Barack and Michelle give-me-something Obama really had to have that South-side mansion. He was a new hip freshman Senator, after all.
And the favors poured in.
First, the Obamas got help from Tony Rezko, who was currently under investigation for the corruption he’s in jail for now. Tony’s wife Rita bought the adjoining lot, a portion of which was sold back to the Obamas at a discount later. Sweet!
But now it’s discovered that the Obamas also got a discount on their loan for the mansion, saving $300 per month on a Super Super Jumbo Mortgage, according to a July 2 Washington Post report.
The Obamas’ household income that year exceeded $500,000:
When the Obamas secured the loan, their income had risen dramatically. Obama assumed his Senate seat in January 2005, with an annual salary of $162,100. That same month, Random House agreed to reissue an Obama memoir, for which it originally paid $40,000, as part of a $2.27 million deal…
Around the same time, the University of Chicago Hospitals promoted Michelle Obama to a vice president and more than doubled her pay, to $317,000.
But they had to have that mansion. Prestige and all that…
The couple wanted to step up from their $415,000 condo. They chose a house with six bedrooms, four fireplaces, a four-car garage and 5 1/2 baths, including a double steam shower and a marble powder room. It had a wine cellar, a music room, a library, a solarium, beveled glass doors and a granite-floored kitchen.
Shouldn’t Sen. Obama be held to the same standard as others on his campaign team?
Within Obama’s presidential campaign organization, former Fannie Mae chief executive James A. Johnson resigned abruptly as head of the vice presidential search committee after his favorable Countrywide loan became public.
And others in Congress?
When Sen. Dodd came under scrutiny recently after reports that he received a discounted home mortgage from Countrywide, he defended himself:
Mr. Dodd said that he was a longtime customer of Countrywide…
But the Obamas were first-time customers:
The Obamas had no prior relationship with Northern Trust when they applied for the loan. They received an oral commitment on Feb. 4, 2005, and locked in the rate of 5.625 percent, the campaign said. On that date, HSH data show, the average rate in Chicago for a 30-year fixed-rate jumbo loan with no points was about 5.94 percent.
They had to have that $300/month discount. Too bad they didn’t give it back to their own community…
The Obama’s new house was a stark contrast to the neglected slums in his own state senate district…
The candidate endorsed subsidies for private entrepreneurs to build low-income units. But, while he garnered support from developers, many projects in his former district have fallen into disrepair…
But they had to have the mansion……with the 5.5 bathrooms, wine cellar, library, granite floors, and other amenities befitting an up-and-coming Congressional couple.
Gimme something, gimme something!
