Housing News Digest, October 24

Donations needed for 'Hope for Homeless Veterans' drive

DENVER - Help us bring Hope for Homeless Veterans by donating items for veterans on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 5:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 9NEWS. Anchor Gregg Moss will host this collection on our front driveway on 500 Speer Blvd.

Community Banks of Colorado fails; Bank Midwest to take over branches, deposits
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has been appointed receiver for Community Banks of Colorado, and Bank Midwest NA of Kansas City will take over its deposits and branches, the FDIC announced late Friday.

Bank Midwest is a unit of Boston-based NBH Holdings Corp., formed by a group of institutional investors in 2009 specifically to buy troubled community banks.

US announces help for underwater homeowners

A leading housing regulator on Monday announced changes to a government refinancing program that could help up to one million homeowners of the estimated 11 million whose homes are worth less than their mortgage.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees mortgage finance sources Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said it was easing the terms of the two-year-old Home Affordable Refinance Program, which helps borrowers who have been making mortgage payments on time but have not been able to refinance as home values have dropped.

Starting today, $100 down payments for HUD homes
It only takes a $100 downpayment for an owner-occupant to buy a HUD foreclosure in the Denver area.

Previously, it required a 3.5 percent downpayment. The $100 downpayment policy kicked off last Friday.

The new rule should boost the sale of homes owned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, local experts said.

BofA Merrill Lynch analysts expect another US debt downgrade
The congressional super committee charged with cutting another $1.5 trillion from the federal deficit is likely to fail, which could prompt another ratings agency to downgrade the U.S. credit rating by year-end.

S&P; already downgraded the nation's triple-A credit rating over the summer after political wrangling over the debt ceiling sparked fears that the situation among lawmakers would create constant strife, delaying the ability for the nation to deal with its economic crisis.