[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 144 (Tuesday, September 10, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7572-H7573]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HOMEBUYER ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2019
Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 2852) to amend the National Housing Act to authorize
State-licensed appraisers to conduct appraisals in connection with
mortgages insured by the FHA and to require compliance with the
existing appraiser education requirement, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2852
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Homebuyer Assistance Act of
2019''.
SEC. 2. APPRAISAL STANDARDS FOR SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING
MORTGAGES.
(a) Certification or Licensing.--Paragraph (5) of section
202(g) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1708(g)) is
amended--
(1) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the
following new subparagraph:
``(A)(i) in the case of an appraiser for a mortgage for
single-family housing, be certified or licensed by the State
in which the property to be appraised is located; and
``(ii) in the case of an appraiser for a mortgage for
multifamily housing, be certified by the State in which the
property to be appraised is located; and''; and
(2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before the period at
the end the following: ``, which, in the case of appraisers
for any mortgage for single-family housing, shall include
completion of a course or seminar that consists of not less
than 7 hours of training regarding such appraisal
requirements that is approved by the Course Approval Program
of the Appraiser Qualifications Board of the Appraisal
Foundation or a State appraiser certifying and licensing
agency''.
(b) Compliance With Verifiable Education Requirements;
Grandfathering.--Effective beginning on the date of the
effectiveness of the mortgagee letter or other guidance
issued pursuant to subsection (c) of this section,
notwithstanding any choice or approval of any appraiser made
before such date of enactment, no appraiser may conduct an
appraisal for any mortgage for single-family housing insured
under title II of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et
seq.) unless such appraiser is, as of such date of
effectiveness, in compliance with--
(1) all of the requirements under section 202(g)(5) of such
Act (12 U.S.C. 1708(g)(5)), as amended by subsection (a) of
this section, including the requirement under subparagraph
(B) of such section 202(g)(5) (relating to demonstrated
verifiable education in appraisal requirements); or
(2) all of the requirements under section 202(g)(5) of such
Act as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(c) Implementation.--Not later than the expiration of the
240-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall
issue a mortgagee letter or other guidance that shall--
(1) implement the amendments made by subsection (a) of this
section;
(2) clearly set forth all of the specific requirements
under section 202(g)(5) of the National Housing Act (as
amended by subsection (a) of this section) for approval to
conduct appraisals under title II of such Act for mortgages
for single-family housing, which shall include--
(A) providing that the completion, prior to the effective
date of such mortgagee letter or guidance, of training
meeting the requirements under subparagraph (B) of such
section 202(g)(5) (as amended by subsection (a) of this
section) shall be considered to fulfill the requirement under
such subparagraph; and
(B) providing a method for appraisers to demonstrate such
prior completion; and
(3) take effect not later than the expiration of the 180-
day period beginning upon issuance of such mortgagee letter
or guidance.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Guam (Mr. San Nicolas) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stivers) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Guam.
General Leave
Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material
thereon.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Guam?
There was no objection.
Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
H.R. 2852, the Homebuyer Assistance Act of 2019, would make a
commonsense update to FHA's requirements governing appraisals, to allow
licensed appraisers to conduct appraisals for FHA-backed mortgages.
The current requirement for all FHA loans to utilize a certified
appraiser is simply outdated as it was put into place at a time when
there were no minimum Federal standards for State licensure of
appraisers, leaving concerns about consistency and competency across
States. Now that we do have minimum standards for licensure, FHA's
certification requirement is not only out of date and out of alignment
with Fannie and Freddie, it is also creating market pressures for
lenders to require certified appraisers for all loans, even if they are
not FHA loans, just in case the mortgage switches to an FHA loan midway
through the process. This, in turn, makes it harder for licensed
appraisers to obtain work at a time when certain areas are experiencing
appraiser shortages and when we are already struggling to recruit new
appraisers effectively.
There is simply no sound policy rationale to explain why licensed
appraisers that are perfectly qualified to conduct appraisals for GSE
loans are not qualified to conduct appraisals for FHA loans.
This bill is supported by a broad coalition of not just appraisal
industry groups but also lenders and housing advocacy groups that
recognize that this is an unnecessary barrier.
I thank Mr. Sherman for introducing this legislation and the
Republican cosponsor, Mr. Duffy, for his support for this important
bill.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2852, the Homebuyer Assistance
Act of 2019.
