Valuing properties for the non-conforming loan

President Bush signs bailout legislationMortgagePress.comPresident Bush, HR 1424, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, Troubled Assets Relief Program On Oct. 3, President Bush signed HR 1424, the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008," which implements the U.S. Treasury Department's (Treasury) Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). This bill authorizes the Treasury to acquire and manage troubled assets from financial institutions through a newly created Office of Financial Stability. The bill immediately authorizes $250 billion for the Treasury to buy troubled assets, with an additional $100 billion upon presidential certification; a final $350 billion may be disbursed by presidential request pending Congressional approval. In addition to the initial Treasury asset relief proposal, the bill: • Requires loan servicers of assets acquired by the Treasury to engage in reasonable foreclosure mitigation efforts, such as term extensions, rate reductions, and principal write downs; • Places limitations on executive compensation for entities that sell assets to the government under TARP; • Creates a Financial Stability Oversight Board; • Increases the enforcement authority of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); • Enhances the HOPE for Homeowners program; • Authorizes the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to suspend mark-to-market accounting; and • Temporarily increases the FDIC's deposit insurance from $100,000 to $250,000. The House of Representatives passed the bill on the same day after rejecting an earlier version on September 29. The Senate approved the bill on October 1. For a copy of the bill, click here.