Fannie Mae to assist homeowners in foreclosure - Deed for Lease Program

Fannie Mae to rent out homes instead foreclosing
By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel, Thu Nov 5, 10:02 am ET

WASHINGTON – Thousands of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure will soon have the option of renting their homes from Fannie Mae, under a policy announced Thursday.

The government-controlled company, through its new "Deed for Lease" program, will allow borrowers to transfer ownership to Fannie Mae and sign a one-year lease, with month-to-month extensions after that.

The program will "eliminate some of the uncertainty of foreclosure, keeps families and tenants in their homes during a transitional period, and helps to stabilize neighborhoods and communities," Jay Ryan, a Fannie Mae vice president, said in a statement.

But the effort is likely to affect a relatively small number of homeowners. In the first half of the year, Fannie Mae took back about 1,200 properties through this process, known as a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. That pales in comparison to the 57,000 foreclosed properties the company repossessed in the period.

While neither option is particularly attractive for the homeowner, a deed-in-lieu does less harm to the borrower's credit record.

The rental program is designed to help homeowners who don't qualify for a loan modification under the Obama administration's plan, but still want to remain in their homes. Fannie Mae is not planning to market the homes for sale during the one-year rental period. Fannie Mae has hired an outside company, which officials declined to identify, to manage the properties.

To qualify, homeowners have to live in the home as their primary residence and prove that they can afford the market rent, which would be determined by the management company. The rent can't be more than 31 percent of their pretax income.

Fannie Mae's sibling company, Freddie Mac, launched a similar effort in March. That policy, however, requires the foreclosure to be complete and only allows month-to-month leases.A Freddie Mac spokesman declined to say how many borrowers have participated.

Reverse Mortgages

A reverse mortgage enables senior homeowners to convert part of the equity in their homes into tax-free income without having to sell the home, give up title, or take on a new monthly mortgage payment. Reverse mortgages are available to individuals 62 or older who own their home. Funds obtained from the reverse mortgage are tax-free. But the instruments are complex and may not be a good fit for all seniors.

FHA is now shouldering a greater portion of the residential loan load and its insurance component has come under greater scrutiny because of it.
In a letter to all reverse mortgage lenders dated Sept. 23, 2009, David H. Stevens, HUD's new assistant secretary for housing and federal housing commissioner, said changes in the agency's popular Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program were necessary "to assist with the viability of the program."

The result is a 10 percent reduction in what HUD labels as the "principal limit factor" on all reverse mortgages applied for on or after Oct. 1, 2009. This factor reduces available proceeds to reverse mortgage borrowers.

Lowest rates improving market

Rates moved close to historic lows in the past week. Freddie Mac announced that for the week ending October 1, 30-year fixed rates averaged 4.94%, down from 5.04% the week before. The average for 15-year fixed fell as well to 4.36%. Adjustables followed the same downward trend with the average for one-year adjustables falling to 4.49% and five-year adjustables decreasing to 4.42%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 6.10%. "Low rates are helping to stabilize home sales," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "New home sales in August rose to the highest annualized pace since September 2008 and the inventory of unsold houses fell to the lowest level since February 1983. Although existing home sales fell somewhat in August, it was still the second strongest showing in 23 months.

In order to receive the $8000 'First Time Homebuyer's Credit', your home (or condo) purchase must be CLOSED by Nov. 30. Then name of the credit is a little misleading. It doesn't have to be your first purchase, but you can't have owned a home in the last 3 years. You need an income cap to qualify (see the link = www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206291,00.html ) In order to qualify and KEEP the credit, you must stay in the home for 3 years. You don't get the money up front to use for deposit. You don't get the money at closing. You file an IRS form with the govt. and they credit you with the money upon verification of the proper documents and closing. Remember, unless the government extends this credit, it expires Nov. 30, and any property you were expecting to receive it for, won't qualify if you close any day Dec. 1 and on.

Real Estate Conditions in South FL

Headlines and Real Estate news.
To contact Carolyn Burns, South FL Realtor, email CBurnsRealtor@gmail.com
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Loan Modifications (if you get one) doesn't help with your priniciple balance. Discounted payments, interest, are usually tacked on to balance end making your balance larger.
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Recession taught a lesson to Americans to be more fiscally sound in spending & savings in the future.
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Foreclosed homes are bringing back cash investors and 'bottom feeding' buyers helping the South FL real estate market by fixing up the properties & reselling at market value.
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Australia is the 1st G20 country to raise interest rates since onset of the financial crisis, giving lift to Wall Street earnings.
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Geithner asks International Monetary Fund (IMF) to watch for new investment bubbles & keep foreign exchange policies in line to rebalance global economy.
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Seriously, what are you waiting for?? Mortgage rates fell this wk,w/avg. rate on 30-yr fixed-rate mortg's below 5% to a four-month low.
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Wash.Times: 'Bernanke & Paulson misled public about financial weakness of BofA & other recipients of gov't's $700 billion TARP bailout.'
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Facing foreclosure? Hire a lawyer. They can stop proceedings; put pressure on lenders to rework terms of loan or spot legal violations.
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Bank of America CEO, Ken Lewis stepping down this year. BoA to select emergency CEO in case Lewis is forced out earlier.
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With foreclosures up, more homeowners are looking for stable rentals.
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Michael Jordan plans new home with 11 BR's, 38,000 sqft. on adjacent 2 lots in Jack Nicklaus' gated golf mecca community, "Bear's Club" in Jupiter, FL.
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