November 12, 2009
Home Loan Aid Through Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae is the common name for the Federal National Mortgage Association, a privately owned organization that was recently placed under the control of the government because significant financial distress. It is likely that they are the owner of the title of your property and if so you could be eligible for government assistance.
The Federal National Mortgage Association was founded by public charter in’38 during the Great Depression. Its mandate was to increase the credit availability for low income families by securitizing home loans. This was done to make sure that there would be stable supply of funding for the companies responsible for giving home loans to home buyers.
In’68 the congress changed the once public institution into a privately owned company under the direction of shareholders. As a government sponsored enterprise it has been the object of criticism for its relationship to the government and near federal classification.
In the autumn of 2008 the FHFA was forced to put the Federal National Mortgage Association under federal direction. The mortgage crisis was so detrimental to Fannie Mae that they could not continue without the direct support of the government.
It was estimated that at that time Fannie Mae and its sister corporation Freddie Mac guaranteed about one half of the US $12 trillion dollar property loan market. It had revenues of more than $51 billion in 2008 and more than $880 billion in assets at the end of 2007.
Because Fannie Mae’s business was all very closely tied up in domestic mortgages and property values the financial crisis was devastating for the organization. Its stability was weakened so much by the drop in home prices that the government was forced to step in.
Once the government made their control of Fannie Mae official by bailing them out they also began enacting lending reforms. As the main backer the federal government now has a substantial voice in the how Fannie Mae treats its mortgage holders, and is using that influence to help home owners.
If you are a homeowner with a loan owned by the Federal National Mortgage Association you may be eligible for mortgage assistance.
The writer has significant experience as a loan officer and understands how people can obtain foreclosure assistance, many times through government mortgage assistance plans
Filed under Finance by
