Limit increase!

02/07/2008  Pop the champagne!  It is over!  The Senate passed the bill today, and as I expected, the middle ground was some money for seniors and veterans.  The Bill still has to get final sign-off but that is more of a formality.  Now we will see how soon they can implement the loan limit increase and the exact amounts.  Stay tuned, we will keep updating this blog, and in the meantime, we will be getting your loans ready to refinance!  Eric

02/07/2008:  So begin the political games!  Yesterday there was a vote on a stimulus package with the verbiage that the Senate wanted.  Namely, additional money for seniors and veterans, extending unemployment benefits and tax breaks/benfits for some special interest groups like coal companies and oil drillers.  The Senate was just 2 votes shy of passing the bill, however.  That means both Republicans, who blocked it's passage, and Democrats, who want their own version passed, will be digging their heels in.  Neither Party can afford too much bad publicity, and both sides are pointing the fingers at each other for not passing the bill to "help America".  Republicans are already saying they would be willing to work with the Democrats and add in money for seniors and veterans.    End result?   Both sides will wait a little to see whom the media blames, hoping to gain a little more support for their party....and then a swift passage will probably take place with a middle ground found.  Due to some procedural rules the next vote might not happen until Tuesday.  Eric

01/31/2008:  Today the Senate pushed forward it's own stimulus package.  It was much more complex and full of extra spending after the Democrats had their way with it.  Fortunately, Republicans managed to keep them from getting the 60 votes needed to pass, so it is a dead issue.  Now the Senate only has the bill passed by the House earlier this week to vote on.  However, due to all those Senators out running for president they decided to hold off on the vote until Wednesday, after Super Tuesday Primaries.  Also, the Democrats still want to add a few things to the current bill, such as payments to senior citizens and veterans, but all sources seem to think it will be passed in one form or another on Wednesday.  Eric

01/30/2008:  Well, here we go.  The Senate has come up with some preliminary changes that will probably not sit well with Congress.  First, they want to lower the tax rebate checks and give that money to senior citizens that are on Social Security (I am sure one of the reasons Congress did not want to do that is because seniors are more likely to sock the money away rather than spend it immediately).  Second, they want to extend unemployment payments.  Third, they want to close a loophole that would make it possible for illegal immigrants to collect some of the rebate money.  One other thing they want to do is change the way businesses can deduct current losses from previous profitable years tax returns, thereby getting a refund from those years.   Eric.    

01/29/2008:  OK, so far so good!  The House passed the bill, now it has to go to the Senate.  The only fear is that the Senate will try to add in a bunch of pork-barrel earmarks that will cause the bill to have to go back for re-approval.   Let's hope they behave themselves!  Eric

01/28/2008:  Let's cross our fingers for tomorrow.  The House is set to vote on the stimulus plan!  Eric 

01/24/2008:  CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Rates on jumbo loans got a lot more expensive after last summer’s credit crunch, and the mortgage and real-estate industries have been calling for an increase to the conforming loan limit as a way to help more borrowers obtain favorable mortgage rates.

On Thursday, they had reason to believe their wish would be granted when a proposed economic stimulus plan included a new conforming loan cap.

According to the proposal, the temporary limit for loans that can be bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-sponsored mortgage agencies, would be $729,750, or 125% of the median house price in the area.

The current conforming loan limit is $417,000; loans larger than that are considered jumbo and aren’t eligible to be financed through government-sponsored enterprises. This summer, when the private, secondary mortgage market no longer had an appetite to invest in jumbo loans due to questions about risk, jumbo loans got much more expensive for borrowers.

3 cheers....things are looking good!  Eric

01/17/2008:    The National Association of Realtors® today urged President George W. Bush and Congress to help homeowners and the national economy by loosening constraints on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as an integral part of a federal stimulus package currently being discussed.

“We believe that any stimulus package must address housing issues and increasing the conforming loan limits for these two government-sponsored enterprises,” said NAR President Dick Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif. “The increase in loan limits would not only improve liquidity in the mortgage marketplace, but also boost homebuyers’ confidence levels, resulting in increased sales and economic activity.”

NAR has been calling on Congress and the administration to increase the loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the current ceiling of $417,000 to $625,000. “This change will permit more families to enter the housing market by making more mortgages available with lower interest rates. Increased home sales will lower inventories and immediately start stabilizing the housing market and the economy,” Gaylord said.

Let's hope it goes through!  Eric