Retirees may find they don't qualify to refinance their mortgages

The revision allows lenders to use untapped retirement account balances in computing debt-to-income ratios to help seniors qualify for a mortgage.WASHINGTON — Here's a heads-up for the growing ranks of seniors whose post-retirement monthly incomes aren't sufficient to qualify for a mortgage under today's tough underwriting standards: Thanks to a rule change by the largest players in the home loan business, you may be able to use imputed income from your 401(k), IRA and other retirement assets to qualify for the loan you want.

(Mark Turnauckas)

Whether early retirement comes by choice or not, it presents many challenges for retirees. One significant issue is stretching out an individual retirement account portfolio over a longer period than a traditional retirement at a time when retirees are living longer and encountering increasingly high medical expenses.

Unless Gen Xers and late baby boomers are able to make big changes in their savings, spending and debt habits, they are on track to become the nation's first generations to fare more poorly than earlier groups of retirees, according to a new study from the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts.

Although home prices are rising in many markets, lenders still want borrowers to have high credit scores and big down payments.WASHINGTON — With home prices rising in many markets around the country, might mortgage lenders start loosening up their hyper-strict underwriting rules and extend loans to buyers who now find themselves on the sidelines?

The Obama administration has just released the details on yet another "major" push to help homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages--a number now estimated at something like 20% of all homeowners.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Federal Housing Administration say many lenders' underwriting restrictions go beyond what the agencies themselves require.WASHINGTON — Two federal agencies with far-reaching influence over the mortgage market are working on a problem that could affect the ability of many consumers to obtain a home loan: How to encourage private lenders to ease up on their underwriting restrictions that go beyond what the agencies themselves require for mortgage approvals.