If you are facing foreclosure or planning to walk away from your mortgage obligations, Fannie Mae has a strict warning for you.

Mortgage rates were just about the only report this week that were not disappointing to the US economy.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank announced today the committee will hold a hearing on the economic, mortgage and housing rescue plan he announced last week.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 4, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 725.6, an increase of 5.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 688.3 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 5.7 percent compared with the previous week and was up 10.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.

Washington Mutual, once one of the largest residential mortgage lenders will stop originating mortgage loans through independent mortgage brokers due to the ongoing mortgage crisis. However, WAMU will still originate mortgage loans through its retail bank branches.

For the week ending April 4th, mortgage rates on the 30 and 15 year fixed rate mortgages saw a slight increase while adjustable rate mortgages dipped slightly. Let’s take a look at the economic data to be released that will have an impact on mortgage rates throughout the week.

1.4 million borrowers are likely to face higher mortgage costs in 2008 when their fixed rate mortgages come to an end, according to the FSA. Supported by Members of all sides of the House of Commons, the Money Advice Trust charity has been working with the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) to publish advice for these borrowers.

The current mortgage crisis and soaring credit card interest rates have created a booming economy for consultants and services offering ways out of the hole, for a price. However, the information these profiteers are peddling is all free for anyone willing to take the time to look, according to Matthew Lesko’s GovernmentMoneyClub.com.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson unveiled his “blueprint” today towards the financial overhaul of the US economy and what parts the federal government would play. The financial overhaul will also include changes on the way mortgage loans are originated.

A new mortgage aid program, which the Bush administration is finalizing, would call for mortgage lenders to forgive a portion of a homeowners’ mortgage debt in exchange for the financial backing of the federal government.

This week there has been a number of huge factors contributing to the recent decline in mortgage rates. The Fed has lowered interest rates by 0.75 percent and they have also bailed out Bear Sterns from collapsing.

The U.S. economy is showing further signs of weakness as mortgage rates take a slight dip throughout the week.