Washington Report

Advocacy Updates from Washington D.C.

NAR Comments on QM Rule

On Jan. 14, 2014, NAR submitted a statement for the record to the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit hearing on "How Prospective and Current Homeowners will be Harmed by the CFPB's Qualified Mortgage Rule."  The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act established the Qualified Mortgage (QM) as the primary means for mortgage lenders to satisfy its “ability to repay” requirements.

In the statement, NAR pointed out that it has been generally supportive of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) efforts to craft a QM rule that is not unduly restrictive and provides a safe harbor for lenders making QM loans.  NAR has had policy supporting the idea that lenders measure a consumer’s ability to repay a loan.  For this reason NAR strongly supports the Ability to Repay (ATR) rule in general but has significant concerns with some elements of the QM portion of the rule, which include the 3 percent cap on points and fees as well as the 43 percent Debt-to-Income (DTI) limit. NAR also believes it is critical for policymakers to construct a QRM rule that mirrors the newly implemented QM rule.

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