Citigroup Gives Unemployed Mortgage Payment Break

Citigroup just announced that they are going to try and help the unemployed by lowering their monthly mortgage payments to an average of $500 a month for up to three months.

Citigroup has been in experiencing some hardships lately and with the recent US Government bailout they received, this will be the 3rd try at saving the financial institution in the last five years.

This could be good news for those who may just be down on their luck in the current job market but for those who have been out of work for some time, it may provide little help in the long run.

One of the new items in the stimulus program is offering a $8,000 credit or up to 10% of the purchase price of the home, which ever of the two is less.
Here are the specs to see if you qualify:

• purchase is a primary residence
• must be first time buyer
• Purchased before December 1st
• Property can not be from an inheritance or family member
• As an individual, gross income is less than $95K, $170K if married and filling jointly

You can get the full details here.

For the month of January, banks took control of 835 houses and condos in Orange County. It seems as though foreclosures have been on a steady rise over the past months and analysts are unsure if there are any signs of this trend letting up.

Even with Obamas new $75 million mortgage aid, many are torn on if will even make any sort of difference in helping the current crisis.

President Obama has launched his latest action plan to use $75 billion dollars to give to homeowners, mortgage investors, and loan service companies but also push another $200 billion to help out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Some key points include:

• People whose monthly payments are more than 43% of their monthly income are lowered with goventment help down to as much as 31%
• Giving cash incentives to borrowers and companies as long as they continue to make payments on time. This will be up to $1000 a year for up to 5 years.
• Allowing people to refinance who owe more then 80% of the value of their home.

It should be interesting to see how this pans out but don’t go run down to your lenders office just yet. Things should start to pan out in early March.