WASHINGTON — Mortgage companies are finally starting to sign up for a long-delayed piece of the Obama administration’s $75 billion foreclosure-prevention program.
The administration had been offering lenders who made so-called “piggyback” mortgages - second loans that allowed consumers to make a little or no down payment - incentives to lower payments or eliminate the loans entirely.
But no one signed up until Tuesday when became the first to do so.
During the housing boom, lenders readily gave such second loans. While home prices soared, such mortgages were even extended to borrowers with poor credit and people who didn’t provide proof of their incomes or assets.
Those loans are now an obstacle to alleviating the housing crisis. That’s because piggyback lenders - fearing they won’t be repaid - can veto a borrower’s efforts to modify their primary mortgage.
Consumer advocates and even some …
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