House votes to aid struggling homeowners by Delia Cruceru

The House approved Tuesday a plan for expanding the federal banking mortgages to help homeowners avoiding foreclosures. The bill passed the House 348-72 and it will allow the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to back the refinanced loans of ten of thousands of borrowers who are delinquent on payments because their mortgages are resetting to sharply higher rates from low initial "teaser" levels. The Republican Barney Frank, who represents Fall River and New Bedford and also heads the House Financial Services Committee, will introduce a legislation aimed at shielding consumers from deceptive practices. "In the subprime market, it is clear that financial innovation outstripped regulation," Frank said at a Sept. 5 hearing. "Can we come up with regulation that will diminish the harm without chilling the whole operation?" Last week the Senate approved legislation that will help nonprofits and other groups that offer counseling and information to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, with $200 million. Results from RealtyTrac Inc. show that the number of foreclosure filings reported in the United States last month more doubled compared with August 2006 and jumped 36 percent from July. There are estimated that this year and the next one, 2 million to 2.5 million adjustable-rate mortgages will be "reset", jumping from the "teaser" rates and it would create a crest during the next year's presidential and congressional election campaigns.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070918/ap_on_bi_ge/congress_mortgages;_ylt=AvKfvTmmDVIyeH.IZRMMrgms0NUE

by Delia Cruceru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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