1. "Hope Now Alliance" works with home owners before
their mortgage rates are adjusted higher to help with alternatives There is a
Toll-Free Hot Line open 24 hours a day where mortgage holders can get advice.
Call: 1-888-995-HOPE |
| 2. Freeze the lower
"Introductory" mortgage rates to keep them from re-setting to
higher levels for a period of 1 to 5 years. An estimated 2 million sub-prime
mortgages are scheduled to reset to much higher levels by the end of 2008.
Those resets will push the payment on a typical mortgage up by $350 per month,
taking it from $1,200 currently to $1,550. The Freezes would apply only to
borrowers who are current on mortgage payments but unable to afford loans
when they adjust to higher interest rates. Borrowers who are already late on
payments before the loans reset to higher rates may not be eligible for the
Freeze and may be subject to foreclosure. |
| 3. Additional funding from the Government
to educate and train additional mortgage counselors to help answer questions
from the public using the new Mortgage Advice Line. |
| 4. New mortgage products to help
sub-prime borrowers including allowing States to issue Tax Free Bonds to help
fund sub-prime mortgages in their States by keeping the rates on the
sub-prime mortgages at current lower levels rather than adjusting to higher
rates. |
| 5. Allowing FHA to implement a
"Secure Plan" to help mortgage borrowers by lowering qualification
requirements. |
| 6. "Fast Track" borrowers
who need help with higher mortgage reset rates to get the help they need
rather than having to wait for paperwork required by lenders and government
agencies. |
| 7. Set up "Categories" that
will qualify sub-prime mortgage borrowers into 4 areas which include: |
- Those who can afford the higher rates - they will not need the
help.
- Those who haven't even made payments on their starter rates - they
will likely become renters again.
- Those who can refinance to some other loan.
- Those with steady incomes and clean payment histories who can
afford the lower introductory rate but not the
higher rates.
|
| 8. Organizing Mortgage
"Servicers" who collect and disperse monthly mortgage payments from
sub-prime mortgage borrowers to adopt guidelines to help categorize the
sub-prime borrowers into the correct category so that they can get the help
they need. |
| 9. Allowing tax relief for mortgage debt that has been forgiven. |
| |
| All the proposals listed above need to be finalized and some
need approval by Congress. Please watch this page for update |
| |
| More to follow… |
