Freddie Mac Rejects Riskier Mortgages

WASHINGTON - Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Tuesday it will no longer buy high-risk home mortgages it deems to be the most vulnerable to foreclosure. The surprise move came amid a deteriorating market for subprime loans affected by slumping home prices and rising interest rates.
The government-sponsored company, the second-biggest financer of home loans in the United States, said it will begin using stricter standards for mortgages that it buys - including limiting the use of loans requiring less documentation of the borrower's status than conventional mortgages. The goal is "to help ensure that future borrowers have the income necessary to afford their homes," Freddie Mac said.
"The steps we are taking today will provide more protection to consumers and enhance the level of underwriting standards in the market," Richard Syron, the company's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

Novato cools inspection concerns

The Marin Association of Realtors and Novato officials have been working to mend the group's concerns over the city's residential resale inspection program, including inconsistencies and delays in inspection reports.
The association first brought the issues to the city's attention in September, and the situation has "greatly improved" since then, association president Valerie Castellana said. She said she wanted to address the City Council on Monday to clarify concerns and recommended solutions.
Castellana said some of the association's 1,700 members had observed inconsistent inspections of residential properties and noted instances in which inspections were delayed for six weeks or more.
"With escrow periods of 30 days, sometimes shorter, the wait for a Novato inspection process has caused delays in sales - to the detriment of buyers and sellers," Castellana said.