For homeowners stuck with expensive mortgages on houses they can’t sell, President Obama served up a $75 billion program — in addition to another $200 billion to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — Wednesday to ease their burden.
The plan doubles the federal guarantee, to $400 billion, for mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie — which hold about 40 percent of the nation’s $12 trillion in mortgage debt — to encourage mortgage availability and make refinancing easier.
The rest of it relies on voluntary agreements by lenders to lower mortgage payments for families pushed to the financial brink.
Critics, including mortgage brokers and would-be borrowers, questioned whether the plan goes far enough to bring new buyers into the market, which they see as essential for a housing recovery. They also said it doesn’t solve an underlying problem
