Andy Barr: “Last month, a hospital worker in Paducah, Kentucky, applied for a loan of $38,500 to finance a manufactured home. He had…”

“Last month, a hospital worker in Paducah, Kentucky, applied for a loan of $38,500 to finance a manufactured home. He had an 8 percent down payment. His monthly income was $2,200 per month--plenty to cover the all-in housing costs of $670 per month. The payment for his own home would have been less than what he was spending on rent, but he was unable to get financing. He contacted his local banks and credit unions, but they did not finance manufactured homes. This hospital worker from Kentucky can't get financing because of the very entity that was created to protect consumers--the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That is right, the Federal Government is protecting people right out of homeownership. Consumers are protected so much they can't even purchase a manufactured home. Lenders have stopped making manufactured housing loans because of the Dodd-Frank Act and CFPB regulations. Even worse, current owners are having to sell their homes below market value to cash buyers because potential buyers can't find financing. And this isn't just anecdotal. Government statistics prove that CFPB rules have prevented credit-worthy consumers from accessing affordable financing that would allow them to purchase manufactured homes. According to 2014 HMDA data, manufactured home loan volume for loans under $75,000 decreased in the first year that these regulations went into effect.…”