Monday, February 15, 2010

Stop HUD From Eliminating Seller Financing!

Every once in a great while, the government steps in to fix a problem, and actually gets the job done. With the proposed changes in HUD's interpretation of the SAFE Mortgage Act, the government again shows that it just does not understand how to fix the problem that the Fed created. HUD proposes to severely limit or eliminate seller financing by placing the following limitations:
  1. Limit to five the number of seller-financed loans that one can give, unless one attains a lending license (Attention investors, this means you!)
  2. Disallow entirely any partial seller financing for FHA loans (no more 5% seller carry-backs to handle closing costs and/or down payment requirements)
  3. Eliminate all seller financing for non-owner-occupied homes.
I have posted my personal opposition to these proposed rules, and my comments to HUD are as follow:
I'm sure that like all Americans, I just love when the government steps in to fix the problems of commerce. Well, not all the time. In the instant case, the proposed regulation goes too far to fix a problem that doesn't really exist, and it does so at the expense of exacerbating the problem it is attempting to fix.
Please, allow me to explain. While everyone understands that something went horribly wrong in the mortgage industry, which led to the financial meltdown of our nation, no one seems to have the spine to direct the problem where it truly lies: At the feet of the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve Board is charged with monitoring the lending practices of its member banks, and it also sets primary interest rates, upon which all other lending rates are eventually based. If one wants to get to the heart of the problem, correct the Fed's lack of oversight and the loose banking practices that it promoted that led up to the present crisis. Predicting the outcome from keeping rates at an artificially low level, and lending money, as if it was free, to people that could never qualify for loans under traditional underwriting (i.e. 100% LTV, No Income/No Assets, Neg-Am and Variable Mortgages, etc.) was a recipe for disaster. When the Fed raised rates in order to stave-off the inevitable inflation that arises from a loose monetary policy, the resulting drop in home values and increase in mortgage payments was a given. If I could see that, why did these so-called "experts" not see this coming? As for the proposal at hand, eliminating seller financing will take away from the market one of the strongest forces that is allowing properties to sell. Many people still cannot qualify for loans, and the knee-jerk increases in underwriting standards have made it near impossible. Seller financing is involved in many transactions, and helps with hard-to-finance properties such as vacant land, mobile homes, distressed properties, and more. Please keep it in place!
Now, you can also comment, but the deadline is Tuesday, February 16, 2010, which means you must take action immediately, if you want your voice to be heard. In order to comment on this proposed regulation, please follow the instructions below:
  1. Click on the Title of this blog to get to the regulations.gov website.
  2. Review the document by clicking the link or just click on "submit comment."
  3. Complete the form providing required information and your comments and then submit
I hope that you will take this opportunity to comment on these proposed rules. The quicker the housing market can recover, the sooner that the rest of the economy may follow.

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Blog to you soon!