美国国家公共电台 NPR Some Mortgage Deals Are In Limbo As Government Shutdown Drags On

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It's Day 21 of the partial federal government shutdown, and it's causing big financial concerns for hundreds of thousands of people who aren't getting paychecks today. Here's one example. Some furloughed workers can't refinance their mortgages or buy homes because lenders can't verify their income right now. And as NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports, even those who aren't federal employees are getting stuck in limbo¹.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE²: Libby Anderson's (ph) divorce finalized³ this week. She'd hoped her ex-husband would finally move out of their Des Moines home, where they'd been living separate lives under one roof.

LIBBY ANDERSON: It was going to be, you know, as soon as today. I mean, we were really going to take care of it today, the day after it was final. And then he would be out.

NOGUCHI: But, no. Her ex is a furloughed air traffic controller. The shutdown means he can't split his assets with her, including his government retirement⁴ account. She needs those funds to refinance the house under her name. Also, he can't qualify for his own mortgage because he hasn't been paid for three weeks. The government stalemate also means they haven't explained the pending⁵ change to their young son.

ANDERSON: In a 4-year-old's head, you can't say, you know, Mom and Dad are going to be living in different places, and then you say, well, when, where? And we don't have those answers yet.

NOGUCHI: As the shutdown drags on, more people will find themselves facing similar roadblocks. Refinance applications are booming as mortgage rates fell nearly half a percentage point in recent weeks. But furloughed workers can't lock those rates in. Anyone looking to buy or refinance may have a harder time getting through to federal agencies to verify income taxes or get some loan information from the Federal Housing Administration, which remains⁶ closed. Rural home loans guaranteed through the Department of Agriculture are on hold, too. Margie Hofberg is president of the Residential⁷ Mortgage Center. She says her Rockville, Md., business will likely see a ripple⁸ effect.

MARGIE HOFBERG: This is going to be a house of cards because if I can't close and buy your house then guess what? You can't buy the house that you were buying, even though you don't work for the federal government.

NOGUCHI: Two deals nearly fell through this week, but Hofberg persuaded the lenders to waive⁹ certain paperwork. She says banks' strict requirements of borrowers create many potential snags.

HOFBERG: My hope would be that the lenders start becoming a little bit more flexible because it's not in their best interest to not do loans, either.

NOGUCHI: There's some precedent¹⁰ for these problems. During the 2013 shutdown, 2 percent of home loans never closed, according to the National Association of Realtors. But that one lasted only 16 days.

LAWRENCE YUN: The headache, really, is related to delays.

NOGUCHI: Lawrence Yun is the group's chief economist¹¹. He says 17 percent of home loans closed late due to backlogs¹². Most deals get done, but Yun says he worries more about possible impact on homebuyer psychology¹³.

YUN: Along with a shutdown, it causes greater uncertainty¹⁴ about the economic direction, which means that even the private sector¹⁵ employees may be less willing to purchase homes over time.

NOGUCHI: Gregg Busch agrees.

GREGG BUSCH: What furloughed employees are going to go out and buy a house right now when there's no definitive¹⁶ date of a compromise?

NOGUCHI: Busch is vice¹⁷ president of First Savings¹⁸ Mortgage, a big player in the Washington, D.C., area. He notes the impact on contractors¹⁹, who make up the largest segment of the federal workforce²⁰.

BUSCH: There's a lot of contractors here that aren't getting paid. People who own those companies, they're not going to buy, be able to refinance, and they're going to start laying people off. And those people, I think, will be most affected²¹.

NOGUCHI: For Libby Anderson, the new divorcee, the shutdown cannot end soon enough. While her breakup with her ex has been amicable²², sharing space is taxing.

ANDERSON: It just feels like you're at the finish line, and the finish line keeps getting moved. But you're exhausted²³. There's not much you can do about it. You can't move the finish line closer 'cause it's totally out of our control.

NOGUCHI: The latest he expected to move out was April 1. But now Anderson worries the shutdown could outlast²⁴ that.

ANDERSON: Obviously, I wouldn't kick him out into the street. But we really both need to move on and have some physical distance from each other.

NOGUCHI: Until then they will continue to retreat to separate corners of their house. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

MARTIN: And we're following a developing story this morning. Authorities say they have located 13-year-old Jayme Closs. She's been missing since October, when police discovered her parents dead in their home in Barron, Wis. Investigators²⁵ got thousands of tips. There were massive search parties to try to follow up on those tips. Last night the Barron County Sheriff's Department announced that Closs has been found alive about an hour north of Barron. CBS affiliate²⁶ WCCO spoke²⁷ with Closs's aunt, Sue Nyberg Allard (ph), last night.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SUE NYBERG ALLARD: There was rumors²⁸ earlier today. And I prayed and prayed they were true, and they've come to not be true. And I just shut myself totally down 'cause I thought today was going to be the day. Then to find out two hours later that she was found - I just cannot believe this.

MARTIN: The sheriff's department says shortly after Closs was located, a suspect was taken into custody²⁹. The department didn't provide any further information but plans to hold a press conference later this morning. We'll continue to monitor this story and bring you any developments.

1 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

8 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

9 waive   

vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)

参考例句：

• I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。
• In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

10 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

12 backlogs   

积压未办之事( backlog的名词复数 )； 没交付的订货； 备用； 备用物

参考例句：

• "You'll need kindling and medium wood and logs and backlogs. “点火柴、引火柴、原木、垫底的，你都用得着。” 来自名作英译部分
• Our manufacturers have heavy backlogs on their hands. 我们的生产厂商手头有许多积压而没有交付的订单。

13 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

14 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

15 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

16 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

17 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

18 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

19 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

21 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

22 amicable   

adj.和平的，友好的；友善的

参考例句：

• The two nations reached an amicable agreement.两国达成了一项友好协议。
• The two nations settled their quarrel in an amicable way.两国以和睦友好的方式解决了他们的争端。

23 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

24 outlast   

v.较…耐久

参考例句：

• The great use of life is to spend it doing something that will outlast it.人生的充分利用就是为争取比人生更长久的东西而度过一生。
• These naturally dried flowers will outlast a bouquet of fresh blooms.这些自然风干的花会比一束鲜花更加持久。

25 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

27 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

28 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。