Issue Position: Housing

Issue Position

There are many statistical measures one may use to calculate the well-being of the average American. But the truth is, one must look no further than the middle class to gauge how well our nation is doing. As a Member of Congress, I have the opportunity to vote on bills that make a difference.
Foreclosure Crisis

In March 2009, I hosted a foreclosure assistance workshop at the Hickory Hill Community Center. The workshop provided homeowners concerned with rising mortgage payments or foreclosure with timely, confidential information and objective advice from trained counselors. The workshop was convened in light of the nationwide foreclosure crisis, which has hit hard in Memphis.

Stabilizing the housing market is central to restoring the American economy. We all stand to lose if we do not stop the steep decline in home prices. In fact, each foreclosed home reduces nearby property values by as much as 9 percent. By keeping families in their homes, we help preserve neighborhoods because foreclosures often result in the deterioration of property and an influx in crime. Stopping foreclosures also helps state and local governments by keeping homes on the tax rolls.

The House has passed several pieces of legislation that would address the foreclosure crisis and help the nation's struggling economy, all of which I am proud to have voted for:
The House passed the final Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, which was signed into law by the President in May 2009. This legislation provides key tools and incentives for lenders, servicers, and homeowners to modify loans and to avoid foreclosures.

This legislation provides tools to modify loans and avoid foreclosures by:

* Protecting lenders from frivolous lawsuits when they make loan modifications consistent with the Obama Administration's program or done through the Hope for Homeowners program;
* Reducing the current fees for homeowners and lenders that have discouraged them from participating in the Hope for Homeowners program;
* Offering new incentives for lenders to negotiate loan modifications with borrowers at risk of foreclosure under the Hope for Homeowners program; and
* Expanding the President's loan modification program to FHA and mortgages in rural areas (RHS).

The Hope for Homeowners program is a program that will help individuals at risk of default and foreclosure to refinance into more affordable, sustainable loans. Hope for Homeowners is an additional mortgage option designed to keep borrowers in their homes. The program is effective from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2011.If you are having trouble making your mortgage payments, the Hope for Homeowners program may be able to help you, by refinancing your loan into a new 30-year or 40-year fixed-rate loan with lower payments.

PRESIDENT'S PLAN:
The Obama Administration announced the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, a bold housing plan to help up to 7 to 9 million families restructure or refinance their mortgages to avoid foreclosure--as well as their neighbors whose own house values will drop as a result of a nearby foreclosure. The Obama plan takes advantage of historically low mortgage interest rates to:

* Help millions of families refinance into lower interest rate loans if they have mortgages issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and owe more on their houses than their current value; and
* Spur lenders into working with families stuck in unaffordable sub-prime mortgages to change the terms of those loans.
* Lenders representing 75 percent of the U.S. mortgage market have agreed to work with troubled homeowners under this program.

The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan allow eligible borrowers who stay current on their mortgages but have been unable to refinance to lower their interest rates because their homes have decreased in value to have the opportunity to refinance into a 30 or 15 year, fixed rate loan. Through the program, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow the refinancing of mortgage loans that they hold in their portfolios or that they placed in mortgage backed securities.

The House passed the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, H.R. 1728. The bill responds to the subprime mortgage crisis by instituting much needed reform to prevent these bad loans from being made in the first place. It stops the kinds of predatory and irresponsible mortgage loan practices that played a major role in the current financial and economic meltdown and prevents borrowers from deliberately misstating their income to qualify for a loan.

To restore the integrity of mortgage lending industry, this bill will make sure that the mortgage industry follows basic principles of sound lending, responsibility, and consumer protection, ensuring that:

* borrowers can repay the loans they are sold;
* mortgage lenders make loans that benefit the consumer and prohibit them from steering borrowers into higher cost loans;
* all mortgage refinancing provides a net tangible benefit to the consumer;
* the secondary mortgage market, for the first time ever, is responsible for complying with these common sense standards when they buy loans and turn them into securities;
* there are incentives for the mortgage market to move back toward making safe, fully documented loans; and
* tenants renting homes that are foreclosed would receive notification and time to relocate.

President Obama and I will continue to do whatever is necessary to break the destructive cycle of job loss in this country and put Americans back to work. That includes our comprehensive plan to help responsible homeowners pay their mortgages and re-finance their homes.

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