Mortgage aid falls short, Bush admin official says

Two government programs designed to help hundreds of thousands of delinquent borrowers avoid foreclosure are having negligible effects, a top Bush administration official acknowledged Wednesday. One program will be revamped immediately, and the other possibly in the near future.

Steve Preston, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said both private industry and government efforts have fallen short as the foreclosure crisis has exceeded all but the most dire forecasts.

The HUD chief outlined changes intended to encourage more participation in the Hope for Homeowners program, which refinances cash-strapped borrowers into new government-backed mortgages.

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Mortgage rescue scheme in development

The Government is developing a mortgage rescue scheme for vulnerable households in England and Wales.

As the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reports, ‘vulnerable’ can mean anything from elderly people and pregnant women to families with children and people with a disability.

Not available yet, the mortgage rescue scheme is meant to start in January 2009, and is expected to help up to 6,000 households over a two-year period.

The CML website reminds visitors that anyone having a hard time paying their mortgage should talk to their mortgage provider, seek free advice and ‘check the options available to you’ – a homeowner’s mortgage payments may be covered by an insurance policy, or there may be state benefits which could, for example, raise their income or help with their mortgage repayments.