Fannie Mae

Patty, an accountant, found it easy to "work out a lot of numbers" when she and a friend decided to buy a home near Collegeville, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb. Patty and her friend checked out the total interest paid for traditional 30-year mortgages and 15-year mortgages, plus a less common type of loan that is paid off in 20 years."The difference in total interest was astronomical," she said. "The 15-year had much less interest but was scary because the payments were so high. We worked out the tentative payments for a 20-year loan and found we would still be able to pay off the debt quicker, own sooner and not spend a fortune in interest."

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration said yesterday that it would support allowing two government-sponsored mortgage giants to buy and sell "jumbo" mortgages, a move that could boost housing markets in expensive locales. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. told the House Financial Services Committee that the White House would support giving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac the power to buy and sell high-value loans. "There is little question that allowing [Fannie and Freddie] to securitize jumbo mortgages would give a short-term lift," Paulson said at a hearing where lawmakers sought suggestions for remedying the mortgage industry's ills.

Starting next month, private mortgage insurance, which costs many borrowers hundreds of dollars a year, will become a little bit easier for homeowners to eliminate.However, the method for determining how that will be done has sparked some outrage and suspicion among industry professionals.Freddie Mac, the quasi-governmental organization that purchases mortgages from lenders and uses them to back new securities, announced last month that it would now accept a real estate broker's evaluation of a property in determining whether a borrower can cancel his private mortgage insurance.

FOR THOUSANDS of American homeowners, the question of the week is not whether to refinance their mortgage, but whether to pull out extra cash when they do refinance.Put another way: Mortgage rate decreases since the summer have rendered the refinance question a no-brainer for lots of people.If you can cut your fixed mortgage rate from the mid- or upper-7 percent range to the mid-6 percent range at a cost you can recoup in 12 months to 18 months, then the answer is virtually always yes to a refinance.

Peggy Herbert loves the kitchen in the two-story townhouse she's hoping to buy. It's spacious with clean new cream-colored tile, a wide new hunter green counter top and new wooden cabinets.The bathrooms in the Pioneer Drive home are new, too, along with the kitchen appliances, the windows, doors and siding. And if NationsBank approves her loan, Herbert will be something new in this community struggling to turn its image around: She will be a homeowner."I didn't think they were going to do so much remodeling," Herbert, 30, said during her first tour of the remodeled home.

Fannie Mae, the nation's largest source of home mortgage funds, announced last week that it was providing $20 million to help finance Baltimore's Settlement Expense Loan Program (SELP).The announcement was made during groundbreaking for Spicer's Run, a Bolton Hill townhouse project that is being built on the former Eutaw Gardens Apartments site.The $13.3 million, 86-unit community, developed by Blair McDaniels LLC, also received an equity investment of $1 million from Fannie Mae's American Communities Fund.

THE COUNTRY'S largest source of home mortgage money -- Fannie Mae -- has come up with a new loan custom-tailored for people with good credit but very little cash.Dubbed the "Flexible 97," the new mortgage carries a minimum down payment of 3 percent, but allows all of that money to come from a gift or unsecured loan from a family member, or cash assistance from an employer or other sources.In most conventional low-down-payment programs, by contrast, at least 3 percent of the loan amount must come from the applicants' own cash resources.

A city incentive program -- with a range and scope that makes one of the most liberal and accessible to homebuyers in recent years -- will make its debut in October at the first of five regionalized housing fairs.Last week, the city rolled out its "Buying into Baltimore" program that offers $3,000 vouchers toward down payments or closing costs to 100 homebuyers who attend one of five regionalized housing fairs in the next year.Not since the 1994 Baltimore City Homeownership Program, which offered city employees $10,000 toward the purchase of a city home, has a program been so generous to qualified applicants.

Fannie Mae is encouraging all potential and current reverse mortgage borrowers to insist that proceeds from their loans, excluding the costs necessary to close the transaction, be paid directly to them.The suggestion was one of several safety tips contained in a brochure distributed by Fannie Mae.Other steps in the brochure, entitled, "Your Reverse Mortgage: Five Steps for Safety," include learning the basics of a reverse mortgage, deciding if it is right for you and how to use reverse mortgage funds.

No need for home shoppers to grab the car keys and spend the weekend driving through neighborhoods in search of "For Sale" signs.Certainly not in this day and age.Now with a click of the mouse, they can be launched into cyberspace -- a galaxy filled with World Wide Web sites that promote new homes, existing homes, mortgages, title companies, associations and advice.Comfortably dressed in slippers and bathrobe, shoppers can browse through a builder's model and check out floor plans and prices for new homes throughout the nation.

