I suggest the topic of coming changes in the down payment assistance program. ABC 15, "A ban on seller-funded down payment assistance programs will kick in October 1 when the new Housing Bill takes effect. Critics say the programs, which basically allow sellers to pay for a buyer's down payment, artificially inflate home prices. Supporters say they are the best way to get a buyer into a home."

"'We have to get the loan figured out before the 1st of October because that's when the AmeriDream program ends,' said David Mills."

"David and his wife Julie have four kids and are expecting a fifth. They are looking for a home after learning the home they have been renting is about to go to the auction block in October."

"It took two months to look for a home, but according to their RE/MAX realtor Danielle Martinez, it only took about a week to sign a contract and make a deal."

"Martinez said, 'We are advising our sellers to be as aggressive now with pricing to make sure we get the buyers in, because we basically need to have them in Escrow with in the next week to close by September 30. FHA loans take a little bit longer so we need the full month of September to close them.'"

"David added, 'I hope it all works out because when you buy a house you're pretty well stuck with it.'"

From KTAR.com. "A hot program responsible for a big chunk of home sales is about to disappear. The Down Payment Assistance Program was the last zero-down program available for people looking to buy a home, but a new housing bill eliminated the program, which had sellers donate the downpayment to a charity which then passed it on to the buyer."

"The program was supposed to end Oct. 1, but Valley mortgage broker Dean Wegner said it's happening sooner."

"'Banks are pulling out right now,' Wegner said. 'If you're approved and you're looking for a house, using down payment assistance, you should have a house in escrow in at least the next 10 days and close on or before Sept. 15 -- Sept. 20 at the very latest.'"

"Wegner said 30 to 40 percent of all home sales have used down payment assistance. Uncertainty about the future of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is responsible for banks getting out of the program fast, Wegner said."

"'The banks are pulling out six to seven weeks ahead of HUD's announcements because they are furious that if they go to sell it (a mortgage) to the FHA, the FHA's not going to buy it and they're going to get stuck with a loan that is totally unsellable to anybody,' he said."

The Reno Gazette Journal. "The median sales price for an existing single-family in Washoe County in July was $251,000, a 5 percent decrease from June and down 22 percent from July 2007.'

"Washoe County reported 386 existing single-family home sales in July, an increase of 6 percent from the previous month and up 31 percent from the same period last year. Besides increased affordability due to lower median prices, the uptick in sales is also likely the result of buyers trying to get in before key changes from the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 take effect this October, said Ken Wiseman, broker-owner of Reno Rancho Realty."

"One change will close the loophole that allowed down payment assistance programs such as Nehemiah and Ameridream to be used with Federal Housing Administration or FHA loans, Wiseman said. The programs basically make it possible for home sellers to indirectly contribute the 3 percent down payment required by the FHA to home buyers."

"The changes, combined with the fact that they will take effect in a month when housing sales traditionally start to slow, could have a negative impact on home sales in October, Wiseman said. But they are also spurring more sales now."

"'Word is out on the street now that if you're looking to do an FHA loan with down payment assistance, you better hurry up,' Wiseman said. 'About 40 percent of all the offers I get now are for FHA loans with down payment assistance. What's going to happen to those buyers come Oct. 1? I guess we're going to find out.'"

The Pioneer Press. "The clock is ticking on the popular no-money-down "gift" programs for people lacking cash for a down payment on a home. The country's new housing law bans seller-funded down payment assistance starting Oct. 1, adding another dash of turmoil to the nation's reeling housing market and sparking alarm - or cheers - depending on whom you talk to."

"Nonprofit gift assistance is a critical safety net for working Americans, they say, including more than 15,000 Minnesota homebuyers estimated to have gotten their down payments through just one such group, Nehemiah Corp. of America."

"'It's a program that's really for the little people,' said Scott Syphax, president of Sacramento, Calif.-based Nehemiah, one of the largest down-payment assistance charities."

"The FHA criticizes the deals as circular financing schemes that can take advantage of vulnerable homeowners and claims the loans default much more frequently."

"Seller-funded down payment programs are almost exclusively used with FHA-insured home loans. The 'gift' is money provided by so-called charities working with home sellers, not gifts from relatives or public agencies. The nonprofit essentially forwards money for the down payment from the seller to the buyer via a donation the seller makes to the nonprofit."

"The nonprofit pockets a fee, typically about $400. The seller unloads a property. The buyer gets into a home with no money out of pocket."

"Such deals took off in the Twin Cities in the past few years as other subprime loan products fell by the wayside, said Chris Galler, chief operating officer of Edina-based Minnesota Association of Realtors. Agents are reluctant to let go of any option for borrowers given the shrinking bag of mortgage tools available, Galler said, but they realize it's best for homeowners to have skin in the game and generally support the ban."

"'Long term, we would say it's the right thing for the marketplace,' Galler said. 'Short-term, I think it's going to be a headache.'"

"To Patti Mazzara, that's an understatement. Mazzara, a mortgage broker in Edina, said she anticipates fallout from the ban as would-be buyers get cut off from a market sinking in excess inventory. There is a real need for 100 percent financing, Mazzara said, because it is so difficult for many working-class people to save for down payments at today's higher home prices."

