Currently, according to wtrf.com, if a transaction is under $50,000 and the home is considered personal property, the interest rate cannot exceed Average Prime Offer Rate (APOR) by 8.5 percent without being classified high-cost and subject to additional expenses. Under the proposal, the threshold would change to APOR+10 percent for transactions under $75,000.
“Homeownership is an important goal for so many West Virginians and Americans,” Manchin said. “This bipartisan bill will help keep the American dream of owning a home alive by improving guidelines that have negatively impacted consumers’ ability to purchase a home.”
As MHProNews understands, guidelines issued under the Dodd-Frank Act classified many small-balance loans used to purchase manufactured homes as high-cost loans, increasing lender liabilities and hampering the purchase of affordable manufactured homes for many Americans. The bill matches a similar measure reintroduced under the same name in the U. S. House of Representatives, H. R. 650.
“The manufactured housing industry is an important role in homeownership options, which have unfortunately been constrained by excessive regulations by the CFPB,” Cotton said. “As we’ve seen, unintended consequences of these regulations have limited the housing and mortgaging choices of hard-working Americans in many rural areas.” ##
(Image credit: us.gov–historical U. S. Senate)
