Contact Information: Contact: Alyssa Nightingale 631-367-8599 anight@att.net
Long Island Board of Realtors(R) Applauds President Bush's Decision to Sign Housing Bill Into Law
| Source: Long Island Board of Realtors
LONG ISLAND, NY--(Marketwire - July 30, 2008) - This morning President Bush signed into law
a comprehensive housing bill that aims to improve the struggling housing
market.
The Senate voted 72-13 in favor of the bill last weekend, just a few days
after the House of Representatives also passed it.
The legislation has two main objectives: to offer affordable
government-backed mortgages to homeowners at risk of foreclosure and to
strengthen Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a temporary rescue plan and a
new, more strict regulator.
This legislation contains a number of victories for American homeowners
including Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) reform, Federal Housing
Administration (FHA) reform, permanent loan limit increases, and a $7,500
first-time homebuyer tax credit.
According to Long Island Board of Realtors® (LIBOR) President, Mohsen
Zandieh, "This bill will help homeowners facing foreclosure find ways to
refinance, and will help strengthen mortgage markets."
The provisions that will most directly affect consumers are:
The FHA will be allowed to insure up to $300 billion in new 30 year
fixed-rate mortgages for at risk borrowers in owner-occupied homes if their
lenders agree to write down loan balances to 90% of the homes' current
appraised value.
A permanent increase in conforming loan limits. The law will permanently
increase the cap on the size of mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac to a maximum of $625,500 in high cost areas like ours thus
making it easier for borrowers to get mortgages, because those mortgages
are more likely to be traded if they are considered conforming.
The new law includes a tax refund for first-time home buyers worth up to
10% of a home's purchase price but no more than $7,500 that would be
available for any qualified purchase between April 8, 2008 and June 30,
2009. The refund serves more as an interest-free loan since it would have
to be paid back over 15 years in equal installments.
Zandieh added, "This new law will help ensure that every American who can
afford a home and wants to do so will have the opportunity and that
everyone who responsibly owns a home is able to keep it."
ABOUT LIBOR
LIBOR is a not-for-profit trade association consisting of more than 25,000
real estate professionals. It is the largest local Realtor Board in the
country with ten Chapters in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens Counties.