Brodie Stephens- Broker Associate Selling Homes in Folsom | Placerville | Pollock Pines | El Dorado Hills | Elk Grove | Roseville | Rocklin

• In coming weeks, federal policy makers could roll out pilot programs to further test the concept of renting out single-family homes.
• There are two different types of programs that officials are likely to consider.  Under the first, the Federal Housing Administration could sell properties in bulk to investors who agree to rent them out.
• A more likely option for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be to set up pools of properties in which third-party investors would take a stake.  Investors could be responsible for handling maintenance and day-to-day operation of the rental pool, with Fannie and Freddie sharing in some of the returns.

Read more about the pilot programs at http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/01/12/six-questions-on-foreclosure-to-rental-programs/.

In the third quarter of 2011, 82 percent of homeowners who refinanced their first-lien home mortgage either maintained about the same loan amount or lowered their principal balance by paying-in additional money at the closing table, according to a report by Freddie Mac. Of these borrowers, 44 percent maintained about the same loan amount, and 37 percent of refinancing homeowners reduced their principal balance.”Cash-out” borrowers, those who increased their loan balance by at least five percent, represented 18 percent of all refinance loans; the average cash-out share during the 1985-to- 2010 period was 46 percent.More info