Freddie Mac

Maryland's attorney general said Friday that the nearly $60 million from the national mortgage settlement that the state controls would be used to help people "victimized by the egregious conduct of the banks," in contrast with some states that intend to use their shares to plug budget holes. Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler also said his office is pursuing criminal investigations related to mortgage and foreclosure fraud, though he didn't say whether cases related to the "robo-signing" that prompted the settlement might be filed.

Housing experts say homeowners can wait as long as nine months to get approval to sell their home as a short sale, and efforts are underway to push lenders to give a prompt answer. HouseLogic says homebuyers may find themselves in the position of having to send multiple requests to their lender to ask for approval for them to sell their house for less than they owe while a potential buyer waits in the wings. HouseLogic, a service offered by the National Association of Realtors, provides information on homeownership, such as taxes and insurance.

Freddie Mac said last week that it will phase out purchases of single-family home mortgages with reduced borrower credit documentation as well as adjustable-rate mortgages with low down payments.The action by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reflects a general secondary-market trend away from these types of loans. For example, in late October, the Federal National Mortgage Association announced tightening of its reduced-documentation programs.Specifically, Freddie Mac will gradually phase out, then discontinue after March 31, 1991, its purchase of mortgages with reduced documentation, as well as ARMs with loan-to-value ratios above 90 percent.

Internal Fannie Mae documents show the mortgage financier was about to launch a principal reduction program in 2010 after determining that it would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, a Baltimore congressman says -- contradicting claims by Fannie's regulator that such a move would be costly. U.S. Reps. Elijah E. Cummings of Baltimore and John F. Tierney of Massachusetts, Democrats who sit on the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, sent a joint letter Tuesday to regulator Edward DeMarco demanding more information about why the program was "mysteriously terminated" in July 2010.

NEW ORLEANS -- The cost to take out a mortgage will rise if government-sponsored mortgage agencies are forced to raise their capital levels, according to Leland Brendsel, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. chairman and chief executive.Both Freddie Mac and the Federal National Mortgage Association have been under federal pressure this year to raise capital levels.Mr. Brendsel said that if, for example, Freddie Mac is forced to double its capital reserves, the agency would raise the fees it charges lenders by 25 percent -- a cost that ultimately would be passed on to borrowers.

Freddie Mac, the nation's second-largest buyer of mortgages, unknowingly bought a small number of mortgages that had "unacceptable refinance" terms and then sold them in securities offerings to investors. The company said last week that an investigation had discovered that a California broker sold borrowers mortgages with above-market interest rates and then provided financial incentives to encourage quick refinancing. The broker, who was not identified, profited from the fees from the quick turnover.

A majority of homeowners who refinanced their homes in the last three months of 2000 took new mortgages that were at least 5 percent higher than their original mortgages, thanks to lower interest rates, according to Freddie Mac's quarterly refinance review. Seventy-eight percent of Freddie Mac-owned loans that were refinanced were for amounts greater than 5 percent of the original mortgage, up 1 percent when compared to the like quarter in 1999. However, the percentage was down from 82 percent who refinanced in the third quarter in 2000.

THE COUNTRY'S second-largest source of home mortgage money has a money-saving new proposition for homebuyers across the country: Don't bother paying $350 to $450 for a traditional real estate appraisal. Skip it and avoid all but $50 or $200 of what you'd normally pay for a valuation of the property you're buying. Sound intriguing? Beginning April 8, Freddie Mac, the giant home-loan investor, plans to change one of the oldest rules of the real estate game. On certain "low-risk" mortgages it finances, Freddie Mac no longer will require a formal appraisal.

As sales of existing homes hit a record 6.9 million in January, and with other economic indicators showing growth, the chief economist at Freddie Mac said he believes the recession is over. "With mortgage rates averaging one-eighth of a percentage point lower in February, the continued vitality of housing demand is assured," said Frank Nothaft of Freddie Mac, the federally chartered company that supplies lenders with funds by purchasing mortgages. Nothaft said in a report that he expects long-term interest rates to remain low because of expected low inflation.

A CLASS ACTION lawsuit against the country's second-largest source of home loan money - Freddie Mac - is focusing new attention on a consumer protection statute that's probably unfamiliar to many homebuyers and mortgage borrowers. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act governs lenders, landlords and others who obtain and use credit reports and scores to make decisions on consumers' applications. If a lender uses credit file information to reject an applicant or charge a higher interest rate, the lender is required to provide what the law terms an "adverse action" notice.

