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Buying and selling real estate in the communities of Long Island

U.S. Treasury Secretary's remarks and you

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 17: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner

Photo credit: Getty/Mark Wilson

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner questioned this week whether the federal government should be subsidizing the housing market, saying that the "challenge is to make sure that any government guarantee is priced to cover the risk of losses, and structured, to minimize taxpayer exposure."

What does that mean to Long Island home buyers and sellers?

Marianna Garvin, president and chief executive of the Community Development Corporation of Long Island, says consumers need to be able to find reasonably priced mortgages. “Government has a stake in assuring this," she says. "Finding a way to do this while protecting taxpayers is the challenge we are facing.”

Tags: mortgages , loans , U.S. Treasury Secretary