© Rueters 2009 After weeks of closed-door negotiations, U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid plans to unveil broad healthcare reform legislation on Wednesday with a first test vote on the package possible by the weekend.The healthcare overhaul, President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, has been stalled in the Senate as Reid waited for cost estimates and searched for a way to win the 60 votes needed to clear Republican procedural hurdles.Senate Democrats have scheduled a 5 p.m. EST meeting to hear details of the bill and get the cost estimates provided by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. More >>

© Los Angeles Times 2009To pay for healthcare reform, the Senate leader considers raising payroll taxes for upper-income workers. Centrist Democrats prefer to tax costly 'Cadillac' insurance as a way to lower health costs. Read more. ...
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In Announcement 09-14: Electronic Appraisal Reports, Enhancements to the Loan Delivery File Format, and Mortgage Fraud Reporting; Fannie Mae stated it will require the submission of electronic appraisal reports in XML format. In support of this announcement, Fannie Mae is updating the 2000-Character Loan Delivery File Format. Fannie Mae is advising lenders of the new data element that will be required to support electronic appraisal submissions. The Document File Identifier is a 10-digit alphanumeric data element that will be assigned by the Collateral Data Delivery (CDD) system. A unique identifier will be assigned at the time the electronic appraisal report data is successfully submitted t ...
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Congress extended authority for the National Flood Insurance Program through Dec. 18, 2009 while House and Senate committees continue to work toward comprehensive program reform. Without an extension, property owners could not obtain a mortgage loan in more than 10,000 communities across the U.S. NAR will continue to work to extend the program until Congress takes up a long-term reauthorization and reform measure.Visit NAR's Natural Disaster/Flood Insurance homepage ...
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© Rueters 2009   An influential business group said on Thursday that its continued support for President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul hinges on whether it slows the soaring growth rate of healthcare costs. The Business Roundtable, which represents some of the largest employers in the United States, released a report saying that "effective" healthcare reforms could save employers as much as $3,000 per worker by 2019. Read more. ...
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© WSJ 2009  Last week, President Barack Obama signed a law that extends through next spring a temporary tax credit of up to $8,000 for some first-time home buyers, which was due to expire Nov. 30. The law also adds a new tax credit of up to $6,500 for certain repeat home buyers. The package, which the government estimates will cost a total of $11 billion, is intended to help spur housing sales, a critical part of the economy.See some answers to commonly asked questions about the new rules here. ...
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The compromise health care reform legislation, released last week by the House majority leadership is scheduled for floor debate on Saturday, November 7, 2009. HR 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, retains many of the features for small businesses and the self-employed that were included in the original House bill. These include (1) larger insurance risk pools, (2) group-like policy underwriting and rating rules for individual policies, and (3) individual and small employer tax credits for the purchase of health coverage. The bill includes new provisions approved by each of the three policy committees that first considered the original House bill, HR 3200. Among these changes ...
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Last week Fannie Mae announced its new Deed-for-Lease Program (D4L) that allows eligible borrowers facing foreclosure (or their tenants) to stay in their primary residences. Under D4L, the borrower transfers ownership of the property to the lender through a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure and the borrower (or the tenant) signs a lease for up to 12 months. The program is designed for borrowers who don't qualify for other workout solutions, including modifications, or who do not meet their obligations under the modification. The purpose of the program is to minimize displacement of families and deterioration of neighborhoods that often occurs when homes are left vacant. The rent may not e ...
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The Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works (EPW) approved climate change legislation (S. 1733) that does not include the real estate energy labeling opposed by NAR. Eleven of 12 Democrats — a majority of the panel's 19 members — voted to advance the bill without amendment and with no Republicans present. Republicans had requested full EPA economic impact analysis of the bill before participating in a markup.The EPW vote represents another in a long series of steps that are required before the full Senate may take up omnibus energy legislation. Several other committees have or are expected to produce bills which Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will then combine ...
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© CNN 2009  Some 650,000 troubled borrowers have been put into trial loan modifications under the president's foreclosure rescue plan, the Treasury Department said Tuesday. That number represents 20% of eligible homeowners at least 60 days behind in their payments, according to the Treasury report. This is up from 16% a month earlier. Read more. ...
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