And while I'm on the subject - A mortgage plan tailored for illegals: Banks eager to dip into $44 billion housing market:
Banks across the United States are writing loans based on individual taxpayer identification number, or ITIN. They are easy to get, even if you are ineligible for a Social Security card.I wonder if sending money to Al Qaeda counts?
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In addition to accepting ITINs, banks are being flexible when they look at credit reports, since many immigrants don't have a traditional credit history. For instance, say lending sources, the bank may consider rent and utility bill payments, or a history of sending money to family overseas as evidence that a customer is a good risk.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is helping a group of Midwest banks to develop ITIN programs.Ya think? There's more in Banks Find Mortgage Clientele in Undocumented Immigrants which adds some of those heart warming "welcome the new neighbors" stories we all know and love. Funny, none of the stories ever seem to involve the "new neighbors" that we wouldn't want to have.
Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., is studying whether to buy the mortgages from banks, spokesman Douglas Robinson said.
Without the participation of a major institution like Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, the Federal National Mortgage Association -- which together hold 37 percent of U.S. residential mortgage debt -- the spread of ITIN mortgages will be limited, Paulson said. Right now, most banks making the loans must hold onto them, rather than selling them for cash that could be used for additional mortgages.
"This is a bottleneck in this market," she said.
