Seeking to buoy a strained rural economy in the midst of the recession, Congress ordered up a huge increase in federal mortgage guarantees for small-town home buyers as part of the 2009 economic stimulus package. The response from lenders was immediate. The value of federally backed rural home loans soared to $16.2 billion in fiscal 2009, up from just $3.7 billion two years earlier. Last year, the guarantees reached nearly $16.8 billion. Now, a newly released audit has found that the rural loan program, administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, was plagued by lax government oversight and many of the same sloppy banking practices that fed the broader mortgage debacle.
Auditors see rising defaults in rural loans
Most Popular Articles
Latest Articles
Labor market report is good news for mortgage rates
Friday’s jobs report came in as a miss of estimates and wage growth came in lower than expected, which is good news for mortgage rates.
-
Virginia Realtors: Zillow’s touring agreement may not be legal
-
Low inventory creates challenging conditions in North Carolina’s housing market
-
Tri-state area housing shortage could cost the region economically
-
Remote reverse mortgage counseling now permanently permitted in Massachusetts
-
NAR settlement terms slated to go into effect in mid-August