By Katherine Sayre | The Times-Picayune
As the hours before a midnight deadline ticked away Monday (Sept. 30), the possibility of a federal government shutdown was creating uncertainty in the recovering U.S. home mortgage market.
The extent to which homebuyers could feel the pain, real estate professionals said, depends largely on how long the budget impasse on Capitol Hill goes on.
New Orleans area real estate and mortgage professionals said the potential impact will be minimal as long as the hiatus doesn’t drag on for weeks, but buyers could see delays in getting their loans processed.
Mike Anderson, president of Essential Mortgage, a company of real estate firm Latter and Blum, said his staff was working furiously Monday to request income and Social Security number verifications from the IRS and Social Security Administration, which will cease issuing the records in the event of a shutdown.
Anderson said loans can’t close without the income tax transcripts, a requirement put in place after the mortgage crisis in an effort to fight fraud.
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