Tell Senate to Support
Manufactured Housing Consumers
by Voting "Yes" on S. 2155
This week, the U.S. Senate will consider legislation containing a provision to clarify that a retailer or seller of manufactured housing is not considered a “loan originator” simply because they provide a customer with some assistance in the mortgage loan process.
The provision is included in S. 2155,
the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, which is a package of reforms intended to improve the national financial regulatory framework and promote economic growth.
Similar to real estate agents, manufactured housing retailers and salespeople are fundamentally in the business of selling homes, not originating loans. The language clarifies that manufactured home retailers and their employees are not considered loan originators, so long as they do not receive compensation or gain for performing such activities.
Just as a real estate agent’s sales commission does not make them a loan originator under CFPB rules, a similar distinction is needed for those selling manufactured homes. This simple, but important change will not result in individuals receiving kickbacks or steering because the legislation explicitly bars them from receiving compensation related to the loan, requires disclosures about corporate affiliations, and prohibits retailers from negotiating loan terms with the consumer or the lender.
The inclusion of this language in the Senate's financial regulatory relief package is the result of MHI's persistent efforts to ensure the needed changes contained in the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act are passed into law as soon as possible. MHI worked closely with Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN), author of the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act (S. 1751) and long-time supporter of manufactured housing, to include this important consumer access provision in the package. In addition to the Senate regulatory reform package, H.R. 1699, the Preserving Access to Manufactured House Act, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in December 2017. The language was also passed as a part of the House's financial reform package (H.R. 10) in June 2017. In September 2017, the House also passed the bill's provisions as a part of its Fiscal Year 2018 Appropriations package.
Please contact your Senators and ask them to vote in favor of S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act.
With MHI's advocacy page, making this request of your Senators is easy.
To call your Senators,
click here
and follow the steps on the screen. Once you submit your personal information into the form, the names and phone numbers of your Senators will appear along with some very basic talking points about why this change is needed. Once you have made the call, please use the space at the bottom of the form to let us know.
To email your Senators,
click here
and follow the steps on the screen. The emails to your Senators have already been composed - all you have do is insert your home address and click submit.
The vote will take place in the U.S. Senate this week. Please give this your immediate attention and send it along to others in your organization and everyone else you know in the industry urging them to do the same.
If you have any questions, please contact MHI's Government Affairs Department at
MHIgov@mfghome.org
.
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