Mortgage-finance company in Washington Freddie Mac said it will allow some borrowers to rent out their homes after losing them to foreclosure.

The goal of the new policy is to prevent properties from becoming vacant so they won’t fall into disrepair.

Freddie also said it will allow renters to remain in their homes even if their landlord enters foreclosure. It has about 8,500 properties in the foreclosure process, but many are vacant.

“Keeping foreclosed properties occupied and in better repair will support local property values and promote a faster recovery in the housing market,” said Freddie Mac Chief Executive David Moffett.

Fannie Mae, which announced similar plans in January, said it has stopped about 20,000 foreclosure sales and halted 6,300 evictions of owners or renters this winter.

Under Freddie Mac’s new policy, tenants and former property owners need to demonstrate they have enough income to pay the rental bill.

Freddie Mac also said it would consider reinstating a mortgage for those borrowers who can qualify for a modified loan.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the government in September.

For more about this issue, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2008742377_freddiemacrent15.html

It has been revealed in a recent report that a mortgage rescue scheme that aims to try and reduce the number of repossessions taking place is to be rolled out across England. The scheme involves social landlords, which are housing associations, buying up homes from homeowners that are struggling to meet the repayments and could otherwise face repossession, and then allowing the former homeowners to continue living in the property on a rented basis.

The scheme is costing the government around £200 million, and it is estimated that around six thousand repossessions could be halted through the scheme. There are similar initiatives in place or planned in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, according to industry officials. This latest scheme is one of a number of measures that have been put into place to try and reduce the number of repossessions across the country, with some industry groups predicting that repossession numbers could soar as high as 90,000 over the course of the year.

This latest scheme was put into place last year, with an agreement being drawn up by the agency that represents the housing associations in England, the National Housing Federation, and the Council of Mortgage Lenders. So far the scheme has been adopted by around eighty local authorities across the country, but will now be extended across the rest of England. In Scotland a similar scheme has been in place for around five years, and it is thought that so far around seven hundred homeowners have benefited from the program.

Housing associations in England will buy up qualifying homes based on an independently assessed market value, and the homeowners will then either be allowed to stay on at the property as a rent paying tenant or may qualify to receive a loan from the housing association so that they can stay on as owners. The homeowners can then repay the loan in part or in full as their financial circumstances improve.

The scheme will be mainly aimed at more vulnerable households, such as those with children, those with disabled family members living in the household, and pensioners.

For more about this subject: www.loans4.co.uk

Stamp duty is to be suspended for a year on properties that cost up to £175,000 in a bid to boost the ailing housing market.

The long-awaited freeze on the unpopular levy is to take place from Wednesday.

It forms part of an emergency rescue package for hard-pressed home buyers and owners.

Gordon Brown has unveiled the flagship scheme to help people who are facing repossession stay in their homes.

The Prime Minister will hope it can tackle spiralling repossession figures and bolster his approval ratings, after Alistair Darling admitted the economy had hit a 60-year low.

Under the scheme, which will cost £1bn, vulnerable families will be offered the chance to sell their home and rent it back at a cheaper price.

They can sell the property to a registered social landlord who will clear the mortgage and then offer them a cheaper price in rent.

Read The Full Story Here
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Housing-Stamp-Duty-Exemption-Announced-By-Government/Article/200809115091112?lpos=Business_8&lid=ARTICLE_15091112_Housing%253A%2BStamp%2BDuty%2BExemption%2BAnnounced%2BBy%2BGovernment

1bn aid for struggling families facing repossession

Struggling families threatened with repossession will be able to sell part of their home to the council to stop them losing it under plans out today.

The £1billion Mortgage Rescue Plan is one of a raft of measures to be unveiled by Gordon Brown in a bid to prop up the slumping property market.

Government and property developers’ cash will be pumped into the scheme to help up to 9,000 families at risk of having their home repossessed. The plan will allow them to sell all or a percentage of their home to their local council or housing association and then rent it back at a more affordable level.

Up to £300million out of the pot is also going to be used to give 10,000 struggling first-time buyers help to get on the property ladder - which will also help building firms who face going bust in the wake of the credit crunch.

First-time buyers with a joint income under £60,000 will be able to get a 30 per cent loan towards a new-build property, which will only have to be paid back after five years. A senior Government source said: “Our plans are designed to help first-time buyers enter the market, support vulnerable families at risk from repossession and deliver more affordable homes sooner.”

Councils will get money to build 5,500 new homes over the next 18 months, while inner-city regeneration schemes which have stalled in the slump will also get a £200million kick-start.

However there was still no decision on a stamp duty “holiday”.

And, despite calls by the housing industry for a cut in interest rates, the Bank of England is expected to hold them at five per cent.

£300m to help first time buyers get on the property ladder

10,000 poor families to get chance to buy their first homes

£200m for schemes to regenerate hard hit inner cities

5, 500 council homes to be built over the next 18 months

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http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/09/02/right-to-sell-scheme-to-save-your-home-115875-20721072/