Community Associations Institute (CAI) Responds to Federal Housing Administration Plans to Exclude Millions of Senior Citizens from Reverse Mortgages
Dawn Bauman, CAI senior vice president for government and public affairs, issued the following statement in response to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) proposal to exclude millions of senior citizens living in community associations from the agency's reverse mortgage program, also known as the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program:
"It is extremely disappointing that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is discriminating against our country's aging population to target laws in 21 states and the District of Columbia that provide priority to community association liens for unpaid property assessments. Reverse mortgage programs allow senior citizens to use the equity in their home for retirement and other expenses without having to sell their house or unit.
"Perhaps what is most worrisome is how FHA officials are bowing to the wishes of the banking industry by using seniors as a blatant ploy to attack state laws that protect homeowners from banker negligence. Association lien priority laws safeguard community association homeowners from financial burdens when banks refuse to maintain or foreclose on vacant or abandoned homes.
"It is simply bad policy for the FHA to propose excluding nearly four million senior citizens living in community associations from having access to a safe reverse mortgage program. By implementing this regulation, the FHA is exposing these seniors to higher housing costs, fraud and foreclosure."
Community Associations Institute will continue to fight to make sure this regulation cannot be implemented as written and will continue to advocate for America's older homeowners against unjust federal regulations.
Today, CAI issued a formal comment letter to the Department of Housing and Urban Development expressing additional concerns with the proposed regulation.
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About Community Associations Institute
Community Associations Institute (CAI) is a national nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization founded in 1973 to foster competent, responsive community associations through research, training and education. CAI is an international membership organization dedicated to building better communities. With more than 34,000 members, CAI works in partnership with 60 chapters, including a chapter in South Africa, as well as with housing leaders in a number of other countries, including Australia, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. We work to identify and meet the evolving needs of the professionals and volunteers who serve associations, by being a trusted forum for the collaborative exchange of knowledge and information, and by helping our members learn, achieve and excel. Our mission is to inspire professionalism, effective leadership and responsible citizenship—ideals reflected in associations that are preferred places to call home. Visit www.caionline.org or call (888) 224-4321.