| Lawmakers seek to boost home-buying benefit
The House Veterans' Affairs Committee is focusing on how to use the veterans' home loan program to help service members and veterans who risk losing their homes. Reps. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., and Mike Michaud, D-Maine, introduced a bill Thursday that would greatly increase the maximum loan amount that the Department of Veterans Affairs guarantees. The bill, HR 4539, would raise the current $417,000 limit to a new maximum of $521,250. Buyer, the former committee chairman, said the chief reason for the increase is that the $417,000 cap is so low that it precludes service members and veterans from using the program in some high-cost areas of the country. "Rising housing costs are keeping many veterans out of the market," Buyer said. "And those who are able to purchase the American Dream are paying significantly higher closing costs." Buyer said the bill also would make it easier for people with non-VA loans to refinance under the government guaranty program by capping refinancing fees — which currently are larger for refinancing than for new loans — and could relax rules on who must pay closing costs, both actions that would make the VA loan program more attractive.
Homeowners scurrying to refinance
Paige O'Mahoney spent the past several months watching interest rates as she considered whether to refinance her mortgage to save money. She hit the jackpot last week when a drop in rates allowed her to refinance sooner than her family had expected. O'Mahoney is among a growing number of consumers who are taking advantage of fixed-rate loan offers that have sunk to their lowest levels since 2004. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.48 percent yesterday, down from 5.69 percent the week before, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Declining rates are further evidence of weakness in the housing market and follow this week's emergency rate cut by the Federal Reserve, said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, in a statement yesterday.
Holt couple refinance, keep home
Two months ago, Holt resident Kenneth Evans feared he was about to lose his home to foreclosure. Now, Evans and his wife, Gloria, say their home is safe. They secured a fixed-rate FHA loan to replace an adjustable-rate mortgage that had become too expensive. The couple told their story to the Lansing State Journal in November. Kenneth Evans contacted one of the bankers quoted in the story, who was able to get them into a standard FHA loan. "I'm so relieved," said Evans, who had recently fallen behind on his ARM. "I just feel like it's a ton lifted off of me." .
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