An estimated 5.5 million homeowners facing imminent foreclosure are one signature away from assistance thanks to legislation approved in both the Senate and House of Representatives. The plan is modeled after the successful Pennsylvania program Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) introduced and steered into law in 1983, the Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) as a state representative in the Pennsylvania legislature. Since HEMAP's inception in Pennsylvania, more than 43,000 owners have avoided losing their homes.Read more

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has applauded the passage of legislation that will maintain the existing loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) through Dec. 31, 2010. An extension of the current loan limits (which had been due to expire Dec. 31, 2009) was included in the continuing resolution (HR 2996) that passed the House of Representatives and the United States Senate on Oct. 29.Read more