Bill Could Return Down Payment Assistance
Austin Kilgore | 01.20.09 www.dsnews.com
Seller-funded down payment assistance – outlawed in October – may return, if Congress passes a bill introduced by Texas Congressman Al Green.
HR 600 would revise the requirements for down payment assistance for FHA loans, those single-family housing mortgages insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Scott Syphax, president and CEO of the Sacramento, California-based Nehemiah Corporation of America, a down payment grant provider applauded the proposal.
"With foreclosures on the rise and banks maintaining their stranglehold on credit, we commend Congressman Al Green for recognizing the important role down payment assistance can play in the market's recovery,” he said.
Syphax added the assistance is a solution that can “empower thousands of worthy families to take advantage of depressed home prices therefore reducing the glut of homes on the market.”
The bill is now in the House Committee on Financial Services, where Green is a member. Fellow U.S. Reps. Maxine Waters and Gary Miller, both of California, co-sponsored the bill.
