NAR applauds US House for passing qualified mortgage rule, but says one provision should be changed to avoid unfairly preventing brokers and affiliated lenders from offering qualified mortgage loans

Allison Oesterle

WASHINGTON , June 10, 2014 (press release) – The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors® President Steve Brown:

“The Mortgage Choice Act that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last night importantly redefines a provision in the Ability-to-Repay rules that limits mortgage fees and points to three percent in order for home loans to be considered Qualified Mortgages.

“The provision unfairly prevents brokers and affiliated lenders from making QM loans because their joint venture services are collectively counted against the cap, while individual services from large retail financial institutions are each capped separately.

“The Mortgage Choice Act treats affiliated and non-affiliated service providers the same way under the rule while still protecting borrowers from risky loan products.

“Realtors® will continue to advocate for this legislation to clarify the QM rules as it moves to the U.S. Senate.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.


# # #

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.