Mortgage Market Affected by Blackout

Telephones weren't being answered at the Manhattan offices of the Mortgage Bankers Association of New York and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York in the wake of a massive power failure that hit the Northeast Thursday afternoon.With an estimated 40 million Americans losing power, residential loan closings scheduled for Friday, Aug. 15, will presumably be canceled and pushed into the week of Aug. 18. In addition, with some bank, thrift and mortgage offices closed in the affected states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, mortgage applications cannot be filed by consumers. A spokeswoman for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America in Washington said she had not heard of any problems in the affected areas, "but that doesn't mean they don't exist."