The
government-controlled company, through its new "Deed for Lease"
program, will allow borrowers to transfer ownership to Fannie Mae and
sign a one-year lease, with month-to-month extensions after that.
The program will "eliminate some of the uncertainty of foreclosure,
keeps families and tenants in their homes during a transitional period,
and helps to stabilize neighborhoods and communities," Jay Ryan, a
Fannie Mae vice president, said in a statement.
But the effort is likely to affect a relatively small number of
homeowners. In the first half of the year, Fannie Mae took back about
1,200 properties through this process, known as a deed-in-lieu of
foreclosure. That pales in comparison to the 57,000 foreclosed
properties the company repossessed in the period.
While neither option is particularly attractive for the homeowner, a
deed-in-lieu does less harm to the borrower's credit record.
The rental program is designed to help homeowners who don't qualify
for a loan modification under the Obama administration's plan, but
still want to remain in their homes. Fannie Mae is not planning to
market the homes for sale during the one-year rental period.
Fannie Mae has hired an outside company, which officials declined to identify, to manage the properties.
To qualify, homeowners have to live in the home as their primary
residence and prove that they can afford the market rent, which would
be determined by the management company. The rent can't be more than 31
percent of their pretax income.
So what would you experts do in this case? Saying that Obama has done nothing solves nothing.
rrbv
