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DS News Webcast: Tuesday 4/19/2016

The controversial principal reduction program announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency last week is expected to moderately increase expenses for mortgage servicers who handle delinquent Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans, but overall the impact of the program on servicers is expected to be minimal, according to a report from Fitch Ratings on Monday.

Factors that will limit the impact of the principal reduction program on servicers include: the number of underwater homeowners has been greatly reduced by home price appreciation; many underwater or delinquent borrowers have already been helped by government programs such as HARP and HAMP; non-agency mortgages are ineligible; and servicers have only a brief window for solicitation of eligible borrowers for the program.

Presidential candidates have been largely silent about housing policy during their campaigns, with the exception of Hillary Clinton. Now Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democrat from Vermont, is offering a plan of his own to address the affordable housing crisis in the United States. Sanders’ plan includes expanding the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund, raising the minimum wage, defending fair housing laws, credit score reform, and expanding HUD’s assistance programs.

About Author: Brian Honea

Brian Honea's writing and editing career spans nearly two decades across many forms of media. He served as sports editor for two suburban newspaper chains in the DFW area and has freelanced for such publications as the Yahoo! Contributor Network, Dallas Home Improvement magazine, and the Dallas Morning News. He has written four non-fiction sports books, the latest of which, The Life of Coach Chuck Curtis, was published by the TCU Press in December 2014. A lifelong Texan, Brian received his master's degree from Amberton University in Garland.
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