PSC begins hearing on Constellation-EDF Constellation Energy Group has acceded to state energy regulators' investigation of whether its $4.5 billion merger with France's largest utility, Electricite de France, will have an impact on the region's regulated utility, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. But it is asking the Public Service Commission to make an expedited decision by May 31, so as not to threaten the closing of the deal and the financial condition of...

Though the final operational guidelines of the Obama administration's foreclosure-avoidance programs won't be released until Wednesday, key details have begun surfacing on the refinancing opportunities that will be available to an estimated 4 million to 5 million homeowners whose mortgages are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under the Obama plan, borrowers who have made their monthly payments on time but are saddled with interest rates...

Baltimore developer Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, known for decades of urban revitalization projects throughout the city and elsewhere, faces more than $5.5 million in loan defaults, court records show. National City Bank is seeking $5.3 million for a commercial loan made to Struever Bros. in 2007, including $5 million in unpaid principal, plus interest, according to a lawsuit in Baltimore Circuit Court. The developer also has defaulted on a $5.5 million revolving loan that Fannie Mae approved in 2004 through its American Communities Fund and owes more than $557,000, according to a lawsuit filed in Baltimore Circuit Court.

Daschle amends tax returns to report more 4 WASHINGTON: Former Sen. Tom Daschle, picked by President Barack Obama to lead his health reform efforts, recently filed amended tax returns to report $128,203 in unpaid taxes and $11,964 in interest, according to a Senate document obtained by the Associated Press. The White House acknowledged yesterday that "some tax issues" had emerged in connection with the nomination, but a spokesman said the president is confident the former Senate Democratic leader will be confirmed as the new health secretary.

As we get ready to say goodbye to 2008, it's worth looking back at the year that was for home buyers, sellers and owners. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if this year goes down as one of the worst ever for housing since the Great Depression. Housing values fell by double-digits in many metropolitan areas. Housing starts virtually stopped. Inventories of new and existing homes grew dramatically. Mortgage interest rates remained relatively high, even as the short-term Federal Funds rate plunged to nearly zero by the end of December.

Here's some good news for homeowners facing tough financial times: You no longer have to miss two to three months of payments before your mortgage company can modify your unaffordable loan terms. Starting immediately, Fannie Mae - the mortgage giant with an estimated 18 million home loans in its portfolio or in mortgage bond pools it guarantees - will allow borrowers who face imminent financial difficulties to request "early workout" loan alterations, even if they've never been late. The policy change could help thousands of people who are losing jobs or facing layoffs as the recession crunches onward.

As the economy slumps, one Maryland bank has not only stayed out of trouble but has burnished the kind of 24-karat lending record that rivals would covet even in a boom. Bowie-based Old Line Bank has lent more than $200 million to local homebuilders, hoteliers, auto repair shops, lawyers, homebuyers and landscapers. But as banks fail nationwide at the greatest rate since 1993, so far every one of Old Line's borrowers is paying interest and principal as planned. A church that was behind on payments is catching up. Other than that, Old Line has zero "nonperforming" loans, defined as at least 90 days overdue.

WASHINGTON - In an attempt to keep struggling homeowners from losing their houses, federal officials announced yesterday a simpler and quicker procedure for modifying loans held by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and expressed hope that it would be adopted by the entire industry. The plan targets people who have missed three or more mortgage payments, live in the home and have not filed for bankruptcy protection. The goal is to make cut the payments to no more than 38 percent of a household's monthly gross income by reducing the interest rate, deferring payments on part of the principal and extending the term of the loan to as long as 40 years.

Southwest plans travel to Mexico DALLAS : Southwest Airlines Co., looking to expand its U.S.-only service, said yesterday it will sell tickets for travel to Mexico beginning in 2010 through a deal with Mexican partner Volaris. The announcement comes a few months after Southwest announced a similar deal with WestJet Airlines that will allow it to sell travel to Canada late next year. Dallas-based Southwest offered no details of fares or flight schedules for the deal with Volaris, saying that would be worked out by early 2010.

Credit squeeze, credit freeze, credit system seizures: Everybody knows how severe and painful the global financial breakdown has been - with banks unwilling to lend even to other banks. But what about mortgages and real estate? Can you still get a home loan with less than a 20 percent or 30 percent down payment? Or with a credit score below 720? Absolutely. It would be a big stretch to label housing the sunny side of the market at the moment, but there's a lot more light there than in most other financial sectors.