In October, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that the regulator had reached a deal that would allow bailed-out mortgage-backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to sign off on loans with down payments of less than 5%. Today, Fannie and Freddie revealed more details on what it would take for home buyers to be eligible for the reduced requirement, and getting one of these loans won’t be as easy as filling out a form. [More]
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You May Soon Need Less Of A Down-Payment To Buy A Home
By 10.20.14
One of the biggest hurdle’s to buying a home is coming up with a down-payment. In order to get a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you generally need to come up with at least 5% of the total cost. But the federal regulator overseeing Fannie and Freddie says it has reached a deal that would lower that minimum back down to 3% for some borrowers. [More]
Feds Try To Make Forced-Place Insurance Less Of A Cash Cow For Banks
By 11.5.13
If you have a mortgage but fail to keep current on your homeowners’ insurance, the bank will just go out and get a “forced-place” policy for you. Problem is, you’ll often pay top dollar for insurance that provides minimal coverage while the bank makes money on commissions from the insurer and fees charged to the homeowner. Now the Federal Housing Finance Agency is looking to make forced-place policies slightly less lucrative for lenders. [More]
Clearer Mortgage Rules, No-Fee Refinances Key To President’s Plan For Middle-Class Housing Market
By 8.5.13
On Tuesday, President Obama will visit Arizona, one of the states that took the biggest butt-whooping from the housing boot, and one of five states (along with Nevada, Florida, Michigan, and Georgia) that still account for a full 1/3 of the negative equity in the U.S. In a speech in Phoenix, the President will outline what his administration believes are steps that will help give more middle-class Americans a chance at securing a foothold in the housing market. [More]
States Say Federal Housing Finance Agency Is “Direct Impediment To Economic Recovery”
By 3.18.13
Since 2008, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has previously balked at the notion of reducing the principal on borrowers’ loans in order to keep people from defaulting and losing their homes to foreclosure. And so today, the Attorneys General for nine states have written to President Obama and leaders in the U.S. Senate calling for removal of acting FHFA head Edward DeMarco. [More]
New Guidelines Aim To Make Short Sales Less Of A Pain In The Butt To Everyone
By 8.22.12
Short sales now account for nearly 1-in-11 home sales in the U.S., so there’s a decent chance that anyone who has been house-shopping recently has visited a for-sale property only to have the realtor say, “Now I have to warn you, it is a short sale.” At this point, many of you would go running for the hills rather than be stuck in bank-approval muck for months. But new guidelines issued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency are aimed at speeding up the process. [More]
FHFA Says No To Cutting Amount Homeowners Owe On Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Mortgages
By 7.31.12
Saying Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have already cost taxpayers more than $188 billion, the acting chief of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates those lenders, says he has concluded that those firms won’t participate in the Obama administration’s program to cut the amount struggling homeowners owe. [More]
Feds Announce Program To Turn Foreclosures Into Rentals
By 2.1.12
In an effort to put living, paying bodies into homes left vacant following foreclosure, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced the beginnings of a program to sell off pools of foreclosed properties to investors who would then rent them out. [More]
Freddie Mac Told To Stop Betting Against Struggling Homeowners
By 1.31.12
Yesterday, it was reported that bailed-out mortgage titan Freddie Mac had invested billions in mortgage-backed securities that would really only pay off if struggling homeowners were unable to refinance their high-interest mortgages; investments that appear to put Freddie in direct conflict with its goal of making it easier to own a home. Now the federal regulators in control of Freddie Mac say they have already put a halt to these trades. [More]
