Home | Newsletter | Advertise
loading...

FHFA to Loosen Rules on Mortgages, Offer Lower Down Payment Options

  • October 21st 2014

by Lark Turner

FHFA to Loosen Rules on Mortgages, Offer Lower Down Payment Options: Figure 1

In an effort to give more first-time buyers and low-to-middle income earners a better chance to buy a house at low rates, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on Monday a plan to loosen rules on mortgages.

“We know that access to credit remains tight for many borrowers, and we are also working to address this issue in a responsible and thoughtful manner,” Melvin Watt, the director of the FHFA, said in a speech at the Mortgage Bankers Association Annual Convention.

As part of the changes, the FHFA said it would create specific guidelines for mortgages with loan-to-value ratios between 95-and-97 percent to “increase access for creditworthy but lower-wealth borrowers.” While Watt’s speech did not offer much in the way of specifics, it has been reported that the new plan, to be outlined in the coming weeks, could allow for down payments as low as 3 percent for certain borrowers.

“Through these revised guidelines, we believe that the Enterprises will be able to responsibly serve a targeted segment of creditworthy borrowers with lower-down payment mortgages by taking into account ‘compensating factors,’” Watt said.

See other articles related to: fhfa, mortgages

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/fhfa_to_loosen_rules_on_mortgages/9119.

DC Real Estate Guides

Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market

We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Visit guides.urbanturf.com or start browsing below!

First-Timer Primers

Intro guides for first-time home buyers

Red Flags Revealed During a Home Inspection Top 5 Tax Breaks For Homeowners Tax Relief for DC Homeowners
Condo Fee Tutorial What is a Rent Back? 10 Ways To Tell If a Home Renovation is Well Done
Obtaining a Basic Business License For Your Rental What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? The Splitting the Rent Formula
How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House? Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy? Interest Rates and Mortgage Points
The Scoop on Mortgage Insurance

Unique Spaces

Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro

The Most Intriguing Loft in DC The R Street Firehouse DC’s One-Room House
Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home Best Transition From a Garage To a Home The Roundhouse
Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week Logan Circle’s Most Intriguing Garage Frank Lloyd Wright Goes Green in Kensington
Sears Bungalow Gets a Modern Makeover Old Town General Store Becomes Three-Level Home Making the Most of a Skinny House
A Studio 27 Renovation on Capitol Hill Once a Carriage House, Now a Home The Bank that Became a Home
From Pie to Hooch to Heroin to Home The Live-Aboards of Gangplank Marina A Treehouse with Rock Creek Park As A Backyard
Modern Tranquility in Sperryville Saddle Up For Stable Living Throwing a Curve at 550 Square Feet
A Modern Hilltop Retreat Tilden Street Restaurant Becomes Spacious Home Focus on Design: A Vastu Unit at 22 West
The DC Area’s First Net Zero Home A Yankee Goes Green DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home
Eco-Friendly Alley House Off H Street The Gym, The Stables and The Firehouse