A group convened on the steps of the South Carolina State House Thursday to express their support of homeownership and their opposition to policy changes that might threaten American homeownership.
The group – consisting of Realtors, housing industry professionals, politicians, business leaders, and community leaders – assembled to encourage elected officials “to protect homeownership from threats including scaling back or eliminating the mortgage interest deduction, reducing access to affordable mortgages and loans for home buyers and small businesses, and the foreclosure crisis,” according to an announcement on the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) website.
The outlook expressed at the rally mirrors widespread sentiment uncovered in a recent NAHB survey conducted earlier this month.
About three-fourths of American voters said it is “appropriate and reasonable” for the federal government to promote homeownership through tax incentives.
This view was shared by Democrats (84 percent), Republicans (71 percent), and Independents (71 percent) alike.
“Those running for office in November need to understand that voters will not look kindly on any candidates who seek to dismantle the nation’s long-term commitment to homeownership,” said Bob Nielson, president of NAHB.
In fact, while 73 percent of voters object to an elimination of the mortgage interest deduction, 68 percent claim they are less likely to vote for a candidate who proposes an elimination of the deduction, according to the NAHB survey. This assertion was consistent across party lines.
The majority of survey respondents also opposed revisions that would limit the reach of the mortgage interest tax deduction, including a reduction in the deduction amount, deduction limits for households earning more than $250,000 per year, exclusion of second homes and home equity loans, and reductions for homeowners with mortgages loans greater than $500,000.
“With the 2012 election season in full swing, candidates running for the White House and Congress would be wise to heed the will of the American voters, who have expressed broad support for government policies that encourage homeownership and oppose efforts to make it more difficult to get a home loan and to tamper with the mortgage interest deduction,” said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners, one of the firms that conducted the survey on behalf of NAHB.
While Americans continue to harbor concern for the mortgage interest tax deduction, another mortgage-related tax deduction recently slipped out of existence.
A mortgage insurance premium tax deduction expired at the start of the year, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
Posted via email from Title Insurance Does the Federal Reserve have good ideas for the housing market? That’s been the question since the Fed published its paper on housing last week. Critics see the Fed’s foray into housing policy as an irresponsible deviation from the central bank’s mission of managing interest-rate policy. Supporters of more aggressive action to stabilize the housing market argue that the Fed is playing a valuable role in pushing the Obama administration and regulators to do more. All of this debate ignores something that’s become increasingly clear: Due to practical and political limitations, changes to the government’s response to the foreclosure crisis are likely to involve tweaks on the margins rather than a massive revamp. The Fed’s paper delved into detail about ways the Obama administration could encourage more “underwater” homeowners who owe more on their loans than their properties are worth to refinance at today’s ultra-low rates. Here are some issues to consider: So what did the Fed suggest on refinancing? In their paper, Fed officials suggested ways to further revamp a program launched in February 2009 that allowed homeowners with mortgages backed by government controlled mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to refinance if their properties have sunk dramatically in value. The initiative, called Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, is already being expanded under changes rolled out in October that have been dubbed HARP 2.0. Why aren’t those changes sufficient? Fed officials have applauded the changes rolled out by the Obama administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency but say more could be done to both improve HARP and reach borrowers who currently aren’t eligible for the program. They say the program could be expanded to help an additional 1 million to 2.5 million homeowners who don’t have loans backed by Fannie or Freddie. Doing so, however, is tougher than it sounds. As the Fed paper notes, Congress would need to change the rules by which Fannie and Freddie operate — an unlikely proposition the current environment of hyper-partisan gridlock. By law, Fannie and Freddie are barred from buying new loans in which borrowers owe more than 80% of their home’s current value — unless the borrower pays for mortgage insurance. The HARP program allows those loans to be refinanced because Fannie or Freddie already guarantee them and are on tap for losses if the borrower defaults. But Fannie and Freddie are unlikely to be able to take on new “underwater” loans that they did not already guarantee. The Fed paper, however, argues that allowing these borrowers to refinance through HARP would aid the economy and housing market, and therefore benefit Fannie and Freddie. Allowing those homeowners to refinance could reduce borrower’s payments “potentially reducing pressure on the housing market,” the Fed paper said. What would expanding refinancing further mean for Fannie and Freddie? Doing so would require a “potentially large” expansion of Fannie and Freddie’s