President Bush Wednesday signed into law a housing bill that will help more than 400,000 Americans keep their homes and help to stabilize the turbulent housing market. The legislation also will streamline the financing process for Section 202 housing projects.
The seniors housing provision allows the department of Housing and Urban Development to delegate the processing of Section 202 mixed-finance projects to state and local housing agencies. Section 202 is low-income seniors housing. It is expected that, with a less cumbersome financing process, more affordable, low-income senior housing units will be built. The bill also provides some financial relief to lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the form of loan guarantees.
The bill has been widely hailed as the most significant piece of housing legislation since President Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 1930s. It will ensure that the roughly 400,000 homeowners whose mortgages cost more than their houses can refinance their loans to avoid foreclosure.
