You might not be aware of an important decision that the United States Senate will be considering in the next few days. This decision will determine whether or not housing consumers will be able to get fair, safe and affordable mortgage credit, which of course is a major part of the health of the national housing market.
Current loan limit increases for FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae are due to expire at year’s end. There is a major push by many groups to make these loan limits permanent in order to restore investor confidence and stabilize mortgage markets and the entire economy as well.
While this is definitely national news, it also hits us close to home in the Tallahassee real estate market. You see, many Tallahasseans have relied on these government insured loans over the past twenty years (and longer, but before my time…). Except for the boom market years of 2004-2006, these were the typical loan programs that we saw utilized in our sales in the Tallahassee real estate market.
So, what can you do? Send a letter to your Senators. The House of Representatives has already voted to do so, but the Senate has reduced the maximum limit in its bill. Our economy is heavily tied to the housing market and we need to follow the lead of the House of Representatives.
How Do You Do IT?
Follow this link and fill out your name and address. It will generate a letter and email it for you if you wish, or allow you to modify it and print it for snail mail. It takes less than a minute and you’ll be doing your part to maintain your own home’s value.
The Senate needs to keep the higher loan limits in place for 2009 and beyond.
Here are the letters that I have sent to Senator Bill Nelson and Senator Mel Martinez.
June 12, 2008 07:50 PM
Senator Bill NelsonU.S. Senate716 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510-0001Subject: Make Higher Loan Limits Permanent for FHA, Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae Dear Senator Nelson, As your constituent and a REALTOR, I urge you, as a Member of the Senate, to support making permanent the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits in the bipartisan Economic Stimulus Act, signed by President Bush last February. The legislation raised the maximum loan limits in high cost areas to $729,750 but it expires on December 31, 2008. The limits help homeowners in 240 counties in 26 states and can help get our national economy back on track. The House-passed housing stimulus bill, H.R. 3221, makes the $729,750 limits permanent. Senate bills cap the limits at $550,440. Our 1.2 million members applaud the progress the Senate has achieved, but strongly believe that the final bill must include the House bill’s loan limits. The national mortgage market meltdown dramatically raised the cost and reduced the availability of mortgages in my market. Higher limits are helping to revitalize local housing markets, providing safe, fair and affordable mortgages for our state’s homeowners. The limits are also helping to stabilize our entire economy. Higher limits simply reflect market realities in high cost areas. A lower limit unfairly penalizes citizens based simply on geography. Drastically reducing the temporary limits at year’s end to the Senate cap of $550,440 will push our fragile housing and credit markets back into turmoil. We need permanent limits of $729,750 to stabilize our housing markets and help citizens of every state — not just residents of high cost areas. Please support making the $729,750 loan limits permanent. Sincerely, Joe Manausa2138 Amanda Mae CourtTallahassee, Florida 32312Joe Manausa 2138 Amanda Mae Court , Tallahassee, Florida 32312
June 12, 2008 07:50 PM
Senator Mel MartinezUnited States Senate356 Russell Senate Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510-0001Subject: Make Higher Loan Limits Permanent for FHA, Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae Dear Senator Martinez, As your constituent and a REALTOR, I urge you, as a Member of the Senate, to support making permanent the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits in the bipartisan Economic Stimulus Act, signed by President Bush last February. The legislation raised the maximum loan limits in high cost areas to $729,750 but it expires on December 31, 2008. The limits help homeowners in 240 counties in 26 states and can help get our national economy back on track. The House-passed housing stimulus bill, H.R. 3221, makes the $729,750 limits permanent. Senate bills cap the limits at $550,440. Our 1.2 million members applaud the progress the Senate has achieved, but strongly believe that the final bill must include the House bill’s loan limits. The national mortgage market meltdown dramatically raised the cost and reduced the availability of mortgages in my market. Higher limits are helping to revitalize local housing markets, providing safe, fair and affordable mortgages for our state’s homeowners. The limits are also helping to stabilize our entire economy. Higher limits simply reflect market realities in high cost areas. A lower limit unfairly penalizes citizens based simply on geography. Drastically reducing the temporary limits at year’s end to the Senate cap of $550,440 will push our fragile housing and credit markets back into turmoil. We need permanent limits of $729,750 to stabilize our housing markets and help citizens of every state — not just residents of high cost areas. Please support making the $729,750 loan limits permanent. Sincerely, Joe Manausa2138 Amanda Mae CourtTallahassee, Florida 32312As a reminder for those who subscribe to the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog by email, some embedded pictures and videos might not be appearing in your email and you might need to click the title header to go to your browser where all will be visible.
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Joe Manausa is a real estate investor and the Broker and Co-Owner of Joe Manausa Real Estate. He can be reached via e-mail through the Tallahassee Real Estate Website or catch his latest writings on the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog , or by calling (850) 386-2001.
