Fannie Mae Relaxes Requirements for Loan Repayments
- By:
- MortgageLoan.com | May 19, 2008
Government sponsored enterprise; Fannie Mae has decided to set a single national standard for downpayments on mortgages it buys in a bid to stimulate the housing market.
Announcing the move on Friday, the company will accept downpayments as low as 3.0 percent for single family, primary residencies in all U.S markets on loans it purchases. The initiative is to begin on June 1.
James Lockhart, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight delivering a speech at a Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago conference commended the move.
"Fannie Mae's new downpayment policy is a sound move that could help unfreeze the U.S housing market and uncover pent-up demand for mortgages. It's still sound underwriting and makes sense in this type of market," he said.
U.S home prices have plummeted nearly 16 percent from their June 2006 peak, according to the Standard & Poor's / Case-Shiller index of 20 metropolitan areas.
Hope Now Gaining in Foreclosure Prevention as Loan Modifications Increase
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | December 03, 2008
The Hope Now initiative, a private mortgage lender and servicer alliance, is increasing its effectiveness in preventing foreclosures. In October, Hope Now set a new record in foreclosure prevention modifying 225,000 mortgages. That total exceeds September's loan modifications by 13,000.
Law Firms and Banks Collaborating to Streamline Loan Modifications
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | December 02, 2008
Increasingly loan modifications are becoming the preferred mechanism to help defaulting homeowners and troubled bank mortgage asset portfolios. All of the major banks, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Citigroup have announced streamlined loan modification programs.
US Retailers Hope for a Big Cyber Monday
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | December 01, 2008
Retailers got a welcome Holiday gift on Black Friday, with retail sales actually rising 2 percent over last year. Despite the doom and gloom of economic prognosticators consumers lined the sidewalks in the wee-hours of the morning for "door-buster" deals.
Retailers Caught Flat-footed by Rapid Economic Slowdown
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 28, 2008
It's Black Friday, will they come? Black Friday a term linked to the fact that traditionally all retailers "make their year" by blasting into profitable territory for the entire year on the strength of holiday sales. This year may be a stark contrast.
President-elect Obama Subtlety Taking the Reigns of US Economic Policy
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 27, 2008
In his regular press conferences behind the very Presidential-looking "Office of the President-Elect" podium Obama quietly is absorbing the Presidency. Despite being 11 weeks away from inauguration and still two weeks away from officially being declared President-elect by the convening of the Electoral College, he is undeniably taking the reigns of US economic policy.
Federal Reserve Starts Printing Money to Jumpstart Lending
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 26, 2008
The Federal Reserve and US Treasury have announced another bailout, this one theoretically for consumers and small businesses. This plan involves another $800 billion.
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