Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored servicing agent that Congress chartered to help home buyers with "liquidity, stability and affordability" is putting more emphasis on doing rather than just advising; however, President Obama has recently outlined three new options that may include closing down Fannie Mae.
“I would advise those in trouble with their mortgages to check-out the new Fannie Mae ‘WaysHome’ interactive video simulation that’s a great tool for helping at risk home owners to learn about their options, and avoid foreclosure,” explains a local real estate agent here in Triangle Lake, a suburb of Eugene, who said locals are in the midst of "a rash of recent foreclosures."
In fact, the real estate agent noted that “as this recession wears on, there continues to be just too many needless foreclosures that are climbing not only here in Oregon and other western states "each and everyday."
The “WaysHome” video can be found at -- knowyouroptions.com/ways-home -- and features a role playing format where you, the homeowner, navigates scenarios about best ways to fix an alying mortgage.
“You’ll play the part of a homeowner—in real-life, everyday situations—who is struggling to make their payments and avoid foreclosure. Make decisions about what you should do, and experience the positive outcomes or negative consequences of the choices you make. Helpful tips and advice are also included along the way,” states the introduction to the “WaysHome” video on the Fannie Mae web site page.
Obama Administration outlines new ways to help home owners with home loan changes
“The government must help ensure that all Americans have access to quality housing that they can afford,” stated a recent Obama Administration report to Congress that’s part of the 2012 budget proposal.
Overall, President Obama stated that he wants the government to review the future role of government in helping people get mortgages, and then how the government can best help those in danger of losing their homes. At stake is $10 trillion in outstanding home loan debt.
The three options in the Obama Administration report calls for:
-- The first option is for a private system in which lenders and investors fund new mortgages. However, there’s a strong view that the existing federal agencies who subsidize mortgage loans for the poor and even veterans should wind down, so the government plays more of a back-up role.
-- The second option is to have a sort of contingency plan to aid the needy with mortgages when the market gets into trouble.
-- The third option looks at how the government helps homeowners along the lines of what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is already doing, but with more efficient and cost saving programs.
Where’s the mortgage help now?
While the Obama Administration wants to reform the existing government mortgage aid infrastructure of the future, people who are losing their homes now here in Oregon and other Western states want answers.
At the same time, Fannie Mae mortgage help is being marketed as free, there are plenty of current or former homeowners who are waiting for appointments at Fannie Mae centers around the country.
The recent announcement by Fannie Mae to create a new program that stops or controls foreclosures of homes owned by veterans and their family members aims to stop the rash of homes being taken over by banks throughout the country.
This is welcome news around the Triangle Lake retirement community near Eugene, Oregon, where numerous veterans live.
“I know a guy who’s been serving in the Oregon Guard who’s in financial trouble after being deployed to Iraq for so long that he and his family were not keeping up with their home payments. The guy’s wife moved out to stay with her family and now I have the listing to sell it. This new Fannie Mae deal may help them,” explained Rodney Halloran who volunteers for a local Veterans of Foreign Wars post that helps veterans with recession issues.
Halloran pointed to new Fannie Mae provisions to assist veterans with their home loans as “vital and a welcome helping hand at a time when so many are losing their home.”
For example, veterans or their family members who are currently dealing with mortgage woes can request a “delay in mortgage payments of six months” if their loan was provided to them through Fannie Mae. In addition, this new guidance from Fannie Mae allows the mortgage lender to look at either “reduced payments” or even “suspension of payments altogether.”
However, local real estate agents say “there are plenty of non-veteran home owners who are hurting right now.”
In fact, the continued deterioration of the residential real estate market in Oregon has is starting to impact Triangle Lake property values, but “you leave the lakefront and we’re hurting.”
Eugene real estate broker Ed Perkins went on to report “no good news” for Blachly, Cheshire and other rural western Lane County communities where homes and property are not selling.
“Blame the mortgage crisis, the high cost of gas and numerous other factors for the debilitating effect on the local housing market. We continue to struggle,” Perkins explained.
Perkins, who’s sold houses in the region for nearly two decades, worries about this country-wide real estate crisis “that has not yet bottomed out.”
“In my opinion, we’ve haven’t seen the worst of this yet as the market continues to deteriorate.”
While news about the mortgage crisis often focuses on cities such as Eugene or Portland, rural Oregon has been hit hard, too.
Research by the Housing Assistance Council, a Washington. D.C., based non-profit organization that helps build housing in rural pockets of the country, has found that foreclosures are at least as prevalent in small rural communities as in cities.
In addition, rural residents often have fewer banking institutions to choose from than city dwellers, and can fall victim to high interest rates and predatory lending practices.
Moreover, it’s difficult to find precise mortgage statistics for rural areas because while large banks in cities are required under federal law to reporting lending activity, many small, rural banks in our region are not bound by this law.
Still, there’s a bright spot with this latest offer from Fannie Mae to do more for the struggling home owner.
For instance, this latest news from Fannie Mae – to do more for vets and other home owners at risk of foreclosure – is focused partnering with mortgage bankers, brokers and other primary mortgage groups to “help ensure they have funds to lend to home buyers at affordable rates” as well as helping those in trouble. But, with a real estate crisis that doesn’t seem to be going away, growth in rural communities may be slowed as property values drop and homeowners are forced to sell-out or risk foreclosure.
