Barring veto or Congress leaving session, housing bill set to become law
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Bill, which was passed overwhelmingly by Congress earlier this week but was delayed when President Trump canceled a signing ceremony, has now been officially delivered to the White House for signature.
Kimber White (pictured top), president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, confirmed the news to Mortgage Professional America late Thursday.
This starts a 10-day clock, excluding Sundays and holidays, that can lead the bill to become law automatically. If the bill isn’t signed, and Congress remains in session, it becomes law after those 10 days. House Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated this week that he expects President Trump to sign the bill.
“This is a truly monumental moment for the housing industry,” White told Mortgage Professional America. “We haven’t seen something this monumental in decades. I’m really excited about it.”
What the bill does for brokers
White said the bill contains several provisions that directly benefit mortgage brokers and their clients. The institutional investor cap limits large investors to 350 single-family homes and should redirect inventory toward individual buyers.
On new construction, he said the bill streamlines permitting and cuts regulatory red tape that has slowed builders for years.
"It's going to be a lot easier," White said of new construction. "They'll be able to streamline the processes and get rid of all the red tape. So I think that's going to help brokers be able to have a little more ability to offer products because it's been tough."
The bill also directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to evaluate the points and fees threshold on small dollar mortgages, a provision White said is particularly meaningful for brokers. Loans under $100,000 have long been economically unviable for brokers to originate because of where the fee cap falls.
"By the time we're capped at our broker fee and our other fees, we may make a $100,000 loan and end up making $800 or $900, which doesn't make it feasible to do a loan,” White said. “So they go to a high-cost lender to get that loan done. The bill directed the CFPB to evaluate the points and fees threshold on small-dollar mortgage lending."
White noted the bill also eliminates the permanent foundation requirement, known as the chassis requirement, for manufactured housing. He said the change will matter most in rural markets where manufactured homes are the most accessible path to ownership. It also increases the FHA-insured loan limits for manufactured homes, he said.
Another major change is that the bill removes the four-year college degree requirement for trainee appraisers, a change White said is long overdue as the workforce continues to age and shrink.
"What person is going to go into appraising with a four-year college degree and then two years of apprenticeship to make $350 when they come out?" White said.
The bill also moves the VA home loan eligibility question on the Uniform Residential Loan Application to the top of the page, making it more visible to brokers and borrowers at the start of the process.
Big changes in FHA rules
White said that NAMB had a seat at the table throughout the bill's development, with multiple meetings with the Senate Banking and Finance Committee and House Financial Services Committee as the legislation moved through both chambers. He said that at first the bill was more focused on banking than on brokers and independent mortgage lenders.
"A lot of the stuff was building toward the banks and the bankers and not as much the consumer and the mortgage broker and the broker industry," he said. "NAMB has always had that voice. But I think this year we really put our best foot forward with the initiatives of affordable housing."
He also noted that this week’s FHA rule changes warrant equal attention from brokers. In a recent announcement, HUD outlined 14 policy changes to the FHA single-family mortgage insurance program, including expanded flexibility under the 203k program and streamlined appraisal requirements.
White said the elimination of the 90-day flip rule is among the most significant for first-time buyers.
"Small investors buy the houses, fix them up, sell them for a reasonable price to that first-time home buyer," White said. "But they couldn't do that unless it was the 91st day. That's going to open up a whole pathway to first-time home buyers."
Affordable housing was White's central initiative when he took over as NAMB president last October. With the changes being implemented, he feels like the hard work has paid off.
"It's very rewarding to see, hey, there is some stuff being done," he said. "We are moving. It is getting done. It really is a positive."
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