Government

The U.S. Senate has voted down legislation that would allow bankruptcy court judges to modify the interest rate, terms, or even principal balance owed on primary-residence mortgages. After passing by a good margin in the House in early March, the cramdown bill failed in the Senate on Thursday by a vote of 45 to 51.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank purchased $23.142 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from government agencies this week. Of the Fed’s new commitment to buy $1.25 trillion in MBS this year, its purchases now stand at $404 billion.

Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), submitted a proposed rule to the Federal Register this week to revise the GSEs’ housing goals for the year.

The government has said its Home Affordable Refinance Program will lower monthly mortgage payments for four to five million homeowners. The initiative targets those home loans that are held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the administration has expanded the eligibility pool by allowing borrowers to refinance even if they owe 5 percent more than the home’s current market value.

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on Thursday, which showed that rates for fixed-rate mortgages this week lingered at their record lows and those for adjustable-rate mortgages also eased.

The U.S. Senate approved a bill this week that will give federal investigators new resources and additional funding to combat mortgage crimes and housing scams. According to officials, an estimated 5,000 new mortgage fraud cases are reported every month.

Green Tree Servicing LLC, of St. Paul, Minnesota, has joined the growing list of mortgage companies officially under contract to provide federal loan modifications through the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program.

The May 1 deadline for the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) is rapidly approaching. Beginning Friday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will refuse to purchase mortgages that do not comply with the HVCC regulations for property appraisals.

The Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that it has received more than 100 applications from companies interested in serving as fund managers for the legacy securities portion of its Public Private Investment Program (PPIP).

The new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) for loans sold to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to take effect in less than one week, on May 1, 2009. But according to Lansdale, Pennsylvania-based Global DMS, which has provided appraisal management solutions to the mortgage industry for the past 10 years, many lenders are still not prepared to comply.