Of adults older than 65, four in five own their homes outright, without a mortgage, Schless says.

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Just under 15 million households owned their own home in 2011, either with a mortgage or loan, or outright - down 4%.

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Some 64% of households - 14.9 million people - owned their own home in 2011, either with a mortgage or loan, or outright.

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The announcement came after weeks of speculation that Ameriquest might be sold outright, perhaps to hedge fund Ellington Capital, which specializes in mortgage investments.

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The third is through outright purchases of securities such as U.S. Treasury Securities and, these days, mortgage backed securities.

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The idea is to rehab the houses and either sell them outright or rent them to people who, with financial counseling, can eventually take over the mortgage.

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James Lockhart, head of the agency, urged U.S. mortgage servicing firms--companies that process payments of loans rather than owning them outright--to adopt the plan as a national standard.

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