MyNewPlace Blog

This morning, President Bush signed into law H.R. 3221, the Foreclosure Prevention Act 2008.

The housing rescue plan, which was mired in Congress for the past few months undergoing countless amendment changes, was put on the fast track after concerns about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ability to raise capital spread.

Treasury Secretary Paulson (pictured at left with President Bush) lobbied Congress intensely to grant the Treasury Department authority to purchase common stock in the GSEs and offer them unlimited lines of credit.

After House Republicans balked at the idea of backing up the two mortgage giants with taxpayer dollars, a provision to extend $4 billion in block grants to hard hit communities was also added to garner the support of Democrats.

We have been tracking this legislation for the past few months. To read about more of the provisions included in the legislative housing remedy check out our past articles at our apartment blog's political corner.

The legislation will go into effect on October 1; FHA and HUD are now scrambling to prepare for the overhaul. It remains to be seen if the act will indeed prevent foreclosures.

Currently, people are viewing houses as a risky investment and are finding it much safer to look for apartments for rent. Later this week, we'll investigate how the apartment rental market has changed over the past year.

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