HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE – Florida lawmakers may revisit property insurance changes instigated last year. A $12 billion increase in state-backed reinsurance was supposed to drop homeowners’ premiums by 24 percent, but it didn’t work that way. And some legislators now think the state’s increased financial risk overshadows the minimal savings.
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT – The FHA is mailing hundreds of thousands of letters to at-risk homeowners facing the initial reset of their ARMs. The first round of 280,000 letters went out last week, with 570,000 more scheduled through September 2008.
COUNTRYWIDE – In a turnaround for a mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial Corp. says it will expand programs to help borrowers manage mortgage payments for any type of subprime loan, even if the homeowner is not facing foreclosure or fallen behind in payments yet.
MORTGAGES – The mortgage mess is even messier than it appears on the surface. American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. has 490,000 loan records and no one, including American Home, knows who owns the loans now – including, apparently, the investors who actually do. For individuals facing possible foreclosure actions this could make for an excellent defense – the owner of the mortgage needs to be the one to file for foreclosure.