NAR Needs Your Help With Congress: The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) sent out an email alert to its members asking for help with pressing business now before the United States Congress.
I was made aware of this call to action from another blog article, written by Chris Elizabeth Griffith. I thought the message was important enough to rehash here and call for even more REALTORS® to realize that their one voice is important and our collective voice is a voice that is to be heard and reckoned with.
NAR would like all of its REALTOR® members to contact their respective Member of Congress and solicit Congressional action to stabilize the mortgage market through the passage of two very important bills that are now pending.
The first, H.R. 1852, the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007 involves an overhaul of the FHA. Here is an exert that pretty much summarizes the bill:
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings- The Congress finds that--
(1) one of the primary missions of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single family mortgage insurance program is to reach borrowers who are underserved, or not served, by the existing conventional mortgage marketplace;
(2) the FHA program has a long history of innovation, which includes pioneering the 30-year self-amortizing mortgage and a safe-to-seniors reverse mortgage product, both of which were once thought too risky to private lenders;
(3) the FHA single family mortgage insurance program traditionally has been a major provider of mortgage insurance for home purchases;
(4) the FHA mortgage insurance premium structure, as well as FHA's product offerings, should be revised to reflect FHA's enhanced ability to determine risk at the loan level and to allow FHA to better respond to changes in the mortgage market;
(5) during past recessions, including the oil-patch downturns in the mid-1980s, FHA remained a viable credit enhancer and was therefore instrumental in preventing a more catastrophic collapse in housing markets and a greater loss of homeowner equity; and
(6) as housing price appreciation slows and interest rates rise, many homeowners and prospective homebuyers will need the less-expensive, safer financing alternative that FHA mortgage insurance provides.
(b) Purposes- The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to provide flexibility to FHA to allow for the insurance of housing loans for low- and moderate-income homebuyers during all economic cycles in the mortgage market;
(2) to modernize the FHA single family mortgage insurance program by making it more reflective of enhancements to loan-level risk assessments and changes to the mortgage market; and
(3) to adjust the loan limits for the single family mortgage insurance program to reflect rising house prices and the increased costs associated with new construction.
The second YES vote that NAR is seeking support on is for the of the same act.
This amendment would raise the amount of insurance the FHA would be able to increase the maximum FHA loan limits by 175% from the proposed $417,000 to $729,750 in high cost of living areas. This single change would address serious problems that now exist in the Jumbo Loan market.
The amendment would actually allow limits in local markets to be raised to the lower of the following tow indexes: 125% of the local medium home price or the 175% of the national conforming loan limit, which would be indexed each year. In addition, the amendment will give the FHA authority to raise the limit by $100,000 if local market conditions should warrant.
So please, if you believe this bill and the Frank-Miller-Cardoza amendment will be a boost to our industry and the national economy, please take action now!
Now Have a Blessed Day,
John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®
Mission Grove Realty
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This blog and the contents written here is the intellectual property of John Occhi, Hemet California REALTOR®. The views and opinions expressed are just that - views and opinions of John Occhi and those who comment. Before you can evaluate how this information can either assist you or not, I suggest you pick up the phone and have a conversation with me, at (951) 443-6259. Please note that I am not an attorney or a tax professional and any time I discuss either topic, I suggest you consult with the proper professional for relevant assistance. This blog is part of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network, which is a social network highlighting the best of Web 2.0. ActiveRain blogs include blogs from REALTORS®, Mortgage professionals and others in the real estate community from across the country and Canada. Information is provided with the intent of educating and assisting home owners, home sellers, home buyers and real estate investors with information the can use to make better real estate decisions. I am proud to be a full time REALTOR® with Mission Grove Realty who is proud to be a contributing member of the ActiveRain community.
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