Report

Abstract: The State of Minnesota’s Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative (EMHI) seeks to boost homeownership rates among Minnesota’s “emerging markets,” defined as households of color, non-English speaking households, and households in which English is a second language. Many of the implementation strategies in the EMHI Business Plan address general barriers to homeownership and should increase the number of emerging market households that become first-time homeowners. EMHI doesn’t stop there, however.

This report responds to a mandate in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) of 2003 requiring GAO to assess consumers’ understanding of credit reporting. Based on survey responses for a national sample of 1,578 consumers, GAO found that consumers understood the basics of credit reporting and the dispute process, although most consumers did not fully understand their rights in the dispute process. GAO also found that several factors were associated with consumers’ knowledge.

This report presents the results of a study that uses a controlled experiment with over 500 recent mortgage customers to examine the mortgage broker compensation disclosure proposed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of its July 2002 RESPA reform proposal. The focus of the disclosure is on any “yield spread premium” paid by the lender to the broker for loans originated with “above par” interest rates.

In this report, GAO's objectives were to determine: (1) what benefit payout options and accompanying information pension plans make available to participants at retirement, (2) what benefit payouts plan participants receive at retirement, and (3) the actions available to help retiring participants preserve their pension and retirement savings plan assets. GAO found that defined benefit (DB) plans make annuities available to all participants at retirement, while defined contribution (DC) plans make lump sums available to almost all participants.

GAO was asked to report on the implications of proposals to restructure the U.S. Social Security system by using a voluntary approach to individual retirement savings accounts accounts. GAO studied three countries that have enacted voluntary.individual account plans—the Czech Republic, Germany, and the United Kingdom. GAO found that making participation voluntary has significant implications for designing and administering the plan.

This report presents the results of a nationwide survey of rent-to-own customers. The survey found that most rent-to-own merchandise is ultimately purchased by the customer, most customers are satisfied with their rent-to-own transactions, and most customers are treated well if they are late making a payment, although some customers are subject to possibly abusive collection practices.