balance sheet. That’s likely to be a tough sell at a time when many policy makers want to deemphasize Fannie and Freddie. “This may be the most politically unpalatable of the recommendations,”” wrote Rob Rowan, an analyst with Fitch Ratings. Furthermore, a massive refinancing proposal, which has long been rumored, is unlikely to come to pass, largely because it could dry up investment in the market for mortgage-backed securities, which needs to keep humming so Americans can obtain home loans. What else did the Fed propose? The Fed paper also suggested some more tweaks. Regulators further reduce fees that Fannie and Freddie charge for higher-risk borrowers who refinance (those fees were already cut in the October announcement). Fannie and Freddie could also “more comprehensively” waive their right to send back defaulted bad loans to lenders if they are refinanced through HARP. The paper noted that Fannie has taken steps to streamline refinancing by reducing that “putback” risk for all loans — including borrowers who owe less than 80% of their home’s current value. Establishing the same requirements for Fannie and Freddie, the paper said, “could facilitate more refinancing among this group of borrowers.” Brad German, a Freddie Mac spokesman, defended his company’s policy. “We believe we have struck a balance where we are providing a streamlined refinance opportunity for borrowers while also maintaining our rights as investors to enforce quality,” he said Posted via email from Title Insurance Tue, 2012-01-10 10:40 — NationalMortgag… HOPE NOW has released its November 2011 data showing that permanent loan modifications totaled almost 84,000 for the month, bringing the total for 2011 to approximately 969,000. Since HOPE NOW began tracking foreclosure prevention data in 2007, member mortgage servicers have completed 5.13 million total permanent loan modifications for homeowners nationwide. Additionally, HOPE NOW Executive Director Faith Schwartz announced the cities for homeowner outreach in the first quarter of 2012 that include expanded efforts to assist at-risk military homeowners as well. “The mortgage industry and its partners have worked hard for homeowners nationwide,” said Schwartz. “With almost one million loan modifications completed in the first 11 months of 2011 and over five million since 2007, it is clear that efforts to assist at-risk families via all available channels are bearing some fruit.” Homeowner events are already in the advanced stages of planning for Charlotte, N.C.; Miami, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Las Vegas; Sacramento, Calif. and Los Angeles in the first quarter of 2012. “There are more alternatives to foreclosure than ever before for homeowners through federal programs, proprietary modifications, and state level initiatives such as Hardest Hit Funds,” said Schwartz. “Mortgage servicers and non-profit, housing counselors are using all tools at their disposal to find options that fit each individual homeowner’s situation whenever possible. The emphasis continues to be on improving the customer experience through enhanced technology, single point of contact and leveraging all tools available to assist with foreclosure prevention, which in some cases includes graceful exits.” Since HOPE NOW began reporting data in 2007, the mortgage industry has completed 5.13 million loan modifications for homeowners. This includes approximately 4.22 million proprietary modifications and 909,953 completed under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). From January through November 2011, there were approximately 969,000 modifications, 639,000 proprietary and 330,303 completed under HAMP. “As we move into the heart of the first quarter of 2012, HOPE NOW, its government, non-profit and state partners have already planned multiple face to face outreach events in key markets,” said Schwartz. “Additionally, HOPE NOW has worked with several military partners to implement events geared towards a specialized segment of at-risk military homeowners who have a unique set of mortgage challenges.” Of the 84,000 loan modifications for the month of November, approximately 57,000 were proprietary and 26,877 were HAMP modifications. According to the survey data, the inventory of 60 day plus delinquencies is 2.77 million for November 2011, up from the 2.65 million reported in October. Foreclosure starts for November 2011 decreased from the previous month—166,000 compared to 209,000. Completed foreclosure sales increased for the month—71,000 compared to 64,000. Key loan modification data points for November 2011: All loan modifications Total permanent loan modifications for homeowners in 2011 are approximately 969,000: Proprietary loan modification characteristics (November 2011): Posted via email from Title Insurance
Continuing Ed for Title Agents
Fed Pushes Refinancing, But Obstacles Abound – Developments – WSJ
By Alan Zibel
Continuing Ed for Title Agents
Nearly One Million Loan Mods Granted Through November | Mortgage News | Daily National and State Headlines
Total modifications were approximately 84,000:
►57,000 were proprietary.
►26,877 were completed under HAMP.
►639,000 were proprietary
►330,303 were completed under HAMP
►Loan modifications with reduced principal and interest payments accounted for approximately 68 percent (39,000) of all proprietary modifications.
►Loan modifications with reduced principal and interest payments by 10 percent or greater accounted for approximately 66 percent (38,000) of all proprietary modifications.
►Fixed-rate modifications (initial fixed period of five years or more) accounted for approximately 83 percent (47,000) of all proprietary modifications.
Continuing Ed for Title Agents
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