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Government Affairs
NAR: Infrastructure Bill Includes Benefits for Housing Industry
By: Max Brandow, RASM Government Affairs Director
Over the past few weeks, Congress and the Biden Administration have been discussing a massive plan to overhaul the nation’s infrastructure. The Biden administration has called this a “once-in-a-century capital investment.” Infrastructure proposals include the rebuilding of the Country’s roads, bridges, increased rail service, and more investment in clean energy and broadband. Also included in the proposal is a plan to rehab more than half a million homes for low- and middle-income homebuyers.
“The National Association of Realtors® thanks President Biden and his administration for recognizing that housing represents a critical piece of our nation’s overall infrastructure,” NAR President Charlie Oppler said in a statement. “While a lack of inventory and rising prices continue to limit opportunities for homeownership – especially for younger Americans and minority populations – policies that support nationwide housing affordability are now more important than ever. The broadband aspect of the infrastructure plan is also a major initiative NAR has advocated for in recent years. “Broadband access is no longer a luxury, it is a critical utility,” Oppler said. “That was true before the pandemic, and even more so now.”
HOUSING PROPOSALS WITHIN THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN
Produce, preserve and retrofit more than
a million affordable, resilient, accessible, energy-efficient, and electrified housing units.
To do so, the plan calls for targeted tax credits, formula funding, grants, and project-based rental assistance. The plan includes affordable housing rental opportunities to under served communities nationwide, including rural and tribal areas. Build and rehabilitate more than 500,000
homes for low-and middle-income
homebuyers. Biden called on Congress to pass the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA), that offers $20 billion worth of NHIA tax credits over the next five years. He says it will result in approximately 500,000 homes built or rehabilitated. Eliminate exclusionary zoning and harmful land-use policies. Exclusionary zoning laws,
the administration says – like minimum lot sizes, mandatory parking requirements and prohibitions on multifamily housing – have inflated housing and construction costs and locked families out of areas with more opportunities. Address longstanding public housing capital needs. Biden called on Congress to invest $40 billion to improve America’s public housing system infrastructure.
CFPB SUGGESTS MORE RULES ON FORECLOSURES
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has suggested a set of rules to address foreclosures in the country as emergency federal foreclosure protections set to expire. Below is a recap of CFPB rules proposed.
Give borrowers time: The proposed rule would create a special pre-foreclosure review period that generally prohibits servicers from starting foreclosures until after Dec. 31, 2021. During the rule comment period, the CFPB says it wants to hear from the public on whether there are “more limited ways to achieve the same purpose.” Should it, for example, allow earlier foreclosures if the servicer has taken certain steps to evaluate the borrower for loss mitigation or tried to contact an unresponsive borrower? This provision only applies to loans secured by a borrower’s principal residence. Give servicers options: The proposed rule would allow servicers to offer approved streamlined loan modification options to borrowers with COVID19-related hardships based on the evaluation of an incomplete application. In most cases, Regulation X requires servicers to review all available options at once, forcing borrowers to submit more documents before a servicer can make a decision. CFPB says this change would allow servicers to get borrowers into affordable mortgage payments faster with less paperwork. However, the provision would only work if the borrower’s monthly payment doesn’t go up, and the loan isn’t extended for more than 40 months from the modification’s effective date.
Keep borrowers informed of their options:
The CFPB also proposes temporary changes to some required servicer communications to make sure borrowers receive key information about their options. •
