Federal Government Announces Homeowner Help

Mortgage lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will work with struggling homeowners to modify the terms of overly-burdensome home loans, in an attempt to stem the foreclosure tide and help stabilize the nation's economy, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Tuesday.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other participating lenders and mortgage servicers will "fast-track certain loan modifications" to make monthly payments more affordable for "hundreds of thousands of homeowners who have fallen at least 90 days behind in their payments," according to the Chicago Tribune. Reuters reports that "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or insure roughly half of U.S. home loans," and "borrowers eligible for the new program could see their mortgage rates cut, life of their loans extended or their principal reduced in an effort to ease their debt burden." Tuesday's action by the federal government came on the same day that U.S. lender Citigroup announced a new mortgage assistance and foreclosure prevention program for its borrowers.

• Reuters: U.S. Housing Agencies to Widen Homeowner Help
• Chicago Tribune: New Round of Mortgage Aid
• Forbes.com: The Main Street Bailout Begins
• WSJ MarketWatch: Help for Troubled Borrowers Faces Headwinds
• Citi Launches Foreclosure Prevention Program for Homeowners (FindLaw's Common Law Blog)
• 10 Tips to Avoid Foreclosure (FindLaw)
• Reduce Your Mortgage Obligations to Avoid Foreclosure (FindLaw)
• Real Estate Center: Foreclosure (FindLaw)