(Post-Star, The (Glen Falls, NY) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 9--Local financial experts and Realtors don't expect the federal government's seizure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to have an impact on this area in any specific way.

They do believe, though, that local housing and lending markets could be affected -- in general terms -- by the decision.

Now that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are in a government conservatorship, for instance, a key part of the mortgage industry is being stabilized.

"Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae normally buy loans on the secondary market, and this will enable them to continue to do that since the government is going to invest in them," said John Belanger, a broker at Royalview Realty in Glens Falls. "One of the worst things that could happen is to have qualified home buyers, but banks who can't lend money to them.

"This won't happen now that the government's taken action."

It won't happen because Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae won't run out of money with which to buy mortgages.

And this is good for banks that originate their own mortgages and then sell them to Fannie or Freddie, or both.

"If banks that normally sell their loans are forced to hold them, they aren't making money and therefore can't continue to issue new loans," Belanger said.

Dan Burke, regional president of NBT Bank in Glens Falls, also spoke about the general effects this decision could have.

"The impact nationally will trickle down through our economy," he said.

"And it will probably be a good thing. It will calm the market and slow foreclosure rates.

"But I don't see anything immediately impacting (NBT) bank. We do sell mortgages on the secondary market to these organizations, but we're not experiencing problems."

NBT isn't having trouble because it didn't get swept up in the rush to sell more mortgages and outgrow the lending competition, Burke said.

"Our underwriting practices are pretty well set," he said. "We know the people; we know the property; we know our local market. We've never gotten caught up in the fever of wanting to grow for the sake of growing."

Neither has Glens Falls National Bank.

"As far as the impact this will have on us -- Glens Falls National Bank -- I don't think it will have much of an impact," said Charles Petit, head of the institution's consumer lending division. "We generally keep our own loans; we don't sell them."

Mark Bergman, president of the Warren County Association of Realtors, doesn't think the federal seizure will result in any locally significant ramifications either.

But that doesn't mean there won't be important implications on a broader level.

"Hopefully, we'll see an increase in buyer confidence as people see the government taking action." Bergman said. "There's no reason people should be afraid of this decision. While I wouldn't want to be an investor from a stock owner's perspective, from a homeowner's perspective, there should be no reason to worry.

"In fact, there may be reasons that this becomes an even better time to buy a home than it had been."

That's because mortgages might get cheaper.

"I've done a little research, and it looks to me that there's a chance we could see some better interest rates become available," Bergman said.

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