Protecting Home Buyers

Research Paper # 100642

Accounting
Law > Property
Political Science > Government Agencies

This paper looks at agencies and laws dealing with the protection of home buyers.

3,412 words () | 14 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

In this article the writer discusses the various agencies and laws which exist to protect home buyers in the real estate transaction process, from securing the necessary credit to dealing with real estate agents. The paper devotes a great deal of time looking at what rights new home purchasers have with regards to gaining access to credit, for it is credit that ultimately determines whether any such purchase will be possible in the first place. Furthermore, the paper also peers into the legislation geared towards protecting those who wish to buy homes from others, but who may have to deal with antiquated racist attitudes in the process. Lastly, the paper offers a brief critique of the available literature and what it appears to suggest about the measures presently in place to protect home buyers in America.

From the Paper:

"Other organizations contribute in other ways. For example, Wood reports in a 2005 study he also conducted on behalf of the Government Accounting Office that the Department of Agriculture and Urban Development's Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service guaranteed roughly $136 billion in mortgages for multi-family rental housing, for various health care facilities and, most importantly for our purposes, for single family homes. Apparently overgenerous to a fault, both organizations have also had to suspend their issuance of guarantees in the past because they went over the dollar amounts they were permitted to spend under their commitment authority or, in a closely-related vein, because they went over the dollar limits prescribed to them under their credit subsidy budget authority for a given year. Needless to say, the result of these suspensions is that many families which rely upon the aforementioned loan guarantees find themselves faced with unexpected financial hardships. Wood reports that, while both programs have many things which commend themselves, the simple fact of the matter is that the FHA and RHS loan guarantee programs operate on a first-come, first-served basis - a practice which can easily discriminate against poor families who lack knowledge about the programs."

Sample of Sources Used:

Bergquist, Erick. "Calif. Agency Bonds to Home Loan Bank." American Banker, 165, no.182 (2000): 13.
Bergquist, Erick. "Police Accuse 17 of Stealing IDs to Get Home Loans." American Banker, 168, no.89 (2003): 10.
Collins, Brian. "Clinton: Bill is First Step on FHA." National Mortgage News, 1 May 2006, 35.
Duncan, Joseph W. "Congress Faces Critical Decision about Consumer Credit Legislation (The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 and 1996)." Business Economics, 38, no.3 (2003):62-71.
"EPA Offers Homebuyers, Sellers, Free Guide to Testing for Radon." Hudson Valley Business Journal, 5, no.36 (1993): 14.