House Passes The FHA Multifamily Loan Limit Adjustment Act
THE MORTGAGE BANKERS ASSOCIATION (MBA) commended the House of Representatives, the leadership of the House Financial Services Committee and the sponsors of the bill, Rep. Gary Miller (R-California) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), for passing the FHA Multifamily Loan Limit Adjustment Act of 003 (H.R. 1985).
The FHA Multifamily Loan Limit Adjustment Act will allow the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary to further increase multifamily mortgage loan limits for Federal Housing Administration-insured (FHA-insured) properties in high-cost areas. By raising the loan limit in certain areas, HUD will be able to increase housing opportunities for many American families and expand the program to communities where it is currently rendered ineffective by high building costs, according to MBA.
The FHA provides mortgage insurance to facilitate the construction, purchase, rehabilitation or refinancing of rental housing and cooperatives, as well as nursing homes and assisted-living facilities for the elderly and handicapped.
MBA believes that the current maximum FHA multifamily mortgage limits are not high enough in high-cost areas, and continue to constrain new construction and substantial rehabilitation in many urban and suburban areas where construction costs are significantly higher than the rest of the country. MBA encourages the Senate to pass companion bill S. 1714, sponsored by Sen. John Corzine (D-New Jersey), so that the FHA multifamily insurance programs can better serve America’s working families.
“Passing of this bill by the House of Representatives is a real win for low-and moderate-income families seeking affordable rental housing,” said Kurt Pfotenhauer, MBAs senior vice president of government affairs. “An increase to the FHA multifamily loan limit is necessary-especially in high-cost markets, because without these provisions, critical housing needs will go unmet.”Source
