The Federal National Mortgage Association and Freddie Mac approved and even initiated programs to reduce homeowner debt and save taxpayers millions, but halted them before the trials had progressed far enough to measure success, according to documents released Tuesday.

The documents came to light the day after Edward J. DeMarco, the conservator who oversees the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, missed a self-imposed deadline to release a new analysis of the cost benefits of principal reduction that would include new incentives offered by the Treasury Department.

Full story is available on The New York Times

“Why do I need to save? I’ll just tap the equity in my house when I retire,” said a former client at the end of 2006. He and his wife were in their late 50′s and I was recommending that they increase their retirement contributions.

During the real estate boom, I encountered a lot of people who thought they would use their home equity to fund everything from big splurges, to college tuition, to retirement. When the bubble burst, many were forced to spend savings and cash-in investments and now face retirement with home equity that is on average 30 percent lower than it was at the peak. For some of these near or current retirees, the allure of a reverse mortgage is calling.

Full story is available on CBS News

A new survey released by the Federal Reserve on Monday shows how much more difficult it is to get a mortgage now than it was before the housing bubble burst.

In a special question as part of its first-quarter survey of banks’ senior loan officers released Monday, the Fed asked banks to compare their willingness to make mortgages today with their stance in 2006 at the dawn of the financial crisis.

Full story is available on MarketWatch

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is hosting a free Home Preservation Workshop in Denver for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial, and Wells Fargo Home Equity customers facing financial hardships. Wells Fargo has invited more than 3,500 mortgage customers from along Colorado’s Front Range to the free workshop which will be held on Thursday, May 10 from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., at the Colorado Convention Center, Hall D, 700 14th St., in Denver. Parking and attendance are free.

Full story is available on sunherald.com

A federal study is finally showing what millions of Americans applying for mortgages have known for months.

A 720 credit score on the Fair Isaac Credit Index (FICO) credit report is likely to get home mortgage applicants a loan. Anything under that level is probably going to be rejected, according to a new study released by the Federal Reserve.

Full story is available on Housing Predictor

So-called HARP 2.0, the Obama Administration’s revamped Home Affordable Refinance Program, is yielding plenty of buzz as the Mortgage Bankers Association claimed that nearly a third of refinancing applications earlier this month was affiliated with the program.

But plenty of questions linger about the enhancement of a three-year-old program which most agree failed to reach sufficient “underwater” borrowers in need of assistance.

Full story is available on eCreditDaily

More than 1 million Americans who have taken out mortgages in the past two years now owe more on their loans than their homes are worth, and Federal Housing Administration loans that require only a tiny down payment are partly to blame.

That figure, provided to Reuters by tracking firm CoreLogic, represents about one out of 10 home loans made during that period.

Full story is available on Gayapolis News

Mortgage lenders and consumer groups have launched at frenzied round of lobbying over one of the major issues financial regulators face from the 2008 financial crisis — the new legal definition of a “safe,” desirable mortgage.

The new standard for a “qualified” mortgage will determine which customers banks approve for a home loan more easily at the lowest cost, and will establish future legal rights of  borrowers who may lose their homes to foreclosure.

Mortgage rates in the U.S. for 30- year fixed loans fell for the fourth time in five weeks, decreasing borrowing costs as the housing market reaches bottom.

The average rate for a 30-year mortgage fell to 3.88 percent in the week ended today from 3.9 percent, Freddie Mac (FMCC) said in a statement. It hit 3.87 percent in February, the lowest in the McLean, Virginia-based mortgage-finance company’s records dating to 1971. The average 15-year rate dropped to 3.12 percent from 3.13 percent.

Full story is available on Bloomberg

Attorneys for investors in Nevada foreclosed homes have filed yet another massive lawsuit challenging homeowner association assessments and collection costs.

The latest suit was filed secretly in April 2011 in federal court in Las Vegas and it was unsealed on Wednesday.

Full story is available on LoanSafe.org