Posted on 09/08/2005 2:32:26 PM PDT by WestTexasWend
(AP) NEW YORK Homeowners affected by Hurricane Katrina could get a welcome surprise from the bank.
The government housing agency Freddie Mac is encouraging lenders to return the most recent mortgage loan payments from people displaced by the storm.
Industry experts say they can't recall that ever happening before.
Freddie Mac also wants lenders to extend the length of time borrowers can forgo monthly mortgage payments to a full year.
The agency wants the offers extended to all homes in disaster areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that 360 thousand single-family mortgages in four states were affected by the hurricane and the ensuing floods.
Actually that seems quite generous.
I'm sorry to be cynical, but I think white guilt is beginning to run rampant.
I tell you what: if the taxpayer ends up footing the bill for this, I don't expect to see an increase in my homeowners insurance. :-P
Yeah, only non-white people have mortgages. < /sarc >
I keep hearing people say they don't have flood insurance.
In Florida, in order to get a mortgage, if you live anywhere near a flood zone you must have flood insurance (and I would imagine most coastal communities and New Orleans would be considered a flood zone).
Anybody know if Freddie Mac requires flood insurance before they issue a mortgage?
It's easy to be generous with other people's money. Anyway, I doubt much of this will happen. Most mortgages have been securitized and ultimately pooled and sold as CMO's or pass through certificates. My guess is it would be near impossible to legally not pay the holders of the certificates and CMO's.
"The government housing agency Freddie Mac is encouraging lenders to return the most recent mortgage loan payments from people displaced by the storm"
Means-tested, of course.
Bookmark
Has there been anything like this since the 1930s?
Not to be a jerk, but I can see a lot of people defaulting on mortgages once they see how much they will not get from insurance coverage ( or lack there of ) so why should the mortgage companies refund anything. They are going to get cleaned on this deal anyways, especially any smaller local firms.
And there are no non-white bankers. /sarc
If we do it here, than what happens when we declare another disaster area? What will the goverment do to to out do it's last efforts?
Just build everyone in the Country a 10K square foot home give them 4 cars and make it voluntary to make any sort of payment on them. Yeah that's the ticket.
Ha, yep, none.. :o)
The loans are worthless, or worth cents on the dollar in any event. The houses with flood insurance are few. Unless the interest is being forgiven, the lenders would be delighted to lend more money.
Bwhahaha. Yeah, cause mortgage companies are in it because it feels good to lend people money.
I see they'll enact the draconian bankruptcy laws in time for all those moochers who lost their homes, jobs, and businesses in Katrina.
Yes, I believe FreddieMac requires flood insurance.
The trick there is that you can't buy flood insurance until you're declared to be living in a flood zone. In other words, until you flood (and, sometimes, more than once) you can't get flood insurance.
That certainly shouldn't be a problem in NOLA EXCEPT for those who've never flooded before. They could well find themselves "uninsured".
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.