The U.S. House of Representatives voted to add an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which is the annual appropriations and authorization bill that determines how the Department of Defense and the U.S. military are allowed to spend their budgets next year. The amendment is designed to make it easier for homebuyers to purchase a home with a Federal Housing Administration mortgage.
The amendment was introduced by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) to build upon the Homebuyer Assistance Act, which Sherman led the passage of last year.
“The process of purchasing a home is already difficult enough for first-time, low-income and minority homebuyers. They do not need the added challenge of finding a certified appraiser,” Sherman said. “This amendment builds on our efforts to revise the current appraisal requirements which will make FHA mortgages accessible to more Americans.”
This amendment would bolster efforts to help address the current shortage of certified appraisers that some parts of the country are facing. In response to a 2017 survey, nearly 75 percent of appraisers cited regulatory burdens as a leading reason they would leave the field.
Sherman pointed to the lack of appraisers for FHA-insured mortgages as causing a disproportionately large impact on first-time homebuyers, low- and moderate-income households and people of color.