People who buy homes within a quarter-mile

People who buy homes within a quarter-mile of a bus line or within a half-mile of a train station can now qualify with Fannie Mae for a mortgage eight percent larger in a growing number of cities. The company began offering larger mortgages three years ago to people in Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco who bought homes near mass transit and who agreed to limit how many cars they own. Recently the program expanded to the Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia areas. The Associated Press reports that Fannie Mae hopes to offer the program soon in five additional areas: Washington, Atlanta, Baltimore, Louisville, Ky., and State College, Pa. The program is based on studies showing that people who use public transportation may save $200 to $250 per month that would have gone into owning, maintaining, and insuring an automobile.