one last desperate move to hold up the housing market.
some poor & honest people are going to be bag holders in the near future.
LA Times article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/d...vADW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
Despite Illegal Status, Buyers Get Home Loans
By Anna Gorman Times Staff Writer Tue Aug 9, 7:55 AM ET
....
Across the country, particularly in Texas and parts of the Midwest, hundreds of illegal immigrants have bought homes using special lending programs that bypass the need for a Social Security number. Now, with backing from some of the country's largest financial institutions, this newest effort to tap customers for the real estate market is moving to the nation's largest concentration of illegal immigrants â California.
....
But for years, because qualifying for a mortgage required a Social Security number, the only way for an illegal immigrant to do so was by using a false number. In addition, such immigrants often were rejected or overlooked by legitimate lenders, leaving them vulnerable to fraud.
Lenders have a powerful incentive to find ways to get around those barriers: tens of thousands of potential customers. The National Assn. of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals estimates that more than 216,000 undocumented immigrants, including many who have been in the country for decades, could buy homes if they had better access to the market.
....
Many illegal immigrants cannot make the down payments or prove they earn enough to pay a mortgage in the state's pricey markets. Those who have been able to find affordable homes have bought in places such as Bakersfield.
...
Some banks are reluctant to take the risks involved in the illegal-immigrant market. "If someone were to get deported, what happens?" said Cynthia Mendoza, an account executive with Bank of America. "It's a loss to the bank."
In addition, large underwriters such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aren't buying the loans, so the banks must keep them. A spokesman for Fannie Mae said the company recently reviewed its policies at the request of several lenders but decided not to make any changes, citing "complex and evolving" U.S. immigration laws.
But other financial institutions say the risk is worth taking.
They are being urged on by one of the nation's chief banking regulators, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Eager to guard against predatory lending practices, the FDIC is encouraging banks to reach out to the Latino population â both documented and undocumented. The loans based on tax identification numbers are one way to do that.
FDIC officials predict that despite the slow start, the loans will take off in California, with its huge illegal-immigrant population.
"It happened in Chicago," said FDIC spokeswoman Linda Ortega. "And it will happen in Los Angeles."
...
some poor & honest people are going to be bag holders in the near future.
LA Times article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/d...vADW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
Despite Illegal Status, Buyers Get Home Loans
By Anna Gorman Times Staff Writer Tue Aug 9, 7:55 AM ET
....
Across the country, particularly in Texas and parts of the Midwest, hundreds of illegal immigrants have bought homes using special lending programs that bypass the need for a Social Security number. Now, with backing from some of the country's largest financial institutions, this newest effort to tap customers for the real estate market is moving to the nation's largest concentration of illegal immigrants â California.
....
But for years, because qualifying for a mortgage required a Social Security number, the only way for an illegal immigrant to do so was by using a false number. In addition, such immigrants often were rejected or overlooked by legitimate lenders, leaving them vulnerable to fraud.
Lenders have a powerful incentive to find ways to get around those barriers: tens of thousands of potential customers. The National Assn. of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals estimates that more than 216,000 undocumented immigrants, including many who have been in the country for decades, could buy homes if they had better access to the market.
....
Many illegal immigrants cannot make the down payments or prove they earn enough to pay a mortgage in the state's pricey markets. Those who have been able to find affordable homes have bought in places such as Bakersfield.
...
Some banks are reluctant to take the risks involved in the illegal-immigrant market. "If someone were to get deported, what happens?" said Cynthia Mendoza, an account executive with Bank of America. "It's a loss to the bank."
In addition, large underwriters such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aren't buying the loans, so the banks must keep them. A spokesman for Fannie Mae said the company recently reviewed its policies at the request of several lenders but decided not to make any changes, citing "complex and evolving" U.S. immigration laws.
But other financial institutions say the risk is worth taking.
They are being urged on by one of the nation's chief banking regulators, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Eager to guard against predatory lending practices, the FDIC is encouraging banks to reach out to the Latino population â both documented and undocumented. The loans based on tax identification numbers are one way to do that.
FDIC officials predict that despite the slow start, the loans will take off in California, with its huge illegal-immigrant population.
"It happened in Chicago," said FDIC spokeswoman Linda Ortega. "And it will happen in Los Angeles."
...