Features of new housing bill

The new housing bill has been described as the most comprehensive housing legislation in more than a generation. Features of the new housing bill include:

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  $300 billion in guarantees to help refinance troubled mortgages.
  An opportunity for as many as 400,000 homeowners to qualify for low-cost, government-backed mortgages to refinance existing mortgages that they are no longer able to afford.
  Government support of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac including an opportunity for the government to buy stock in the mortgage backers.
  $3.9 billion to help local governments and communities buy and rehabilitate foreclosed homes.
  Tax credits for first-time home buyers.
  $1.3 billion in tax relief to Gulf Coast homeowners and businesses recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the form of relieving taxation on Road Home Tax grants for affected taxpayers who took hurricane-related casualty losses on their tax returns.