President Announces Steps to Ease Mortgage Problems

Calling the increase in adjustable rate home mortgages "troubling", President Bush today announced a number of federal measures "to help American families keep their homes." Bush stressed the need for lenders to work with homeowners to adjust problematic mortgages, and outlined specific federal goals -- including improvement of the Federal Housing Admnistration's ability to aid homeowners, reforming certain housing provisions of the federal tax code, launching a new foreclosure avoidance initiative, and taking action to increase transparency and fairness in the mortgage industry. The Washington Post reports that "the initiatives Bush announced represent the administration's first broad effort to deal with the rising number of home foreclosures, which are widely forecast to increase in the next year."

• President Bush Discusses Homeownership Financing (WhiteHouse.gov)
• Fact Sheet: New Steps to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure (WhiteHouse.gov)
• Washington Post: Bush Offers Measures to Help Ease Mortgage Crisis
• Real Estate Center - Foreclosure (FindLaw)
• Foreclosure Information: State-by-State (FindLaw)