Refi Your Home Loan

WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to storm-ravaged Volusia County in Florida and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following severe storms, flooding, straight-line winds, and tornadoes last week.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is launching a regional print and radio advertising campaign to encourage families who were displaced by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav in 2008 to register for disaster housing assistance.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Donovan today announced that HUD is offering nearly $1 billion to make substantial improvements to thousands of public housing units nationwide. The Public Housing Capital Funds being offered are provided through The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) and are designed to help public housing authorities improve the quality of their housing stock, promote energy efficiency and create jobs.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced that HUD is making nearly than $100 million in Recovery Act funding available to help eliminate dangerous lead-based paint and other health and safety hazards from low-income homes. These grants will help 53 local programs in 20 states and the District of Columbia to protect young children from lead poisoning and create ‘green collar jobs. To view a summary of local programs funded through the Recovery Act, visit HUD’s website.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced his intention to implement the mortgage reforms under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) that are scheduled to take full effect on January 1, 2010. For the first time in more than 30 years, HUD is updating mortgage rules to help consumers shop for the lowest cost mortgage, avoid costly and potentially harmful loan offers, and save an average of $700.

WASHINGTON – Seven local programs that offer critically needed housing and support services to extremely low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS are being awarded $8 million in grants announced today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. These grants will help hundreds of persons and their families struggling to find a stable home as they receive the services they need to manage their illnesses.

A key lending rate fell to its lowest point on in history Tuesday as credit market conditions continue to change.

Libor, the London Interbank Offered Rate, is a daily average of rates that sixteen banks charge each other to lend money in London. It is a tightly watched key and it is often times used to calculate adjustable-rate mortgages. More than three hundred million dollars in assets are tied to Libor.

The three month Libor average fell to 0.99%, dropping below 1% for the first time since the rate was actively being tracked beginning in 1986 when the British Bankers Association started keeping records.

The three month rate stood at 1.01% on Friday. The 3-month Libor soared to 4.8% in October after the fall of the brokerage Lehman Brothers, and the resulting volatility caused banks and investors to put a hold on all capital assets.

The so called TED spread, which measures the difference between the three month Libor and the yield on the three month US Treasury bill, now stands at roughly 80 points. A more narrow difference indicates that banks are more willing to lend money. It widened to 4.6 points at the peak of the current financial crisis in October.

The dip below 1% comes after many central banks around the world lowered their interest rates and took drastic steps to increase lending.

The Federal Reserve has lowered U.S. interest rates to near 0% and fed billions of dollars into the financial system to increase liquidity. Several central banks in Europe and Asia have taken very similar steps. Banks have become more confident, and lending rates have come down, largely because of “central bank actions to provide massive amounts of liquidity around the world.”

WASHINGTON – In an effort to stimulate community development and job growth, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today allocated $1 billion in funding to nearly 1,200 state and local governments through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009(Recovery Act). These grants will be provided through HUD’s long-standing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program and will primarily benefit low- to moderate-income persons living in these communities.