Recognizing the need to take a broader, community-wide focus rather than continuing to concentrate solely on one-house-at-a-time mortgages, a major supplier of mortgage money is experimenting with a new home loan that links housing finance to public transportation.

Dubbed the location efficient mortgage, or LEM, the loan acknowledges the savings home buyers can achieve by purchasing in neighborhoods served by rail or bus. The idea is that borrowers who buy houses near public transit are more apt to use it, thereby saving money that might otherwise be spent on their automobiles.

The loan is being tested by a few primary lenders at the request of Fannie Mae. A government-chartered but private corporation, Fannie Mae doesn't make loans directly. Rather, it buys loans from local lenders, thereby insuring they always have fresh money to lend to home buyers and refinancers.

The loan works on a simple premise, says Julie Gould of Fannie Mae's Housing Impact Division: "The closer a family lives to a bus stop, train station or subway stop, the less likely they are to use their own vehicles, and that translates into lower fuel bills, less maintenance and fewer repairs. And the community benefits because energy consumption is cut, air quality is improved and total ridership is increased."

The loan applies a portion of the potential savings to the buyer's qualifying income, thus increasing his purchasing power. In some cases, Fannie Mae might even allow the borrower to finance the cost of a discounted, one or two-year transit pass as part of the mortgage.

The loan, which was developed in concert with the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Surface Transportation Defense Council, will be tried out in a $100 million pilot program. The product already has been rolled out in Seattle and San Francisco and Chicago and Los Angeles, among others, are said to be next on the list.

In Seattle, Fannie Mae is working with local governments and lenders to stimulate urban revitalization around transit sites. In the Bay Area, the company is working with lenders, local transit officials, the NRDC and CNT to do the same.

Also in the Bay Area, meanwhile, and in Florida, too, the company has entered into a partnership with lenders and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to offer "disaster prevention loans." The funding will allow residents to prepare their homes for earthquakes, fires and other natural disasters and prevent damage before it occurs.

Borrowers will apply for the loans through approved and qualified contractors, and quick approvals are promised, as are competitive interest rates and assurances that the work will be performed correctly. There are no income limitations for home owners, who can borrow up to $20,000 with repayment terms up to 10 years.

The types of upgrades allowed under the program include: foundation bolting, chimney bracing, cripple wall stiffening, window opening reinforcement, dry rot repair and termite damage repair.

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Published: July 12, 1999

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.