Housing Bailout Bill- Not Just for Fannie, Freddie and Foreclosures

Its looking like the national housing relief bill is going to be passed in the Senate at a special Saturday vote tomorrow. President Bush has pledged to sign it quickly thereafter. This bill includes real estate help for Veterans, first time homebuyers, and senior citizens. It also makes FHA loans available for higher price ranges and allows Fannie and Freddie to buy larger mortgages. This will hopefully help Jumbo mortgage rates come down a bit. Another measure of the bill is that lenders will have to wait 9 months (rather than 90 days) to start foreclosure proceedings so we may be seeing more Short Sales in the Washington market, a good thing for homeowners who need to get out of their mortgages since it doesn't ruin one's credit score.

The New York Times has a good article outlining the basics of this new bill: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/business/25money.html?em&ex=1217131200&en=f46d681f8a613f90&ei=5087%0A