When the going gets tough, the rules get going. This seems to be the case with the loosening of standards by Fannie Mae to remedy the housing and real estate crisis the country is experiencing today. Other sectors however disagree saying it was Fannie Mae’s loose standards that caused the housing crisis in the first place. Doomsayers say the housing problem is getting worse while positive thinkers would like to believe that that the sector is on recovery. No matter what you believe, Fannie Mae decided to relax their rules to give more leeway to homeowners to avail of refinancing. This strategy is expected to counter a total meltdown of the industry.

By giving homeowners a chance to avail of refinancing then they will be able to get lower mortgage payments and maybe, just maybe, get on with their payments and avoid further foreclosures. The strategy includes dropping of selected credit requirements, waiving of appraisals and reduction of income-documentation standards when it comes to loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae. This is expected to affect a great number of homeowners considering that it accounts for over 40% of the residential mortgage debts amounting to $12 trillion.