Freddie Mac Raises Mortgage Fees

January 30, 2009  

Freddie Mac is raising costs for some home mortgage borrowers, following similar fee increases by competitor Fannie Mae. The new fees affect mortgages for condominiums, interest only loans, home equity loans.  Borrowers with low credit scores and low down payments are also affected.

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Freddie Mac Needs Another Bailout

January 24, 2009  

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac plans to ask the Treasury Department for an additional $35 billion of taxpayer dollars in order to offset its own operating losses.  Freddie Mac was already given $13.8 billion. Freddie Mac will pay a 10 percent interest rate on the money it receives, or $3.5 billion per year… which seems impossible [...]

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30 Year Mortgage Rates Fall Below 5%

January 18, 2009  

For the first time ever, Freddie Mac’s weekly rate survey show 30-year mortgage rates averaging less than 5%.  30-year rates fell for the eleventh straight week to 4.96%, down from from 5.01% a week ago.  A year ago the rate was 5.69%. 15-year fixed rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, rose to 4.65%, up [...]

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Citigroup Agrees To Foreclosure Prevention Plan

January 11, 2009  

Citigroup has reached an agreement with the Senate on legislation that will allow bankruptcy courts to modify the terms of residential mortgages so that judges would have the power to reduce mortgage principal. Sen. Richard Durbin (Dem, Illinois) re-introduced the bill to the Senate.  The plan may be included in the economic recovery package being [...]

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Mortgage Rate Falls Again

January 10, 2009  

Home mortgage rates dropped again this week.  30-year mortgages averaged 5.01% , falling to their lowest rate since Freddie Mac’s began the survey in 1971 and the tenth straight weekly drop. The Federal Reserve has been buying up mortgage backed securities in order to drive mortgage rates down. Rates on 15-year fixed mortgages averaged 4.62% [...]

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