OfflineSay it so..................
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration may turn
thousands of government-owned foreclosures into rental properties to help boost falling home prices.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Wednesday it is seeking input from investors on how to rent homes owned by government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration.
The U.S. government rescued Fannie and Freddie in September 2008 and has funded them since the financial crisis. The mortgage giants own or guarantee about half of the nation's mortgages and nearly all new mortgages.
At the end of last month, the government owned roughly 248,000 foreclosed homes, officials said. About 70,000 of those are listed for sale. But officials expect the number of foreclosures to soar in the coming months.
Many foreclosures have been stalled so attorneys general and federal regulators can investigate whether lenders cut corners and improperly handled thousands of cases. Once a settlement is finalized, foreclosures are expected to pick up again and further depress home prices.
Converting the homes into rentals may reduce "credit losses and help stabilize neighborhoods and home values," said Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie.
Homes in foreclosure sell at a 20 percent discount on average, which can hurt prices of surrounding homes.
It also might meet the growing demand for rentals. Since the housing meltdown, nearly 3 million households have become renters. At least 3 million more are expected by 2015, according to census data analyzed by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies and The Associated Press.
A federal "request for information" released Wednesday included an option for previous homeowners to rent out the homes or for current renters to lease to own. Private investors could also be allowed to manage the rental properties.
Officials are also mulling whether to only implement the program in areas hit hardest by foreclosures and in those with high demand for rental housing, such as Arizona and Florida.
The homes include single-family homes and condominiums. The deadline for responses is Sept. 15.
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I read this article somewhere else --- sorry, I've been reading so much lately I don't remember where --- but the person who quoted the article also concluded that the government does not have the funds to buy out homes and rent them and that the banks and mortgage companies that own them cannot be forced to become property managers. Beyond me at this point, but it does sound like an awful lot of complications and objections would have to be overcome to put this into action.
Here's the link to the first go 'round with that, which apparently wasn't really successful:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33654593/ns/business-real_estate/t/fannie-ma...
The government hasn't been able to run other businesses successfully. So all I can see is this being a big flop for them again. I don't know where they will get the money to rehab as well as reimburse the banks. Maybe it will be good for us, we can offer them pennies on the dollar when they get in over their heads. Then we can rehab and people can have nice houses owned by investors who can fix and repair as needed. Can you imagine a renter trying to deal with Washington on trying to get a toilet fixed.
When I first read about this on the internet, my first thought was it would not fly.