the world for their canny ways of buying. So much so that it has become part of our Scottish Culture. We make fun of ourselves continually calling it meanness but those who have ever studied the annual reports of the UK Charities Commission will know that on a basis of money donated that Scotland gives more to Charity per head of population than any other part of the UK. Just don’t let anyone else find that out.

The most prosperous bank in the UK is the Royal Bank of Scotland no longer directly associated with the UK Royal Family. However it is public knowledge that the British Queen does bank with one of its constituent banks. For that matter so does the King of Soccer David Beckham and his wife!

You will also find that most of the large financial groups if not based in Scotland will have important offices in Scotland particularly Edinburgh. Lets face it anyone who wants to attract financially capable staff needs to have an office in Scotland.

Could this be the reason why two people of Scottish American descent were chosen by President Jefferson to handle perhaps one of the most important financial land transactions that America ever entered into? If it wasn’t the most expensive purchase of land in any single transaction it certainly had to be the largest in terms of acreage.

Robert Livingston could trace his family history back to Lord Livingston one of the guardians of Mary Queen of Scots born 1542 so his connection with Scotland and Scottish culture was well established. However Livingston was also a strong influence in early American politics even to being one of the five people who had drafted the American Declaration of Independence with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

Perhaps that is why the US Declaration of Independence bears so much resemblance to Robert Bruce draft Declaration of Arbroath claiming independence from our unwelcome rulers England now very much part of the Scottish culture. Although Livingston was not one of the original people to publicly sign that Declaration of Independence due to other business commitments back in New York he was the person who administrated the oath of allegiance to the new president so he was definitely a Scottish American with a strong Scottish culture with a foot in both camps.

Livingston was sent By President Jefferson with another Scottish American James Munro to France to negotiate the purchase of over 828,000 square miles of land. This included what are now the states of Louisiana, Iowa, Arkansas, Nebraska and most of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Minnesota and Montana.

At a price equivalent to only 3 cents an acre or $15 million in total these two Scottish American using their Scottish culture background were able to double the size of America with one stroke of the pen.

No doubt about it these two Scottish Americans were able to use their Scottish culture background with its canny financial skills and their knowledge of the real value of land in acquiring land. We give more details of the close Scottish cultural connection between Scotland and America on our main website ScottishJerk.com have a look for yourself. If you thought these Scots buying so much land from the French was a bargain check out our Scottish land deal with this unique gift idea but very limited offer.

Government Help for Your Mortgage

A new program was implemented on October 1, 2008. Our President has made a reality the legislation that will let HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to continue providing help to homeowners who are having problems paying their mortgages. The Hope for Homeowners program will carry on FHA’s work to help American families who feel they are trapped in mortgages they can’t possibly pay back. Under this new legislation, certain families facing hardship with their mortgage will be eligible to refinance into FHA-insured mortgages they can afford.

Families Could Possibly Be Eligible For This Program

You should not wait if you are currently in a bind. Today you can find out if you qualify for this exciting new program through FHASecure, FHA’s existing refinancing program. They will get your information from these two agencies:

1. You must call a local, HUD-approved housing counseling agency at HUD.gov;
2. You can also call the HOPE NOW Alliance at 1-888-995-HOPE

How Can the US Government Make This Long-Term?

Hope for Homeowners isn’t a hand out. It requires you to prove you have the ability to pay back something long-term. The FHA has had that as a long-standing requirement. FHA only allows families living in that home to be eligible for FHA-insured mortgages. And here are the qualifications for the new loan:

- Their mortgage must have originated on or before January 1, 2008;

– Their mortgage debt-to-income must be at least 31 percent;

– They cannot afford their current loan;

– They did not intentionally miss mortgage payments; and

– They do not own second homes.

Features of FHA-insured loans under the new program include:

- 30-year, fixed rate mortgage;

– Maximum 90 percent loan-to-value ratio;

– No prepayment penalties;

– $550,440 maximum mortgage amount;

– Extinguishment of any subordinate liens; and

– New home appraisals from FHA-approved appraisers.

HUD, Treasury, FDIC and the Federal Reserve will form the Congressionally-mandated Board of Directors and work together to establish additional program standards.

But Your Mortgage Company Can Choose Not to Foreclose

FHA will is asking banks and mortgage companies to come up with an alternative to foreclosing on borrowers. Just like the FHASecure’s recent growth, banks are asked to write-down the outstanding mortgage principal balances to 90 percent of the new value of the property. In many cases, reductions in principle will cost lenders less than the losses associated with foreclosure.

What Happens With This Crazy Financial Market?

This should put the brakes on the foreclosure train, this program will support FHA’s existing effort to stabilize local housing markets. From September 2007 to June 2008, FHA has guaranteed more than $93 billion of mortgage capital.

Where Does the Money Come From?

Well, the FHA will guarantee up to $300 billion in new loans. Families will pay an upfront fee of 3 percent of the original mortgage amount and then an annual premium of 1.5 percent of the outstanding mortgage amount. If there are additional costs, those will be reimbursed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Program Timeline

The program will last from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2011. Since September 2007, FHASecure has helped more than 290,000 families obtain safer, more affordable mortgages. FHASecure is on pace to help 500,000 families by the end of the year.

Diamond Pendant

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