Update: New Information on the New Loan Limits
Reuter's news agency was announcing late Thursday morning that the U.S.
economic stimulus package being hammered out in Congress would include
a temporary up tick in the size of loans that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would
be allowed to purchase.
Republicans on the Hill have agreed to raise the current loan limit
of $417,000 for a single family home for one year although there is not yet
agreement on how high the limit should go. Proponents, who feel that a higher
ceiling would be one way to add liquidity to the mortgage market, frequently
mention $625,000 as a new loan limit.
It looks as though Congress has also agreed to a tentative deal to allow tax
rebates of $300 to $1200 per family and enact business tax cut to get the economy
moving again.
One of the rumored compromises behind the package was an agreement on the part
of Democrats to drop increases in food stamps and unemployment benefits in return
for gaining rebates for virtually everyone earning a paycheck, perhaps a minimum
of $3000 per year, even if they do not make enough to pay income taxes. The
Republican proposal would have limited the rebates to taxpayers.
The minimum rebate to those eligible is likely to be $300 with an additional
$300 for each child with a family limit of perhaps $1,200. Eligibility would
be capped by income of maybe $75,000 for an individual and $150,000 for couples.
Persons familiar with the negotiations estimated that rebate checks would not
arrive until probably June.