Bill Text: HI SCR125 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Requesting The Federal Housing Administration To Reduce Barriers To Condominium Project Approvals And Increase Mortgage Financing Availability For First-time Homebuyers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-03 - The committee on CPH deferred the measure. [SCR125 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-SCR125-Introduced.html

THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

125

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION TO REDUCE BARRIERS TO CONDOMINIUM PROJECT APPROVALS AND INCREASE MORTGAGE FINANCING AVAILABILITY FOR FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS.

 

 


     WHEREAS, Hawaii is one of the most difficult states in the country to achieve home ownership, due to the high cost of living and extremely high cost of real estate; and

 

     WHEREAS, the January 2018 median price of a single family residence on Oahu was $772,000, and the median price of a condominium was $430,000; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was created in 1934 to expand home ownership in the United States; and

 

     WHEREAS, FHA guarantees loans that are not otherwise available to first-time homebuyers, such as very low down payment mortgages with a non-occupying co-borrower; and

 

     WHEREAS, condominium units comprise a large percentage of total housing units in Hawaii, and many thousands of new units are projected to be built in coming years; and

 

     WHEREAS, in order for FHA to insure mortgages for condominiums, FHA requires approval of the condominium project in addition to approval of the borrower's qualifications, yet few condominium projects in Hawaii gain FHA approval, due to a process that is much more complicated than project approval for conventional and Veterans Benefits Administration financing; and

 

     WHEREAS, conventional financing is often available on new condominium projects, but with stricter qualifying guidelines than FHA; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Veterans Benefits Administration, another government-backed lending agency, often makes mortgage lending available on many of these same condominium projects to qualifying veterans; and

 

     WHEREAS, first-time homebuyers in Hawaii may only qualify for home ownership through FHA lending guidelines, yet are prevented from using FHA financing on projects that are not approved by FHA; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Federal Housing Administration is requested to amend its regulations to reduce barriers to condominium project approval so that more first-time homebuyers will be able to realize the American Dream of homeownership; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Assistant Secretary for Housing - Federal Housing Commissioner, members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, and Governor of the State of Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Federal Housing Administration; Mortgages; Condominiums

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