Foreigners can obtain mortgages through British banks, as long as they meet the financial criteria.
In exchange, the government will guarantee new mortgages through the Federal Housing Authority FHAA).
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also offer low-down-payment mortgages through conventional lenders.
This approach differs radically from that of the major banks, which syndicated mortgages through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
H&R Block originated mortgages through January 2008, and some were sold to become part of mortgage-backed securities.
Borrowers seeking to improve their mortgages through a government program will soon find the paperwork a little less cumbersome.
The Congress should authorize the Treasury to purchase asset-backed securities in the secondary market and mortgages through auctions.
The best, proactive way to revive the housing market is to help bankrupt and delinquent borrowers rework their mortgages through principal reductions.
"Unless we can make servicers modify mortgages through bankruptcy or eminent domain, the servicers are not going to reduce principle," Mr. Miller, 57, said in a recent interview.
Hudson City Bancorp, a New Jersey thrift that wrote only high-quality mortgages through the boom and insisted on down-payments of 20%, recently announced record profits.
