New program to fund 50,000 mortgages

Pauline Bell

Friday, April 5, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Nevada will get $5 billion in affordable home ownership and rental financing funds for more than 50,000 low- to middle-income families over the next five years.

The financing was announced Wednesday by the Federal National Mortgage Association -- Fannie Mae -- the nation's largest source of home mortgage funds.

Eligibility requirements for prospective borrowers will be outlined in seminars later this month.

The announcement came during a morning press conference in Las Vegas at the Sawyer State Office Building attended by Fannie Mae Vice Chairman Frank Raines, Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev.; Mayor Jan Laverty Jones and Reno Mayor Jeff Griffin.

"The investment plan we're announcing today, called HouseNevada, is the result of our work with local partners to address the state's housing needs," said Raines. "In Las Vegas, Reno and rural communities such as Ely, we want to expand our lenders' capacity for single-family and multi-family lending, and work more closely with community-based organizations."

Raines said HouseNevada is designed to complement both existing housing initiatives and the efforts of Fannie Mae's local partners to give Nevada home buyers and renters access to a broader range of affordable mortgage loan products, rental opportunities and counseling services.

"HouseNevada moves away from the one-size-fits-all Wash ington-based approach by recognizing the unique characteristics of our community's housing market," Bryan said in a prepared statement. "By working with community leaders, Fannie Mae is creating new products to help first-time home buyers. Fannie Mae's investment in our state will also mean the development of more affordable rental housing in areas where we have rapid job growth."

Since Fannie Mae Chairman and CEO James Johnson announced the designation of Nevada as the site of a partnership office last September, Charlene Peterson has been hired as Fannie Mae's Nevada partnership director and Corinne Craig has been hired as the partnership office specialist.

As part of HouseNevada, Peterson will convene two community lending roundtables of local lenders, city officials, nonprofit representatives, real estate, and appraisal professionals to regularly meet and evaluate both Northern and Southern Nevada's housing needs and progress made under HouseNevada.

Peterson also will hold educational seminars throughout the month of April for lenders, Realtors, appraisers and other housing industry professionals to learn about flexible Fannie Mae community lending products and options available under HouseNevada.

Initial commitments under HouseNevada include mortgage products with low down payments and flexible underwriting and mortgage loans to purchase and rehabilitate older residential properties.

Fannie Mae, a congressionally chartered, shareholder-owned company, is the nation's largest source of home mortgage funds. It has committed to provide $1 trillion in targeted lending for 10 million new homes by the end of the decade.

The targeted lending will serve low- and moderate- income families, minorities, new immigrants, residents of central cities and other underserved areas and people who have special housing needs.