California Home Loan 360

WASHINGTON - Prospective home buyers would get easier-to-understand information on mortgage terms and save an estimated average of $700 in closing costs under a proposal unveiled Friday by President Bush.

Luxury homes prices fell in California's wealthiest communities in the fourth quarter from the third as stricter mortgage terms reduced the number of potential buyers.

Judges would be allowed to rewrite mortgage terms under a Democratic plan. Critics fear rate hikes. Over the opposition of the nation's lenders, Senate Democrats are seeking a change in the bankruptcy law that they say could keep hundreds of thousands of hard-pressed borrowers in their homes.