The Senate’s Foreclosure Prevention proposal eliminates charitable down payment assistance funded in part by home sellers. Those programs, operated by charitable organizations in accordance with current law and HUD guidelines, have helped more than one million FHA qualified, low and moderate income families and individuals buy their own homes since 2000. Fortunately, charitable downpayment assistance enjoys bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, which has held hearings focused on the issue and studied it thoroughly.
We urge the Senate to strike section 113 in the Foreclosure Prevention proposal. We urge the House to reject the Senate’s proposed ban and preserve charitable downpayment assistance for future generations of homeowners. The Senate’s plan to eliminate one of the most effective means of helping qualified aspiring homeowners with modest means could not come at a worse time, when those families already are facing fewer and fewer options for having a home of their own.
We stand ready to continue to work with Congress to identify and implement any changes in law that would help make sure that downpayment assistance programs best serve the public.
Charitable downpayment assistance funded in part with seller participation has allowed homeownership to grow without using taxpayer dollars. To date, more than one million families and individuals have utilized this downpayment assistance, generating nearly $10 billion in home equity for those families between 2000 and 2005. AmeriDream has provided more than 200,000 gifts to aspiring homeowners, approximately 80% of whom were first-time homebuyers. AmeriDream also has helped educate 60,000 homebuyers through homebuyer education courses, helped 1,200 homeowners retain their homes when confronted with mortgage difficulties, and committed over $40 million to affordable housing development in local communities.
Since 1999, AmeriDream has helped
individuals and families reach the American Dream of homeownership.
On average, every 17 minutes there is a new homeowner because of AmeriDream.