New ‘Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act’ Benefits Home Financing
ManufacturedHomes.com and the MHI (Manufactured Housing Institute) are grateful for the introduction of HR 1699, the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act.
Per the Manufactured Housing Institute, a bipartisan group of representatives introduced new legislation last week aimed at removing obstacles to manufactured home financing. Benefiting millions of low-income and moderate-income families from coast-to-coast, who view manufactured housing as an affordable option to the current housing crisis, lawmakers are addressing serious shortcomings exposed by data in the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Helping would-be home buyers shut out of the market due to overly burdensome regulations, Rep. Andy Barr (R. KY) and a bipartisan group of like-minded policymakers, introduced legislation that would do away with the current restrictions on manufactured home financing for many hard-working Americans.
Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act
According to the MHI press release, “H.R. 1699, the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act, was introduced by Rep. Andy Barr, Kyrsten Sinema (D-ARIZ), Bruce Poliquin (R-ME), Terri Sewell (D-AL), David Kustoff (R-TN), and Kathleen Rice (D-NY).”
The new bill addresses specific federal regulations with regards to implementing the Dodd-Frank Act and seeks to correct the overtly negative impact of Dodd /Frank on the manufactured home financing and sales process. This legislation ensures manufactured housing remains available and affordable, without eroding important federal consumer protections established by the Dodd-Frank Act.
“We thank Representatives Barr, Sinema, Poliquin, Sewell, Kustoff, and Rice for working in a bipartisan manner to correct regulations that are significantly impacting credit availability for the purchase of manufactured homes,” said MHI Chairman Tim Williams. “I applaud them for coming together to protect consumer’s ability to access manufactured home ownership.”
Learn more about HR 1699: Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act
When introducing the bill, its sponsor Rep. Barr said, “The CFPB is “protecting” people right out of affordable manufactured homeownership. Congress should fight to give families opportunities – not take them away. This bill is for the millions who rely on manufactured housing but have been seriously harmed by crushing federal regulations. I am proud to have introduced legislation with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stop the government from taking the America dream of homeownership away. I look forward to Congress passing this important bill as soon as possible.”
H.R. 1699
What would H.R. 1699 do if passed? Well, it would update the current definition of “high cost” loans so that financing for prefabricated housing is not unfairly categorized under this expensive designation – based only on the size of the loans. Written with new flexibilities to address the current market realities, Rep. Barr and his bipartisan group of policymakers believe the new changes will encourage more manufactured housing lenders to enter the market.
The new legislation also specifically clarifies that manufactured home retailers and salespersons are not loan originators. The current CFPB definition of a loan originator is based on traditional mortgage rules that do not equate with the business model of the manufactured housing industry, including lending and retail sales. that
This bill amends the SAFE Act and the Truth in Lending Act to exclude manufactured housing retailers and sellers from the definition of a loan originator, so long as they are only receiving compensation for the sale of the home and not engaged in financing the loans.
“Congress needs to understand how important access to credit is for working families, veterans, retirees, and those living in rural America. The negative impact these federal rules are having on their ability to become homeowners can be corrected with this bill,” Williams said. “We hope the momentum created in the previous Congress carries over and this legislation is moved through the process quickly.”
