DSNews The homepage of the servicing industry
During the 2010 Multicultural Real Estate & Policy Conference last week in Washington D.C., the ""National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals"":http://www.nahrep.org/ (NAHREP), the ""Asian Real Estate Association of America"":http://areaa.org/ (AREAA), and the ""National Association of Real Estate Brokers"":http://www.nareb.com/ (NAREB) introduced ""The Five-Point Plan: Creating a Sustainable Path to Minority Homeownership."":http://www.nareb.com/Data/News/Attachments/News_79Five-Point-Plan.pdf
[IMAGE]""Communities of color remain at great risk,"" said Alex Chaparro, incoming NAHREP chairman ""We must take common sense actions that stop the spiral of losses, keep homeowners in place, and prevent our neighborhoods from becoming renter communities.""
Leaders from the three national trade groups appealed to lawmakers during Capitol Hill visits to take actions that will stabilize the market, expand consumer protections, preserve liquidity, and stop the spiral of losses in minority communities.
The Five-Point Plan seeks to:
* Expand the scope of Community Reinvestment Act functions to include loan servicing
* Mandate pre-purchase, face-to-face homebuyer education and household budget management training
* Provide principal forgiveness for homeowners that are underwater on their mortgage and have more than 10 percent negative equity
* Advocate the role of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration to expand the flow of stable capital to the mortgage market
* Promote the role of a consumer protection agency that puts consumer interests first and is empowered to implement robust reforms that align industry practices with values that serve the common good.
""Our Five-Point Plan, when adopted, will set a new course for this nation's housing recovery, particularly within the minority community,"" said John Fukuda, AREAA chairman. ""The magnitude of our crisis requires us to act boldly and decisively to put us back on the right track and restore consumer confidence in the real estate market.""
The trade associations said current government programs, while well intended, have had limited impact on the housing crisis, especially in minority neighborhoods where the incidence of expensive mortgages and higher unemployment is greater. The groups cited a report from the Federal Reserve showing that African American borrowers were 1.8 times as likely as white borrowers to be in foreclosure, Latino borrowers were 1.4 times as likely, and Asian borrowers were 1.3 times as likely.
""Our respective communities have experienced previously unimaginable losses since the onset of the mortgage loan debacle and the subsequent far-reaching economic crisis,"" said Vincent Wimbish, President and CEO of NAREB. ""We firmly believe that The Five-Point Plan offers a solutions-based approach to making homeownership not only sustainable but once again desirable for communities of color as well as for all Americans.""
