New law may save your house

A new law signed by President Bush that will go into effect on October 1, 2008 was created to assist homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage.

According to HUD's website, homeowners having trouble paying their house payments should contact the appropriate counseling agency. The contact information is:

• HUD.gov
• HOPE NOW Alliance at (888) 995-HOPE
• FHA 800-CALL-FHA

The program is designed to slow the rate of foreclosures in hopes of stabilizing the country's housing market.

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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. 407-304-0255

President Bush not completely happy with housing bill

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino in a press briefing acknowledged that President Bush signed the housing bill this week even though he was not happy with parts of the bill.

When questioned by reporters if the absence of ceremony or a statement by President Bush when signing the bill was an indication of President Bush's desire to distance himself from the bill, Ms. Perino responded;

"When a President of the United States, no matter who it is, signs a bill, that's putting your name on it. And we said last week that there was a provision of the bill that we think bailed out lenders rather than helping homeowners, and we didn't agree with it, but we recognized that the timing was such that we needed the bill sooner than later. And having a prolonged veto fight that we were convinced we would win, and we proved that we would win, was not in the best interest of the housing market and of the credit market. And so that's why the President signed the bill today. "

The housing bill is being considered one of the most important pieces of legislation in decades.


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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255