Housing Financial Literacy Act of 2020

Housing Financial Literacy Act of 2020

This bill modifies the discount given by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on single-family mortgage-insurance premium payments for first-time homebuyers who complete a financial-management counseling program. Under current law, the maximum premium amount for such homebuyers is 2.75% of the original insured principal obligation of the mortgage (compared to 3% for other homebuyers).

The bill instead requires that the premium amount for such homebuyers (1) in the case of a mortgage insured within four years of enactment, be 25 basis points (0.25% of the original insured principal obligation of mortgage) lower than the amount otherwise established by the FHA; or (2) in the case of a mortgage insured four years after enactment, at a rate set by the FHA that corresponds to the reduced risk of loss due to the counseling.