The Federal Housing Administration will take a taxpayer subsidy for the first time in its 79-year history after efforts to improve its bottom line failed to offset losses on loans backed during the housing bubble, according to three people familiar with the matter. The government mortgage insurer will draw the money from the U.S. Treasury…
President Obama has unveiled his second-term housing agenda, which includes initiatives to support current homeowners, families hoping to buy their first home and the one-third of American households that rent. The plan has six basic pillars: Help more homeowners refinance to today’s low interest rates; Clarify and streamline regulations to help more creditworthy homebuyers get…
Borrowers qualify despite past foreclosures Potential homeowners who fell on hard times during the recession are being offered a lifeline back into the housing market, via the Federal Housing Administration. According to a letter sent to mortgage lenders, the FHA said it would offer mortgage insurance to borrowers who, during the recession, filed for bankruptcy…