Help for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

November 20, 2008

Everyone seems to agree that flooding the market with empty, foreclosed homes does not help neighborhoods maintain stability – either as a way of living, or regarding the value of homes. Empty homes do nothing for a neighborhood.

Recently some organizations are taking tentative steps to allow homeowners who are defaulting on their mortgage to remain in their homes –at least for the time being.

Fannie and Freddie Mac have announced that they are freezing foreclosure sales until after the new year while they review strategies and the future of their organizations. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. recently announced foreclosure-prevention programs that aim to reduce interest rates, extend repayment schedules and, in the case of Citigroup, reduce loan amounts, to help borrowers keep their homes. But the programs have focused primarily on loans wholly owned by those companies because they feel they have more authority to rework those mortgages.

HSBC is also making more options available to more people. For example, it is contacting customers before their adjustable-rate loans reset to higher rates and freezing the current rate or allowing the borrower to pay a rate below what the new rate would be. The bank also is lowering fixed rates for selected borrowers. All this in an effort to stave of foreclosures.

One way of stabilizing markets where supply exceeds demand is to regulate supply. That way the people who can buy homes can buy from sellers who can’t afford to stay in their current home. But, amazingly enough, new home construction is still going on – even in saturated markets. Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg suggests, only half-jokingly, that the Treasury should impose a moratorium on home building. "It sounds like lunacy, but we have to destroy the housing capital stock to help put a floor under the market," he said.

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Local Information for Iowa City, IA

Latitude: 41.655816 -- Longitude: -91.524991

Other Area Cities: Coralville Iowa City

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Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, USA. It is the principal city of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of both Johnson and Washington counties. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 62,220, making it the sixth largest city in Iowa. It is the county seat of Johnson CountyGR6 and the home of The University of Iowa. Iowa City was the first state capital of Iowa, until the capital was moved to Des Moines in 1857. The Old Capitol building is a major landmark, and stands as a tourist attraction in the middle of the University of Iowa campus. Located nearby are museums such as Iowa Hall and MacBride Hall. The University of Iowa Art Museum and Plum Grove, home of the first governor of Iowa are other tourist attractions. Iowa City has a general aviation airport - the Iowa City Municipal Airport - on the south side of the city. The nearest airport with passenger service is The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Iowa 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Iowa City	Iowa	United States
Population	62,220	2,926,324	281,421,906
Median age	25.4	36.6	35.3
Median age for Male	25.4	35.2	34
Median age for Female	25.4	38	36.5
Households	25,202	1,149,276	105,480,101
Household population	56,110	2,822,155	273,643,273
Average household size	2.23	2.46	2.59
Families	11,200	769,684	71,787,347
Average family size	2.9	3	3.14
Housing units	26,083	1,232,511	115,904,641
Occupied units	25,202	1,149,276	105,480,101
Vacant units	881	83,235	10,424,540

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