NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals has announced that it will work to support HR 3393, the Mortgage Fairness Act of 2015. The legislation, introduced by Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL) and Dennis Ross (R-FL) in the U.S. House of Representatives, would provide a long overdue technical correction to the Dodd-Frank Act. This technical correction would allow lower and moderate income consumers and homebuyers some flexibility in the loan they choose to buy a home in order to have better cash flow at the time of closing.
"For years mortgage professionals have been telling their elected officials about how potential homebuyers in lower income neighborhoods have been harmed by the current regulatory regime as it applies to loan options for homes under $150,000," said John Councilman, president of NAMB. "Many mortgage market participants do not reach this segment of the market and there are few options, if any, for access to mortgage products in this price range. Individual mortgage professionals, like those who comprise the membership of NAMB, have ongoing working relationships with these low and moderate income homebuyers because, as owners of their own small businesses they are working in the small towns and lower income communities within larger cities where these smaller mortgages are most needed. The regulatory limitations imposed by the CFPB have arbitrarily impacted low and moderate income consumers because loan products that allow for better cash flow through a slightly higher rate are not available. I travel all over the country in my role as NAMB president, and I hear about this issue everywhere I go. It is very encouraging to see legislation introduced that would address what really is a very harmful situation from the point of view of consumers and homebuyers."