As my friend from Guam just explained, unfortunately, there are two
different standards between the regular government-sponsored
enterprises that finance homes and the Federal Housing Administration,
FHA. Today, FHA requires certified appraisers. This bill changes it to
certified or licensed appraisers, just like the other government-
sponsored enterprises, to allow the entire pool of appraisers in a
given area to be allowed to be used to appraise homes. As my friend
from Guam explained, there are appraiser shortages in many areas around
the country, so this will, I think, be very helpful.
This bill also requires a minimum amount of training that is required
by The Appraisal Foundation or State licensing agencies in order to be
an appraiser that can appraise on FHA transactions.
These changes, I think, will help appraisers, and it will help make
sure that there is a quality pool of appraisers regardless of whether
somebody has a regular government-sponsored enterprise or an FHA loan.
Mr. Speaker, we are excited to support this. This is bipartisan. I
support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Sherman).
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Guam for
yielding.
I would like to thank our colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy) for
working with me on this bill, the Homebuyer Assistance Act of 2019. He
has worked hard to ensure that this is a collaborative and bipartisan
process.
I would also like to thank the chair of our committee, the
gentlewoman from California, and her staff for their assistance with
this bill and her support in bringing the bill forward.
There is no more important day in the economic life of a family than
the day that they buy a home, and some 83 or 84 percent of those with
FHA financing are purchasing their first home. Appraisers play an
important role in the process.
This bill would change the rules a bit for FHA appraisers so as to
bring them in line with the rules we already have for Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac, which are the larger, federally controlled entities
engaged in guaranteeing or financing homes, and it will deal with
[[Page H7573]]
the shortage of certified appraisers that we are experiencing in parts
of the country.
Let me point out that this bill deals only with single-family homes.
You could make the argument, Mr. Speaker, that you should have a
certified appraiser in dealing with complex commercial, industrial, and
multifamily properties. This bill focuses on single-family homes.
The bill has broad support of both consumer advocacy organizations
and industry stakeholders. To name a few, the Homebuyer Assistance Act
is supported by the Center for Responsible Lending, The Appraisal
Institute, the National Association of Realtors, the Credit Union
National Association, and the Independent Community Bankers of America.
This bill will make it easier for home buyers to buy a home with
Federal Housing Administration mortgages by expanding the number of
appraisers that are allowed to do the appraisals of those homes.
I am pleased to say that in the other body, Senators Thune and Tester
have introduced a parallel piece of legislation, a bipartisan piece of
legislation, and I look forward to putting this bill on the President's
desk.
As other speakers have pointed out, including the gentleman from
Guam, until 2010, there were no nationwide standards for licensed home
appraisers. But since 2010, we have minimum Federal education,
experience, and examination requirements set by the Appraiser
Qualifications Board, so there is no reason at all to require that
certified appraisers be involved, and it is entirely appropriate to
have either certified or licensed appraisers.
This fix will help first-time home buyers. As I pointed out, over 83
percent of FHA home purchase mortgages are being made to first-time
home buyers, and over one-third of all FHA loans were obtained by
minority households.
The process of purchasing a home is already difficult enough for
first-time home buyers. We should not have the additional challenge of
finding a certified appraiser.
We have a real interest in making sure the FHA process is one that
works well just as the process works for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by
allowing either licensed or certified appraisers.
As I have pointed out, this bill applies only to single-family homes,
duplexes, and, I believe, R4 properties. It does not deal with complex
commercial, multifamily, and industrial properties.
I am pleased to say that with the support of all of our colleagues on
the committee, this bill was approved by voice vote at the Financial
Services Committee. I was there on July 11; there was not one
dissenting voice raised.
Mr. Speaker, I hope we can repeat that success again here on the
floor, so I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.
Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to close by thanking the
gentleman from California for a bipartisan bill. I thank the gentleman
from Wisconsin, Sean Duffy, from our side, the lead Republican on this
bill.
This is a bill that will get more appraisers in the pool to help
people who want to buy homes that are financed by the FHA.
Mr. Speaker, it is a win-win, and it is a bipartisan bill. We urge
its support, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Mr. Speaker, I too thank the gentleman from
California (Mr. Sherman) for bringing this legislation forward and for
the support of the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy).
This bill removes unnecessary barriers to the home-buying process,
which will help millions of Americans over time.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
important piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Guam (Mr. San Nicolas) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2852, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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