Under a Minute Facts
Thursday, June 24, 2010 | Add a comment
Rates to Stay at Record Levels:
On Wednesday the Federal Reserve announced that the economy is “proceeding” and will keep interest rates at record lows, near zero.
Flood Bill Extended:
Thousands of home owners can breathe a sigh of relief. The House of Representatives passed a bill to extend the authority for the National Flood Insurance Program thru Sept 30th, 2010.
“The passage of H.R. 5569 is a first step toward helping home buyers to the closing table,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder.
Lenders would not close loans on transactions where flood insurance was required. The coverage would now be retroactive from when the insurance program expired May 31st. Now the senate will have to review the bill.
At the same time a survey was done to CEOs of large U.S. companies. The good news….39% said they expect to increase the number of people on their payrolls in the second half of 2010.
Source: Associated Press, Alan Zibel (06/23/2010)
Fannie Mae getting tough with homeowners who just “walk away”:
Fannie Mae announced plans Wednesday to get tough with those who default when they are able to pay. Those borrowers wouldn’t be able to get another Fannie Mae mortgage for 7 years. The current wait is five years. Fannie also threatened to sue home owners who walk away from their mortgages in states where such deficiency judgments are legal.
Some critics say the company should try principal write-downs before it penalizes borrowers for choosing to walk away.
Source: CNNMoney.com, Tami Luhby (06/23/2010)
