According to the law, Habitat’s appraisers can be fined for not charging the going rate, Gina Leckron of Indiana’s Habitat for Humanity told MHProNews. That will make it more challenging for would-be homebuyers who are rather strapped financially to begin with, for whom several hundred extra dollars could be a game changer between owning a home and not.
Appraisals in Indiana run around $350, and in Georgia, $400-$1000, which may translate into higher home costs. A family of four in Indiana has to earn $17,000 to $34,000 per year to qualify for a Habitat home. It takes nearly a year for most of the buyers to come up with enough for the closing costs.
Noting the Indiana Habitat builds about 200 homes per year, Leckron said the appraisal fees for them would amount to nearly the cost of two homes. Habitat for Humanity of Georgia has added the fees on to the sale price
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) initially told Habitat the requirement did not include them, but later said the matter was under five other agency jurisdictions, which leaves the matter in limbo and potential appraisers in jeopardy of being fined.
The fix is simple, but Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) have tried so far unsuccessfully to get legislation/language approved, mostly because the measures are packaged with other bills that are of more controversy. The Senate Banking Committee ranking Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said the bureau is evidently not interested in penalizing appraisers who volunteer their services, but he will check other groups that provide housing to low-income families.
The manufactured housing industry has been trying for several years to get out from under the Dodd-Frank inadvertent thumb. ##
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