May 1, 2013
The FHA and HUD official site features a press release on a recent agreement between HUD and a Maryland-based mortgage company over allegations of discrimination and violations of the Fair Housing act.
According to HUDNo.13-061, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has reached a Conciliation Agreement with Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. (PRMI), in Salt Lake City, UT, settling allegations that the lender denied a Baltimore, Maryland woman a mortgage loan because she was pregnant and on maternity leave.”
Fair Housing Act laws forbid lenders, sellers, landlords and others involved in housing from discriminating against borrowers based on “sex, race, color, national origin, religion, familial status, or disability” according to the FHA.
The press release states, “Refusing to approve a mortgage loan or to provide refinancing because a woman is pregnant or on maternity leave violates the Fair Housing Act’s prohibitions against sex and familial status discrimination.”
“Lenders have many legitimate business related reasons to deny a mortgage loan, but a woman’s maternity status is not one of them,” says John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD will continue to take action against lenders who refuse to make loans to otherwise qualified women merely because they are pregnant or on maternity leave.” Trasvina was quoted in the press release, which also adds details of the complaint against the Maryland mortgage company.
The loan applicant, “filed a complaint with HUD alleging discrimination after one of PRMI’s loan officers told her that she was a ‘good risk’ and that the lender would be willing to finance her loan, but only after she returned to work. After being unable to get a loan from PRMI, the woman and her husband applied for a loan with another lender and were approved.”
Under the terms of the agreement between the mortgage company and HUD, “PRMI will pay the woman $13,000 and adopt a parental leave policy with respect to loan applications to ensure compliance with the fair lending requirements of the Fair Housing Act. In addition, PRMI’s loan officers, processors, underwriters and decision makers will be trained on the Act and the new policy. The Parental Leave Policy applies to men as well as women who are on parental leave due to the birth or adoption of a child and prohibits inquiries concerning a person’s future parental leave plans.”
Do you have questions about FHA loans or refinance loans? Ask us in the comments section.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
Browse by Date: