FEDERA L HO USING FINANCE AGENCY Office of the Director
October 29, 2015
The Honorable Raul Grijalva United States House of Representatives 1511 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Representative Grijalva: Thank you for the September 22, 2015 letter from you and the other members of the House of Representatives to whom copies of this letter are being provided requesting that veteran status be added to the uniform residential loan application (URLA). I share your desire to ensure that potential homeowners who served our country in the military are aware of the beneficial loan terms the Department of Veterans Affairs offers for homeownership as well as homeownership opportunities that may be available to them from other sources. The Federal Housing Finance Agency is currently taking steps to ensure that lenders are aware of loan applicants' military service by requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop a new universal loan application dataset (ULAD) that includes data elements designed to capture information about a borrower's current and prior military service. The ULAD is being used as the basis for the URLA, which is being updated and circulated as a draft among industry stakeholders and is expected to establish the requirements for the information collected from applicants by all lenders. We will continue to work with borrowers and lenders on this multiyear proj ect to update the URLA and certainly appreciate the constructive input reflected in your letter. If you have further questions, contact Peter Brereton in the Office of Congressional Affairs at 202-649-3022.
Melvin L. Watt cc: Rep. Frank Pa!Jone, Jr. Rep. Grace F. Napolitano Rep. Henry C. Johnson, Jr. 400 7th Street, S. W. , Washington, D.C. 20024 • 202-649-380 I • 202-649-1071 (fax)