RETURN OF AMERIDREAM

I just got the following email about AmeriDream and there persuit of Down Payment Assistance. This program was eliminated through political powers due to a desire to shift blame from those perpetrating fraud, to those who where defrauded. It is shocking to see how the the press and political groups can sway the public from the truth. Let's stop pointing fingers and fix the problem.
AmeriDream is good for America!

Just my opinion...Jeff Cameron

Here is the email:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 CONTACT: Henry Fawell
(410) 545-5830

AmeriDream: U.S. housing market needs downpayment assistance

GAITHERSBURG , MD – With home prices falling nearly 20% in the 1st quarter of 2009, Ann Ashburn, President of AmeriDream, today outlined four reasons why the U.S. economy and the next generation of homeowners would benefit from downpayment assistance funded in part by sellers (DPA). Congress is currently considering H.R. 600, bipartisan legislation that would make DPA an allowable gift source for creditworthy borrowers of Federal Housing Administration loans.

“AmeriDream continues to provide full support to H.R. 600, which will stabilize home values, protect taxpayers, encourage responsible homeownership, and create jobs,” said Ashburn. “These are four compelling reasons to make DPA an important part of our national economic recovery strategy. AmeriDream will continue with the critical outreach and education efforts necessary to make a responsible DPA program available to qualified homebuyers.”

Stabilize home values: DPA can help stop the downward spiral in home values across the country by encouraging qualified homebuyers with FHA loans to enter the housing market. An estimated 300,000 homebuyers are eliminated from the housing market every year without DPA programs in place.

Protect taxpayers: H.R. 600 allows private partnerships between sellers and non-profits to provide downpayment gifts to qualified homebuyers at no cost to the taxpayer. That makes H.R. 600 a fiscally responsible alternative to government-subsidized downpayment assistance programs being considered by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development.

Encourage responsible homeownership: H.R. 600 will enable 300,000 additional families and individuals – all qualified and approved for FHA loans – to become homeowners each year. The bill also requires that DPA recipients be offered homebuyer education courses to help them understand the financial responsibilities of homeownership. Lastly, H.R. 600 implements tougher credit requirements for DPA recipients, strict FHA underwriting guidelines, and stiff penalties for improper home appraisals.

Create jobs: DPA will create 235,000 jobs, generate over $4 billion annually in local and state revenues, and provide $2 billion annually in private capital for sustainable homeownership. DPA’s absence prompts fewer home sales, lower home values, more foreclosures, job losses, and lower revenues for cash-strapped local governments. H.R. 600 is a vital mechanism to stabilizing the U.S. housing market.

H.R. 600 is sponsored by Reps. Al Green, Maxine Waters, and Gary Miller. The program would use no tax dollars. A broad coalition of organizations H.R. 600, including the National Association of Homebuilders, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. Learn more about H.R. 600 at www.ameridream.org.

BACKGROUND: AmeriDream, a 501(c)(3) charity, was established in 1999 to provide housing-related programs to low and moderate income individuals and families. AmeriDream provides a wide range of programs, including homebuyer education, loss mitigation counseling, community development, and privately-funded down payment assistance. These programs are provided at no cost to the taxpayer. AmeriDream not only seeks to help families purchase homes, but also provide them with the education and other resources needed to be responsible homeowners.

TAKE ACTION FOR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE TODAY

Here is a link to send a letter to your representatives about down payment assistance. Click the link below and put together an email in your own words. Act now before the special interest groups win this fight.

http://takeaction.supporthomeownership.com/ahaa/issues/alert/?alertid=11521436&PROCESS=Take+Action

My letter is below:

Thank you for using Association for Homeowners Across America (AHAA) Mail SystemMessage sent to the following recipients:
Governor Napolitano
Representative Mitchell
Senator Kyl
Senator McCain
Representative Kavanagh
Representative Reagan
Senator Allen

August 26, 2008
[recipient address was inserted here]Dear [recipient name was inserted here],
You must understand there were very few FHA loans from 2004 to 2006 due to high home values and low FHA loan limits. They did not fuel this boom bust event, GREED did! Today, 82% of home sales in metro Phoenix are FHA loans and 50% of those are down payment assistance, DPA. The first time home buyer was locked out of the market due to the boom. They are now saving the market as they buy homes at pre-boom pricing. What will happen when 41% (82% X 50%) of the home buyers are removed from our weak market????? This is the best time to let these kind of buyers into the market. Home values are below the cost to build a home, not counting the land. They will have equity as the market strengthens. REINSTATE DPA program for the good of ALL the AMERICAN citizens!
Sincerely,
Jeff Cameron
480-502-7699

