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LI mortgage lender questions new rule he says negatively effects prospective home buyers with good credit

The median home price average on Long Island as of April is $610,000, nearly $150,000 more than the U.S. median home price.

Joe Arena

May 13, 2023, 2:40 AM

Updated 572 days ago

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Some are questioning a new Biden administration rule they say will force home buyers with good credit to pay more for their mortgages.
A directive put in place on May 1 has a goal of increasing pricing support for first-time credit worthy home buyers who have low to moderate income.
Keith Cullen, chief production officer at Woodbury-based Hartford funding, says the way the plan works is not fair. In order to lower mortgage payments for some, others with better credit score are paying the bill.
"I don't see why someone with a 680-credit score should have to subsidize a bar with a 620 score," Cullen says.
The median home price average on Long Island as of April is $610,000, nearly $150,000 more than the U.S. median home price.
Cullen says the timing of the new initiative going into effect is not ideal.
"The timing of it would seem like it's political but I really don't have answer for that, the time is a little suspect," Cullen says. "I do believe they're trying to get more people in homes but I don't believe that's the answer I think they could've done it a different way, there's probably other solutions."
David Stevens, former commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration during the Obama administration, also spoke out against the decision. He wrote, "The gap in home ownership opporrtunity is real. But convoluting pricing and credit is not the way to solve this problem."