33,000 Subprime Mortgage Homeowners Help By FHASecure

WASHINGTON – Dec. 3, 2007 – U.S. HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced that more than 33,000 borrowers, to date, have refinanced their subprime home loans with FHASecure, a government-insured foreclosure avoidance initiative created in September. An additional 20,000 are in the pipeline for approval this month, bringing the total to more than 53,000 in a four-month period.

“FHASecure is providing tens of thousands of families with a powerful incentive to obtain affordable and safe home loans,” Jackson said during his keynote address to the Office of Thrift Supervision’s National Housing Forum. “Homeowners finally have an opportunity to save their American Dream without risking their financial future, and they’re taking advantage of it everyday.”

FHASecure enables homeowners who have a history of on-time mortgage payments under their original interest rates, but missed payments after their rates reset, to refinance into FHA’s mortgage insurance program. Families with high-cost mortgages and an on-time payment history also continue to refinance through FHASecure.

HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is on target to insure over 240,000 FHASecure home loans in fiscal year 2008, nearly two and one-half times the number served in fiscal year 2007. Since the creation of FHASecure three months ago, FHA has received more than 113,000 refinance applications from families whose loans are current or past due.

FHA refinancing has increased 125 percent over the past year, and is expected to increase further next year. FHASecure saves the average subprime homeowner about $400 a month, or $30,000 over the expected life of the loan.

For more information about FHASecure or to find the nearest FHA approved lender, phone 1 (800) CALL-FHA (225-5342) or visit www.FHA.gov.

© 2007 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

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