Fairness for Homeowners Act of 2007

To amend the Truth in Lending Act to protect consumers from certain practices in connection with the origination of consumer credit transactions secured by the consumer's principal dwelling, and for other purposes.

7/18/2007--Introduced.
Fairness for Homeowners Act of 2007 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit any creditor or mortgage broker from making, providing, or arranging for any consumer credit transaction secured by a consumer's principal dwelling without verifying the consumer's reasonable ability to make the scheduled payments of principal, interest (including variable interest), real estate taxes, homeowner's insurance, assessments, and mortgage insurance premiums. Prescribes criteria for determining the reasonable ability to make such payments. Prohibits steering (arranging for a lower investment grade credit transaction if the consumer qualifies for a higher investment grade transaction) and prepayment penalties for adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) that are not jumbo mortgages. Limits financed points, finance charges, and fees to 5% of a transaction's principal, unless the transaction is ensured or guaranteed by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or the Farmers Home Administration. Specifies duties of agency for mortgage brokers acting to obtain or arrange for any consumer credit transaction secured by the consumer's principal dwelling. Requires creditors and mortgage brokers to obtain independent verification that a borrower seeking to refinance a special mortgage has received counseling on the transaction's advisability. Defines "special mortgage" as one that:
(1) was originated, subsidized, funded, or guaranteed by or through a state, tribal, or local government, or nonprofit organization; and
(2) bears one or more specified nonstandard payment terms which substantially benefit the consumer. Prescribes minimum financial requirements for mortgage brokers. Excludes reverse mortgages from coverage by this Act.


... morehide bill summarySee Full Bill Text

Sponsor

• Rep. Keith Ellison [D, MN-5]
• and 26 Co-Sponsors
  • Rep. Bruce Braley [D, IA-1]
  • Rep. Yvette Clarke [D, NY-11]
  • Rep. William Clay [D, MO-1]
  • Rep. Emanuel Cleaver [D, MO-5]
  • Rep. Steve Cohen [D, TN-9]
  • Rep. Danny Davis [D, IL-7]
  • Rep. Peter DeFazio [D, OR-4]
  • Rep. Raul Grijalva [D, AZ-7]
  • Rep. Luis Gutierrez [D, IL-4]
  • Rep. Phil Hare [D, IL-17]
  • Rep. Jesse Jackson [D, IL-2]
  • Rep. Henry Johnson [D, GA-4]
  • Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D, OH-9]
  • Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick [D, MI-13]
  • Rep. Barbara Lee [D, CA-9]
  • Rep. John Lewis [D, GA-5]
  • Rep. Betty McCollum [D, MN-4]
  • Rep. James Oberstar [D, MN-8]
  • Rep. John Olver [D, MA-1]
  • Rep. Donald Payne [D, NJ-10]
  • Rep. Steven Rothman [D, NJ-9]
  • Rep. Janice Schakowsky [D, IL-9]
  • Rep. Betty Sutton [D, OH-13]
  • Rep. Timothy Walz [D, MN-1]
  • Rep. Diane Watson [D, CA-33]
  • Rep. Lynn Woolsey [D, CA-6]
  close

Committees

• House Financial Services

Amendments

This bill has no amendments.

Amendments to H.R.3081

Number	Status	Purpose

Bill Status

Make a Bill Status Widget (Close help)

OpenCongress widgets allow you to display information about bills and issue areas on your own website or blog. First, select which bill or issue you want to track, then customize the appearance of the panel, and finally paste a simple chunk of HTML into your site. Now your community will have an easy, up-to-date way to track the status of important bills and issues in Congress.

Introduced		Voted on by House		Voted on by Senate		Considered By President		Bill Becomes Law
July 18, 2007

Show All Actions (2 actions)Hide Actions

All Bill Actions

• Jul 18, 2007: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
• Introduced on Jul 18, 2007.

---

Related Issue Areas:

• Taxation
• Property tax
• Property insurance
• Mortgages
• 13 more
• Mortgage interest rates
• Mortgage guaranty insurance
• Mortgage banks
• Insurance premiums
• Housing finance
• Finance charges
• Finance
• Debtor and creditor
• Counseling
• Consumers
• Consumer protection
• Consumer credit
• Housing

Data from the Congressional Research Service

Show More User Statistics... Hide User Statistics

In the News

We are not currently finding any news articles on this topic using our daily automated search of Google News. However, if you know of a relevant news article to display here, OpenCongress site editors have the ability to add it manually. Simply e-mail us the web address of this page and the web address of your suggested news article: We'll post relevant links as quickly as possible. Also, if this topic is important to you, you could write a letter to the editor -- if a news article refers this specific topic by name, a link to that news article is likely to appear here soon.

Blog Coverage

December 22, 2007 Hate Crime == Thought Crime

105th Congress: HR 3081: Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Status: Dead) 106th Congress: HR 77: Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Status: Dead) 106th Congress: HR 1082: Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Status: Dead) 107th Congress: HR 74: Hate Crimes ...

Was this article useful? Yes or No

Source: hell's handmaiden

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

November 16, 2007 Hate crimes–violent acts against people, property, or ...

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1998, introduced in both the House (HR 3081) and Senate (S. 1529), seeks to expand federal jurisdiction over hate crimes by (1) allowing federal authorities to investigate all possible hate crimes, ...

Was this article useful? Yes or No

Source: Neighbor Hell

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

November 14, 2007 Chad Dukes

The 110th Congress has put forward a bill entitled “HR 3081: To amend the Truth in Lending Act to protect consumers.” The intention of the bill is to protect Consumers from getting into loans that they can’t pay. ...

Was this article useful? Yes or No

Source: Charlton

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

10 more posts...
See most useful blog posts

Information made available by: