State refinancing program stalls

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Governor Eliot Spitzer’s $100 million plan to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, announced in July, has been slow to address the state’s subprime mortgage crisis, with just one refinancing in the pipeline at October’s end. The state mortgage agency has not been able to help homeowners refinance into 30- or 40-year fixed-rate loans from subprime adjustable-rate ones because lenders cannot offer loans that borrowers can manage. About 1,250 foreclosures are expected in New York City by year’s end.