House Gives Final Nod to Housing Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed the long-awaited housing rescue bill — sending it now for a last Senate approval before President Bush can sign it into law.

The vote, at about 5 p.m., went 272-152.

It will now be the Senate’s turn and, except for some expected resistance that could delay the bill for a short time, the chamber will likely pass the measure with a similar high ratio. And though President Bush had long threatened to veto it, a recently added provision to help out mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has convinced the White House to promise a presidential signature.

The bill will do a number of things, but the section that homeowners in crisis are most concerned with is the one that Sen. Chris Dodd helped author: the foreclosure prevention program. It will allow people with subprime mortgages they can no longer afford to enter into voluntary deals with their lenders, refinancing the loans for less than the current market value of the homes at a 30-year fixed rate. (The Federal Housing Administration will guarantee $300 billion in such loans, and the defaults will be paid out of Fannie and Freddie revenues.)

The program will need to be established, so it likely wouldn’t start for a few months. (Here’s a description of how one might qualify.)

Source: blogs.courant.com via politisite