DPA, DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, SHOULD NOT GO AWAY

The DPA was eliminated effective October 1, 2008, in the comprehensive housing bill (H.R. 3221) due to political negotiations. It seems every time the government steps in to help during a crisis, political pressure creates a law that does more damage than good. They had to do something about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but at the cost of down payment assistance program; was that wise?
I have copied part of a document that gives statistics on the DPA program. The truth is currently in Phoenix, 82% of homes sold are now FHA. Let me just tell you FHA disappeared during the boom run up of 2004 to 2006 due to low loan limits and high real estate prices, so they weren't the culprit of this BUST. Back to the facts, of those FHA loans 50% are DPA loans. What will happen when you remove 41% (82% X 50% = 41%) of the buyers from our market? It can't be pretty, that is our government helping out again.
Many in congress pointed to DPA as the reason for this bust. NO, the reason for the bust was GREED by people with money running up property values, bank fraud, unlicensed loan officers and the rest of the industry going along. Yes, I mean us Realtors too.
DPA does have a higher failure rate than regular FHA loans. But when 94% of the borrowers pay on time, is that a bad program. It creates home ownership and pride in the community. Home ownership is the only way for many people to build wealth and a nest egg for retirement. This again shows how the narrow minded LAWYERS we hire, through our votes, as representatives twist the truth for their own agenda. It is always about ME, ME, ME(or should I say, my special interest, my special interest...). That is why I switched to Independent. I see votes as GREED and MEED, not what is best for our country. That is why no one is doing anything about: Energy problem, Trade imbalance, Budget deficit, Medicare, Social Security and Education. Because we are still 15 to 20 years away from those becoming the next BUST for our country! Is the only answer hyper inflation to make these financial issues go away? Our political representatives seem to think so, because that is the only answer right now.

Don't get me going, Just my opinion.

Jeff Cameron



IMPACT OF THE CHARITABLE DPA PROGRAM ON FHA
The Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF) WILL NOT Require an Appropriation – The MMIF is the fund that supports FHA’s home mortgage program. A 2007 Congressionally mandated independent actuarial review of the fund shows that from 2007 to 2014 the MMIF will realize over $1 billion per year and be at three times the statutorily required 2% capital ratio even with a significant number of charitable DPA gift assisted loans. H.R.6694 will further enhance the fund by requiring higher FICO scores and increased premiums based on homebuyer qualification.
FHA Loans Using Charitable DPA Gifts Enjoy 94% Success Rate; Comparable To Other FHA Loans – 94% of charitable DPA-assisted homebuyers pay their mortgage without undue difficulty, according to a 2005 study by the General Accounting Office. Specifically, FHA homeowners using gifts from seller-based and other DPA assistance with 3-year old loans have a 6% and 5% default rate respectively while FHA owners using no DPA assistance have a 3-4% default rate. H.R.6694 will further enhance the success rate requiring higher FICO scores for homebuyers who need DPA assistance.
Loans Using Charitable DPA Gifts are 50% of FHA’s Current Annual Volume – The advent of the private sector’s subprime, zero downpayment mortgage market caused FHA’s overall mortgage market share (in dollar volume) to decline from 7.87% in 2001 to just 1.99% in 2007 (HUD Actuarial Review). Even though the number of DPA gift-assisted loans stayed about the same, the drastic decline in the overall number of FHA’s non-DPA loans means that DPA gift-assisted loans (from any source) now account for almost 50% of FHA’s total loan volume. Seller-assisted DPA’s portion of FHA’s current loan volume is 30%. The private sector sub-prime, zero downpayment market also siphoned off the less risky pool of FHA borrowers – leaving FHA with a larger than usual proportion of higher risk loans -- contributing to an increase in all of FHA’s claim rates. H.R.6694 will continue advancing FHA’s mission to serve low-to moderate-income homebuyers by reauthorizing and reforming DPA.
HOW THE CHARITABLE DPA PROGRAM WORKS WITH FHA DPA Program Is Specifically Designed to Meet FHA Borrower Needs – Charitable DPA programs aid borrowers who meet all the rigorous underwriting requirements with verified documentation to qualify for a FHA-insured loan but have insufficient capital to meet the three percent downpayment requirement for an FHA loan. Charitable DPAs bridge the gap by providing this downpayment as a gift to the buyer, helping those who otherwise could not become homeowners. The DPA
program was developed and designed to work with FHA’s specific mortgage requirements to expand homeownership opportunities to those who can qualify and sustain homeownership while also serving the population of homebuyers that is FHA’s mission to serve - minority, low-income, and working families with limited access to capital of whom 80% are first-time homebuyers.
read more on Ameridream: http://www.ameridream.org/Documents/Congress/Support-HR6694-TalkingPoints-8-21-2008.pdf