Relocation assist issue for Char from Baltimore

We have received this email from one of our reader Char from Baltimore and she is going through a lot of trouble. here is her story:

The Executive Director of the Baltimore Housing Authority and Commissioner of The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development(Paul T. Graziano) and HUD FHEO misrepresented the facts about Alcott Place and its housing quality standards. The building was inadequately ventilated; it was environmentally and psychologically
toxic, and endangered the lives, safety, health, and well-being of building occupants, visitors, and employees. Instead, of the owner, management, and the Baltimore City Housing Authority's HCVP and Office of 504 Coordination and FHEO addressing the problems, each banned against any tenant that exercised his or her rights, and also organized tenants to rebel against other tenants by creating and posting discriminatory notices in a federally assisted building for the poor,
elderly, and disabled. Retaliation against the complaining tenant resulted in toxic chemical sprays(paints) being deliberately released unto the complaining tenant(s) and deliberate overexposures to sabotage the health of any complaining tenant. The black-balling also led to the complaining tenant being denied targeted and deprived of relocation assistance in accordance with the Uniform Relocation Assistance Act. In
fact, the complaining tenant(s) that was threatened by the hostile living environment and whose health had been adversely compromised by indoor air pollution, unacceptable maintenance practices, and poor building design encountered an involuntarily eviction. Commissioner Graziano misrepresented that "tenants moved voluntarily during the course of rehabilitation, and that no further assistance would be offered as it is their choice to relocate at that point". As for the state of health that Mr. Graziano spoke of, for two years now(since 2007), I have been left homeless and virtually living out-of-a vehicle due to Sick Building Syndrome, HVAC illness, severe and debilitating allergies/allergic asthma with immune system suppression that was caused by a toxic project base section 8.

U.S. homes sales posted a surprise drop in August

"After four consecutive months of gains, sales of existing U.S. homes posted a surprise drop in August. The unexpected decline sent stock markets tumbling as investors worried that further fallout in America’s housing market could stall the economy’s recovery -- and possibly lead to a double-dip recession.

A popular taxpayer credit of US$8,000 for first-time homebuyers in the United States and historically low interest rates have been helping drive home sales across the country. But pent-up demand from the new buyers looking to take advantage of the tax credit and super-low interest rates may be losing steam."

Mortgage problems taking its toll on Americans' credit scores

A scoring company created by the three national credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- has some eye-opening numbers. VantageScore Solutions, whose risk-prediction scores are now being used by some of the largest mortgage companies and banks, has found that the way consumers handle their mortgage problems can have profound effects on their credit scores.

For example, loan modifications that roll late payments and penalties into the principal debt owed on the house can actually increase borrowers' scores modestly. Refinancings of underwater, negative-equity mortgages -- which the Obama administration's Making Home Affordable program offers through government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- may have little or no negative effect on scores, even though the homeowners might have been tottering on the edge of serious delinquency before refinancing.

What is the role of Government in regulating the Mortgage Market today?

"In the go-go years of the U.S. housing boom, virtually anybody could get a few hundred thousand dollars to buy a home, and private lenders flooded the market, aggressively pursuing borrowers no matter their means or financial history.

Now the pendulum has swung to the other extreme. Only one lender of consequence remains: the federal government, which undertook one of its earliest and most dramatic rescues of the financial crisis by seizing control a year ago of the two largest mortgage finance companies in the world, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

While this made it possible for many borrowers to keep getting loans and helped protect the housing market from further damage, the government's newly dominant role -- nearly 90 percent of all new home loans are funded or guaranteed by taxpayers -- has far-reaching consequences for prospective home buyers and taxpayers.

The government has the power to decide who is qualified for a loan and who is not. As a result, many borrowers among both poor and rich are frozen out of the market.

Government officials generally agree that it would be better for private lenders to resume their traditional role as major providers of finance for home loans. But policymakers now face some tough choices. They must decide how to reduce support for the mortgage market without letting it collapse. And they must decide what kind of support the government should provide in the long run. "

Almost half of U.S. mortgages seen underwater by 2011

The percentage of U.S. homeowners who owe more than their house is worth will nearly double to 48 percent in 2011 from 26 percent at the end of March, portending another blow to the housing market, Deutsche Bank said on Wednesday.

Home price declines will have their biggest impact on prime "conforming" loans that meet underwriting and size guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the bank said in a report. Prime conforming loans make up two-thirds of mortgages, and are typically less risky because of stringent requirements.

Of prime conforming loans, 41 percent will be "underwater" by the first quarter of 2011, up from 16 percent at the end of the first quarter 2009, it said. Forty-six percent of prime jumbo loans will be larger than their properties' value, up from 29 percent, it said.

"The impact of this is significant given that these markets have the largest share of the total mortgage market outstanding," the analysts said. Prime jumbo loans make up 13 percent of the total market.

Fixed Mortgage Rates Are Climbing Up All Over the United States?

The pressure on mortgage rates in America is mainly attributed to external forces. As many media sources have reported, major players in the US Debt market are still not satisfied with the economical and fiscal measures taken by the American Government. With the outside pressure on interest rates and the future liquidity situation in housing market still looking bleak, the American recession continues to dampen. Long-term Treasury bond rates, which are being closely watched by experts, have doubled recently alongside mortgage rates. The jump in long-term Treasury bond rates, which previously hovered at around two percent, was prompted after Chinese politicians negatively remarked about long-term projections concerning the American economy. These two interlocking factors- Long-term Treasury bond rates and foreign sentiment concerning the progress and condition of the U.S. economy, will play the most effective role in moving mortgage rates as they are considered to be the two most influential forces affecting mortgage rates.

Rise in the U.S. Housing Sales, fueling recovery hopes??

"U.S. existing home sales notched their third monthly rise in June and prices hit the highest level since October, fueling hopes that the housing sector is finally on the mend and will help propel a broader economic recovery.
Other data on Thursday showed a jump in new claims for jobless aid last week, but claims by those already receiving benefits declined. The Labor Department said the numbers were distorted by a seasonally unusual pattern of layoffs in the auto sector that should fade in the next week or so.
Some analysts, however, read the jobs report as evidence that employment conditions are stabilizing and said this chimed with other signs that the economy has stopped shrinking.
U.S. stocks surged more than 2 percent on the home sales data. The Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 9,000 mark for the first time since January as investors took heart that a turn in the housing market -- seen as a linchpin of the economy -- would end a severe U.S. recession and help deliver growth over the rest of the year. The Nasdaq registered its 12th straight day of gains, its longest winning streak since 1992.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said sales of existing homes in June rose 3.6 percent to an annual rate of 4.89 million units, compared with a downwardly revised 4.72 million pace in May.
The June reading was the fastest sales pace since October, and topped forecasts for a 4.84 million unit annual pace."