"'These are still proven, qualified homebuyers. We're not pushing people who have bad credit,' Mazzara said."

"Her clients Aaron and Amanda Swanson are buying a $132,000 split-level in Big Lake with an FHA-insured mortgage and $7,920 from Nehemiah for the 6 percent down payment. Amanda, 27, is a stay-at-home mom while her husband works in a machine shop making steel tubing. They rent a townhome in Coon Rapids and simply couldn't save enough for a down payment, she said."

"Amanda said she's never owned a home and has always wanted the security. 'We never lived in a house that was ours,' she said. 'For my daughter's sake, I wanted something she could live in and stay in and have as her own."

"'I've told everybody I can to try to get a house, if they want a house, before October 1,' she added."

"The FHA has made it clear the charity programs are a problem. Federal Housing Commissioner Brian Montgomery has said data show FHA-insured loans made to borrowers relying on seller-funded down-payment assistance 'go to foreclosure at three times the rate of loans made to borrowers who make their own down payments.'"

"Studies have shown that some sellers stick the extra 'gift' down payment onto the end of the loan, increasing the price and loan amount, meaning buyers pay for it over the life of the loan."

"The IRS ruled in 2006 that the specialized groups don't qualify as tax-exempt charities when they are paid by sellers to simply funnel money from seller to buyer in a self-serving circular loop. Since then, the IRS has revoked the tax-exempt status of more than two dozen nonprofit down payment assistance groups."

"The average down payment gift is about $4,500, Syphax said, which works out to about $20 a month. 'Down payment assistance is the safety net provider for housing opportunity in this country,' Syphax said. 'Cutting that net out from underneath working families is going to kill housing opportunity. The ripple impact across the economy is going to be enormous.'"

The Star Telegram. "Qualified buyers who act quickly can move into a new Legacy home with no out-of-pocket expenses at Lakes at Lost Creek."

"'Qualified buyers who purchase a completed home by Sept. 15 and finance with MTH Funding are eligible for both a zero down payment and $5,000 in closing costs, so the majority of our buyers pay no out-of-pocket costs,' said Curt Fletcher, community sales manager. 'But the government is ending the federal Down Payment Assistance Program next month, so visit us today before it's too late.'"

"Lakes at Lost Creek features Legacy homes priced from the $130s to the $170s and Meritage homes priced from the $170s to the $200s. Home sizes range from approximately 1,550 to 3,000 square feet."

"The zero down payment promotion is available only on completed homes. Buyers who prefer to build from the ground up can receive a dream package valued up to $20,000. Buyers who contract by Sept. 15 to build a new Legacy or Meritage home at Lakes at Lost Creek will receive popular designer features."

From Reuters. "Known as 'seller-funded down payment assistance,' builders could pay up to 6 percent of a home's sale price. The ban is a near-term negative for the industry, since it will shrink the pool of potential buyers, raise cancellation rates and weigh on already-depressed builders' shares."

"The chief executive of the largest U.S. home builder, D.R. Horton Inc, said he 'got suicidal' over the ban."

"'I'm absolutely shocked by it. And I'm upset by it,' Horton CEO Don Tomnitz told analysts on a recent call. 'To take 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent of the buyers out of the home buying decision, at a point in the economy that they did, it's absolutely ludicrous.'"

"While the new law contains a $7,500 tax credit for first-time buyers, that will not offset the ban on down payment assistance, which had no such restrictions, National Association of Home Builders CEO Jerry Howard said."

"What's more, builders had come to rely increasingly on down payment assistance as the credit crunch forced more buyers into the very government mortgages affected by the ban, Morningstar analyst Eric Landry said."

"Assisted down payments secure about a third of the Federal Housing Authority's portfolio today, up from 18 percent five years ago, said Housing and Urban Development spokesman Lemar Wooley."

"In reducing the number of potential buyers, whether or not they could afford down payments, the ban 'could cause another leg down' for builders by depressing home prices further and forcing them to write off the value of more land, JP Morgan analyst Michael Rehaut said on a conference call for clients."

"Also, cancellation rates could rise because agreements to buy homes struck before October 1 could see any assistance invalidated by a routine credit recheck after that date, said Bill Renner, NAHB's director of single-family finance."

"Builders such as Horton and Centex Corp, which both target first-time buyers, will especially feel the loss because more of their customers need either financial help or a government-backed loan, or both."

"Horton assisted 21 percent of buyers in its latest quarter, up from 7 percent in all of fiscal 2007, while Centex assisted buyers in a quarter of closings. Lennar Corp tops the big builders with about a third of its closings using down payment assistance in the second quarter, spokesman Scott Shipley said."

"Even luxury builder Toll Brothers Inc, which does not offer down payment assistance (DPA), will be hurt as owners struggle to trade up, CEO Bob Toll said on a conference call. 'We would expect that the whole daisy chain of the market will be impacted to some extent,' he said."

"Still, some builders see the logic in the ban."

"'The end of DPA will probably pressure industry sales in the near term, but over time, our buyers and the market will adjust,' Centex Chief Financial Officer Cathy Smith said on a conference call. 'We continue to believe that a return to more normal qualification standards is a very good thing long term, even if it carries with it a little short-term pain.'"