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| New FHA Mortgage Limits!!! |
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sheilamj writes, "New FHA mortgage limits in California give 14 counties maximum $729,750, more states to follow."
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WASHINGTON – The government on Wednesday raised the mortgage limits for loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration in 14 high-cost California counties.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development released the new loan limits for California – a hotbed during the housing boom that now is suffering the worst home-price declines in the nation. The limits, with the maximum at $729,750, are derived from median home prices in each county.
HUD is expected to raise the limits in other counties nationwide in the coming days.
The economic stimulus package includes a temporary increase in the limit on FHA-backed loans, from $362,790 to as high as $729,750 in expensive areas, to let more homeowners with high-rate subprime mortgages refinance into federally insured loans.
The package also includes a temporary increase in the cap on mortgages that the government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy or guarantee from $417,000 to $729,750.
The idea is to stoke investor demand for securities made up of more expensive mortgages – so-called jumbo loans – backed by Fannie and Freddie, the two biggest mortgage financers in the country. That would drive interest rates lower and spur home buying and refinancing.
Roughly half of all jumbo mortgages are in California, according to federal regulators.
The Federal Housing Administration, a Depression-era agency within HUD, insures mortgages for low- and middle-income borrowers.
Counties that get the $729,750 maximum for FHA loans are likely to get that same level for Fannie and Freddie mortgages, experts said. HUD is expected to designate new Freddie and Fannie limits for other parts of the country too.
In California, the counties at the maximum level for FHA loans are Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Orange, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Ventura. At the other end, Lassen, Modoc and Trinity counties are subject to a loan cap of $271,050 – which is the lowest possible amount for an FHA-backed loan under the new law.
HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said Wednesday the new limits will make FHA-backed loans available to as many as 30,000 Californians and 250,000 homeowners nationwide.
The new limits “will allow for greater economic stability for our communities,” Jackson said in a speech in Los Angeles. A text of his remarks was distributed by HUD.
“We confront an emergency, a crisis,” Jackson said. “Los Angeles has been hard hit.”
He noted that home foreclosures in southern California soared 433 percent in January from a year earlier.
For more information, click on the link to go to my website at: www. realsmartca.com
About Sheila Johnson
Sheila Johnson is a Licensed Real Estate Agent in the state of California. She’s been an active Realtor & Investor for many years. She actively expands her knowledge, to bring her clients the most value, by taking ongoing training with board certified schools.
Contacting Her
You can contact her by email at: Sheilaj@earthlink.net
Or by phone at: (323) 683-8810
You can learn more at her company’s website at: www. realsmartca.com
I value our business relationship and your loyalty
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Posted on Mar 09, 2008 21:39pm.
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