MBA Mortgage Action Alliance ‘Call to Action’ Urges Support of House Bill Supporting Access to Credit
The Mortgage Action Alliance, the grassroots advocacy arm of the Mortgage Bankers Association, issued a “Call to Action” urging its members to contact their House representative in support of legislation that would promote consumer access to credit during the coronavirus pandemic.
H.R. 6794, the Promoting Access to Credit for Homebuyers Act (https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6794), would require Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA to continue to purchase or insure loans or refinanced mortgages that they otherwise would have purchased or insured, regardless of whether the borrower has entered into forbearance on that loan. The bill would promote access to credit for homebuyers during the COVID-19 pandemic by preventing the GSEs and FHA from imposing additional restrictions or costs on borrowers who have inquired about, requested or received forbearance.
Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif., introduced H.R. 6794; among its co-sponsors is House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
Bill Killmer MBA Senior Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs, said the legislation is a direct result of outreach from an active MAA member explaining the problem to Rep. Vargas’s office, which led to conversations that resulted in introduction of this bill.
“Since passage of the CARES Act, some borrowers with recently closed loans have requested forbearance, and others are expected to do so in the near future,” Killmer said. “The existing policies at both the GSEs and FHA fall well short of helping all homeowners who have a hardship caused by the COVID-19 emergency and make many such loans effectively unsalable in the secondary market, depriving the economy of critically needed stimulus through cash-out refinances to creditworthy homeowners. These problematic policies have much broader ramifications due to their impact on new originations, particularly for low- to moderate-income borrowers without ample reserves to cover mortgage payments in the event of job loss or increased medical expenses.”
Killmer said because lenders cannot model or predict which homeowners will request mortgage forbearance shortly after the loan has closed, they have been forced to severely curtail their lending during the COVID-19 emergency. “Some of the hardest hit offerings are those provided by state housing finance agencies disproportionately serving low- to moderate-income borrowers, as these loans feature lengthy periods between closing and delivery into the secondary market, increasing the likelihood that a borrower could request forbearance during this window,” he said. “As a member of MAA, we need you to contact your Representative and urge them to co-sponsor H.R. 6794 to support homeowners adversely impacted by this current crisis.”
MAA is national, industry-wide campaign dedicated to helping real estate finance professionals learn how to become more engaged in political advocacy that supports the real estate finance industry. MAA has more than 46,000 active members nationwide in an industry of more than 250,000 employees. Membership in MAA is free.
To take action, click https://action.mba.org/mba/app/write-a-letter?0&engagementId=508125&_zs=rPPPA1&_zl=SDUm5. For more information about MAA, click https://mba-advocacy.informz.net/survistapro/sn.asp?gid=09A0E821-EC4F-434E-AADB-6EC3BE0F6557.
