The Disappearing Dream of Homeownership for Working People

(Boston, MA) – NACA and its CEO Bruce Marks were highlighted in The New York Times describing the lack of homeownership opportunities for working people (click here for the NYT article).  NACA’s purchase program stands in contrast to the roadblocks put in place by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) that limit homeownership. 

The banks are not lending which is having devastating consequences for low and moderate income homebuyers and people without high credit scores.  One example is the CFPB regulation that limits the ability of a homebuyer to use his/her own funds to permanently reduce the mortgage interest rate.  In fact the homeowner highlighted in the New York Times could not have obtained the affordable mortgage payment under the current regulations.  

The NACA mortgage has one of the lowest default rates in the industry with the best terms: no downpayment, no closing costs, no fees, at a below market fixed rate with today’s rate at 4.0% 30 year fixed, with qualification based on the borrower’s personal circumstances without consideration of their credit score.   NACA has commitments of $13 Billion from major lenders.  Enclosed is the analysis of the NACA program and performance done by Promontory Financial. 

As stated by Bruce Marks, NACA’s CEO “the NACA program demonstrates that by providing an affordable mortgage with full documentation to borrowers the lending industry and regulators consider subprime, they make their payments on time and become prime borrowers.”  Marks continues, “CFPB needs to support affordable programs like NACA instead of imposing roadblocks.”

NACA will continue to advocate for homebuyers.  It is disappointing that CFPB, an agency created to protect consumers, is closing the door to those accessing homeownership.  CFPB needs to enact changes to have fully documented affordable mortgages that provide homeownership opportunities for every sector of America. About the

Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (www.naca.com)
NACA, a national non-profit, community advocacy and homeownership organization established in 1988, has been the lead organization in the fight to identify, expose, and oppose predatory and exploitive lending practices. NACA was the first to expose Fleet Bank’s lending abuses in 1991, and followed with numerous other campaigns against companies that victimize