Misguided “Solutions”
Threaten Home Ownership

Although H.R. 3221 was intended to “rescue” the housing industry, the elimination of downpayment assistance (DPA) programs beginning October 1st will have the opposite effect, pulling the American Dream out of reach of hard-working, credit-worthy Americans and further crippling the American housing market.

Nearly 40% of all FHA loans are originated with DPA.
These Federal Housing Administration loans are not sub-prime. Without DPA programs, an estimated 50,000 families per month will be locked out of homeownership.

Targeting minorities, women-headed households, and first-time homeowners.
DPA participants are diverse. Of the participants in Nehemiah, the largest DPA program, nearly half are first-time homebuyers are people of color and more than one-third are female-headed households.

A perfect storm: removing assistance and raising the hurdle.
In addition to eliminating vital support for responsible homeownership, the misguided H.R. 3221 increases the downpayment requirement from 3 to 3.5 percent in an economy where stable, creditworthy families have less cash than ever.

Outraged? Act now to support new legislation that corrects this mistake in the Housing and Recovery Act. Use the tools on this site to demand that downpayment assistance be restored.