Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.real From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: real Mon, May 11 1992 Date: Mon, 11 May 92 05:22:18 EDT Message-ID: 05-11 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update May 11, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ABUSE OF FMHA PROGRAM REPORTED: A federal low-income housing program for rural residents has been defrauded of millions of dollars, say congressional investigators, citing more than 70 alleged abuses of a Farmers Home Administration program in 31 states. The agency is the top federal lender for towns with less than 20,000 people. A House subcommittee will unveil the findings of a six-month investigation Wednesday. (For more, see special Fraud package below.) FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES DIP: Fixed mortgage rates fell slightly last week to the lowest level since mid-February, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reports. Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 8.75%, down from 8.84% a week earlier. One-year adjustable rate mortgages averaged 6.02%, compared 6.10% a week earlier. REVERSE MORTGAGES GROWING: For reverse mortgage information - the most frequent topic of letters to the American Association of Retired Persons - AARP offers the 7-page booklet, "Home-Made Money, Consumer's Guide to Home Equity Conversion." For a free copy or a list of home-equity lenders by state, send a postcard to AARP Home Equity Information Center, 601 E St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20049. FNMA OFFERS MORTGAGE HOTLINE: The Federal National Mortgage Association runs a consumer hot line with information on FHA-insured reverse mortgages and lenders. Call 800-732-6643, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., EDT. Also, the National Center for Home Equity Conversion offers a list of lenders. Send $1 and a business-size, stamped, self-addressed envelope to 1210 East College Drive, Suite 300, Marshall, Minn. 56258. OTS REGULATION TO TAKE EFFECT. A Washington federal court judge Friday refused to temporarily block a regulation allowing federally insured thrifts to open branches across state lines. The interstate branching regulation, issued last month by the Office of Thrift Supervision, takes effect May 11. The suit was filed by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the Independent Bankers Association of America. ARIZONA CENSUS FIGURES RELEASED: Arizona's median monthly cost of a home mortgage climbed 32.8% to $769 in 1990 from $579 in 1980, says a report of 1990 census figures to be released Tuesday. Renting costs rose from $418 to $438 during the decade. Tucson's median mortgage costs was $615, compared to $778 for Phoenix and Tempe's $852. Median rents in Tucson were $377; $442 for Phoenix and $496 for Tempe. SUITES' POPULARITY GROWS: Interest in executive suites is growing among companies not ready for a long-term commitment, entrepreneurs starting a business and corporations looking to expand, says Headquarters Companies. The firm specializes in setting up main and branch offices within 24 hours. Locations are in furnished buildings with a staff to answer phones, handle faxes and mail. Information: 1-800-345-2220. CONSTRUCTION LOSES JOBS: The construction industry lost 11,000 jobs last month, according to unemployment statistics reported Friday by the Labor Department. The drop in construction jobs came as the nation's overall unemployment rate fell for the first time since July. The unemployment rate dipped to 7.2% in April, down from 7.3% in March. MORTGAGE DISPARITY REPORTED: Blacks are about twice as likely as whites to be turned down for mortgages, regardless of income, The Miami Herald said. Figures gathered from detailed mortgage-lending reports submitted by banks to the Federal Reserve Board in 1990 showed that statewide, regardless of income, 28% of blacks were rejected, compared with 20% of Hispanics and 15% of whites. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON FRAUD: ABUSE APPEARS `AT EVERY POINT': Improperly secured projects, inflated costs, diverted building materials and siphoned operating accounts have cost a Farmers Home Administration program millions of dollars, say investigators. "It appears that theft, diversion and waste occur at every point in the process," said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., whose House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will reveal the probes findings. WIDESPREAD ABUSE DENIED: FmHA head Laverne Ausman said he's unaware "of any great scandals" in the agency's housing programs. The General Accounting Office report cites an Indiana developer who used false companies to pad construction costs by $117,000 and diverted material to build homes for his two daughters, sources say. Total losses could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, says Dingell. FMHA HEAD PROMISED REFORM: In the last five years, 35 real estate operators have been indicted for misusing the program, which has financed more than 409,000 apartment units for elderly and low-income tenants since 1966. Reforms are pending, says Ausman, because the program needs monitoring, not "because we've got a big mess out there." (End of package.) Real Estate Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. 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