Bush Agrees Mortgage Relief

A recent report in Yahoo Business News, confirmed that American President George Bush, has signed a major bill to provide mortgage relief for thousands of beleaguered
borrowers.

Bush signs housing bill to provide mortgage relief

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 26 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Wednesday signed a massive housing bill intended to provide mortgage relief for 400,000 struggling homeowners and stabilize financial markets.

Bush signed the bill without any fanfare or signing ceremony, affixing his signature to the measure he once threatened to veto, in the Oval Office in the early morning hours. He was surrounded by top administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Housing Secretary Steve Preston.

"We look forward to put in place new authorities to improve confidence and stability in markets," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. He said that the Federal Housing Administration would begin right away to implement new policies "intended to keep more deserving American families in their homes."

The measure, regarded as the most significant housing legislation in decades, lets homeowners who cannot afford their payments refinance into more affordable government-backed loans rather than losing their homes.

It offers a temporary financial lifeline to troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and tightens controls over the two government-sponsored businesses.

The House passed the bill a week ago; the Senate voted Saturday to send it to the president.

Bush didn't like the version emerging from Congress, and initially said he would veto it, particularly over a provision containing $3.9 billion in neighborhood grants. He contended the money would benefit lenders who helped cause the mortgage meltdown, encouraging them to foreclose rather than work with borrowers.

But he withdrew that threat early last week, saying hurting homeowners could not wait — and even blaming the Democratic Congress' delays in action for forcing an imperfect solution.

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Mortgage Rate

One of the key considerations when negotiating a mortgage is the mortgage rate.

Mortgage rates may rise and fall in line with interest rates, but they are influenced by several other factors. To find out more we would recommend that you visit the Free Mortgage Advice web site, from which the following is an extract:

"Mortgage rates are affected by many factors, because of which they change frequently. A significant matter influencing mortgage rates is the issue of inflation. This occurs when credit is relatively easy to obtain, and demand for goods and services is high, stimulating an increase in prices. A boom period such as this can result in rapidly rising prices, including house price inflation, and the economy may be in danger of overheating. Mortgage rates may rise in sympathy with other inflationary pressures. Some people take on more than they can properly afford believing, that the upward cycle will continue forever, and may be caught unawares when the bubble bursts.

Although mortgage rates tend to follow the direction of interest rates, there are also various other issues that determine them. Mortgage rates are associated with the supply and demand for home loans in what is a competitive market. A variety of loan providers offer many different deals, so mortgage rates may differ, according to what has been negotiated.

At times when mortgage rates are relatively high, demand for mortgages slows down. To counter this, the Federal Reserve Bureau may adjust interest rates. So mortgage rates are linked to the rise and fall of interest rates, but as shown above, there are other factors to take into consideration.

Banks and other loan providers obviously need to plan ahead. They may be geared to providing a particular quota of mortgages in a given period. In a competitive market they may need to adjust mortgage rates downwards, for some deals, to achieve their planned objectives. Although the demand for mortgages may remain high, some mortgage rates might be lowered to meet particular business objectives."

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Mortgage Rates Coming Down

As recently reported in Yahoo Business News home loan rates in the US have fallen over the last week.

U.S. mortgage rates decrease

"Home loan rates fell over the last week as Treasury yields fell sharply amid financial woes and views that the Fed won't hike rates this year. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.26% for the week ended July 17 from 6.37% a week earlier, Freddie Mac said. The 15-year fixed-rate fell 13 basis points to 5.78% this week. The 5-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage edged down to 5.8%, while the 1-year ARM fell 7 ticks to 5.10%. Treasury yields have picked up in the last few days"

This downward trend in mortgage rates has finally started to take effect in the UK house market, which continues to be depressed. Some forecasters are suggesting that UK house prices will drop as much as 18% this year, 2008, and there are others who are even more gloomy.

It is suggested that many of the UK's middle classes will go into negative equity, where the value of their home is less than their mortgage. It is a worrying situation, particularly when the cost of basic essentials, including food and energy, is also rising to unprecedented levels. There have been top level discussions to see what can be done about the fast escalating cost of oil, with its significant impact at the pumps.

For useful information concerning mortgages, Please Click Here to visit the Free Mortgage Advice Web Site.

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