FHA

Congress Working on Real Estate Rescue

Finally, some good news for Real Estate!
There is are 2 proposals that are very good for stabilizing real estate being debated now in Congress for inclusion in the stimulus bill. Both are helpful to purchasers of primary residences.

One would increase purchasing power by lowering interest rates for 30-year fixed mortgages to around 4%. The other would provide a tax credit to buyers of 10% of the sales price, up to $15,000. While this would be more helpful to our current problem if it actually put the money on the closing table for first time buyers, it will make it easier for those who already have the funds to spend them on real estate.

In addition, Washingon’s Senator Patty Murray has introduced a bill to keep the FHA loan limits up to where they were set in 2008, insuring FHA financing will continue to be available in higher-priced communities.

Stay tuned as the Recovery Act evolves its way through Congress….

Update: The rules for reverse mortgages also improved recently. The maximum loan amount is now up to $417,000 nationwide. Also, the high origination fees that has kept a lot of people from getting reverse mortgages have been capped too. Kipplinger article here. Good IBD article