Another Voice / Housing crisis
New federal law offers help to stressed homeowners
Updated: 08/09/08 5:48 AM
With the Senate’s passage and the president’s signature on the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, we have enacted one of the largest housing market recovery bills in recent decades.
This legislation allowed us to provide some much needed assistance to the hardworking people throughout the country and in New York who are struggling to make ends meet. We took steps to shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure that worthy home-buyers can still find affordable mortgages.
We’ve enabled homeowners trapped in unworkable adjustable rate mortgages and skyrocketing interest payments to refinance their mortgages into clear and equitable terms through the Federal Housing Administration.
Moreover, we’ve finally instituted reforms to the Housing Administration that I first proposed two years ago to allow it to ensure safe and affordable mortgages, especially in high-cost areas like New York, so that working families can have a real alternative to the sub-prime and predatory mortgages that helped created the housing crisis.
And I’m proud that for the first time, more than 1.4 million New Yorkers will be able to utilize a new $500 tax deduction that will ease the property tax burden for homeowners who don’t itemize their tax returns.
Let’s be clear: The challenges facing Western New York’s homeowners are daunting. The region has the sixth-highest level of foreclosures and the fifth-highest level of mortgage delinquencies in New York, according to preliminary data from the New York Banking Department. With another huge wave of adjustable rate mortgages set to readjust upward between now and the end of the year, the foreclosure crisis could get worse before it gets better.
The good news is that help is available to the thousands of Western New Yorkers who may be facing a late mortgage payment or cannot keep up with their escalating monthly payments on their homes. But they should seek help now and contact a housing and mortgage counselor approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (a full listing can be found on my Web site http://clinton. senate.gov).
These counselors will guide you through what steps you need to take to prevent a default on your mortgage or a foreclosure on your home. Many lenders will want to work with you as a mortgage modified to meet your needs will often be more profitable than a foreclosure.
Addressing this housing crisis isn’t just about helping families keep their homes, it’s about stabilizing our entire economy. The challenges over the course of the next year are daunting, but there is light on the horizon.
Distressed homeowners who had few choices other than bankruptcy and foreclosure only a few months ago will now have a path toward making their payments on time, but more importantly, they’ll be able to hold onto the American dream of homeownership.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N. Y., is a U. S. senator.
