Legislation Jumps Hurdle
June 19, 2002
Housing Affordability Legislation Passed On To House Financial Services Committee
Inman News Features
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, it's a good day for moderate- and low-income Americans seeking affordable housing because H.R. 3995, the Housing Affordability for America Act, was passed out of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.
"We applaud Rep. Marge Roukema (R-N.J.) for her championing this legislation. MBA calls upon Rep. Roukema's colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass this important bill to help create more affordable housing opportunities for Americans," said James M. Murphy, MBA chairman.
The legislation contains a number of provisions that MBA supports, including rolling back the Ginnie Mae guarantee fee increase, permanently extending the FHA streamlined down payment formula, eliminating the cap on FHA 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages, setting a uniform national loan limit for FHA reverse mortgages for seniors, indexing FHA multifamily mortgage limits each year to the annual construction cost indexes of the Bureau of the Census and addressing future cost increases in high-cost areas by increasing the maximum high-cost multiplier or percentage for FHA multifamily loans from 110 percent to 140 percent of the base, with discretion given to the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to increase the percentage to 170 percent on a project-by-project basis.
The legislation now moves to the House Financial Services Committee. A vote is expected to pass the Committee on Thursday before it goes to the full House for consideration.
Washington, D.C.-based MBA is the national association representing the real estate finance industry.
Copyright: Inman News Service
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