Steve Brown over at the Dallas Morning News recently had this to say about the FHA reforms that are in the works:
LAS VEGAS – The top officers at two of the country’s mortgage giants said Tuesday that they are taking steps to deal with the mortgage crunch and rising foreclosure rates.
But they acknowledged that they are challenged to make quick, meaningful changes.
Daniel Mudd, chief executive at Fannie Mae, the biggest source of money for U.S. home loans, outlined steps his firm has taken to help homeowners faced with foreclosure.
Too little
“They are clearly not enough in the face of this downturn, the most serious disruption in the housing and mortgage markets in decades,” Mr. Mudd told real estate agents from around the country meeting Tuesday at the National Association of Realtors’ annual convention.
Mr. Mudd said Fannie Mae is renegotiating problem loans – most of them subprime mortgages – at a rate of about 750 a week.
“We are working our way though this problem,” he said.
By many estimates, almost 2 million American homeowners will lose their houses to foreclosure during the next two years because of subprime mortgages that increase their monthly payments.