• Font Size    
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Banks May Allow Homeowners To Swap Mortgages

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +   
Oct 1, 2008 11:41 am US/Central

Banks May Allow Homeowners To Swap Mortgages

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The government is kicking off a program that aims to prevent foreclosures by letting an estimated 400,000 troubled homeowners swap their mortgages for more affordable loans.

Lenders, rather than borrowers, will decide whether to participate in the program, which requires them to take a loss on the initial loan.

To qualify, borrowers must be spending more than 31 percent of their income on mortgage payments. Loans made this year are excluded, except for those completed on Jan 1.

"For homeowners in trouble, this may be the help they need," Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston said Wednesday.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.