Maryland's attorney general said Friday that the nearly $60 million from the national mortgage settlement that the state controls would be used to help people "victimized by the egregious conduct of the banks," in contrast with some states that intend to use their shares to plug budget holes. Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler also said his office is pursuing criminal investigations related to mortgage and foreclosure fraud, though he didn't say whether cases related to the "robo-signing" that prompted the settlement might be filed.

As the federal government and 49 states signed a landmark mortgage relief settlement Thursday, housing advocates and others pointed to shortcomings and raised questions about how the $25 billion plan would be able to provide relief to nearly 2 million current or former homeowners across the country. The nation's five largest loan servicers agreed to provide mortgage reductions, refinancing and other loan modification help to homeowners hurt by the housing collapse. Maryland is expected to receive nearly $1 billion, the sixth-largest share of the total amount, because it was among the states hardest hit by the wave of foreclosures, state Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler said.

In its editorials and Dan Rodricks columns, The Sun continues to emphasize and underscore the big lie that banks or "predatory lenders" were the cause of the housing crash ("What took so long?" Jan. 26). "Predatory lending" is a term of relatively recent vintage, since prior generations tended to hold individuals responsible for the greed and ignorance that drove irresponsible decision-making. Far better to investigate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Rep. Barney Frank for creating a bubble based on the idea that everyone should own a home.

Now it's Newt's turn. Having risen to the top in some opinion polls, the former speaker of the House is taking heat for large consulting fees paid to him by the government-sponsored mortgage company Freddie Mac for wisdom a New York Times editorial said was so simplistic it might have come from a fortune cookie. As Republican presidential candidates rise only to fall when their imperfections are brought to light, Republican voters risk disappointment in 2012 by playing the left's game on their turf and by their rules.

Who says Democrats and Republicans can't agree on budget cuts? The supercommittee charged with reducing the deficit by more than $1 trillion by Wednesday seems to have failed. But both parties apparently agree that the chopping should start with tens of millions of dollars that continues to be paid to executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the disgraced and bleeding mortgage giants. Last week the House Financial Services Committee voted, 52-4, to start paying Fannie/Freddie employees at more or less the same rate as other federal workers, which is essentially what they are. Alabama Republican and committee Chairman Spencer Bachus put it well, calling the pay "unfair, unreasonable and unjust to the taxpayers, whose assistance is the only thing keeping Fannie and Freddie afloat.

In 2009, President Barack Obama lifted the $400 billion cap off the bailout money that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae could pass on to the taxpayers. Apparently, $400 billion wasn't enough. Fannie and Freddie are publicly owned. You and I own them and all the debt they are accumulating and passing on. At times, the administration has allowed companies like Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to "buy their losses," a process by which a company gets to reduce their tax burden by giving cash in exchange for the bad debt.

CHICAGO -- The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. kicked off a program last month that could make billions of dollars in loans available for low- and moderate-income rental housing around the country.The federally chartered agency, known as Freddie Mac, announced the first deal in a $100 million multifamily-housing pilot program, involving a package of loans totaling $5 million held by Harris Bank.The loans were made on eight Chicago buildings with a total of 219 apartment units.Jack Weir, president of the New York-based Local Initiatives Managed Assets Corp.

CHICAGO -- The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. kicked off a program Wednesday that could make billions of dollars in loans available for low- and moderate-income rental housing around the country.The federally chartered agency, known as Freddie Mac, announced the first deal in a $100 million multifamily-housing pilot program, involving a package of loans totaling $5 million held by Harris Bank.The loans were made on eight Chicago buildings with a total of 219 apartment units.Jack Weir, president of the New York-based Local Initiatives Managed Assets Corp.

The federal agency overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed to stop abuses by the mortgage giants' network of foreclosure attorneys for years before problems surfaced in news accounts, according to a report released Tuesday. The inspector general for the Federal Housing Finance Agency looked into the agency's oversight of foreclosure attorneys for the mortgage financiers after Rep. Elijah E. Cummings in February sought an investigation of alleged abuses. The mortgage companies, which buy loans and mortgage securities, are regulated by the FHFA.

Mortgage giant Freddie Max reports the interest rate on 30-year mortgages have fallen to their lowest levels in more than 50 years. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.15 percent for the week ending today.  A 15-year fixed rate loan fell to 3.36 percent. Freddie Mac's chief economist credits the Fed's pledge to keep rates low for two years as one reason for the favorable terms. Plus, jitters over the European debt crisis also contributed to low rates.