Condo legislation passes, boon for homebuyers

The U.S. Senate has approved the “Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act”, which streamlines and improves the condominium purchase and sale process.  The bill previously passed the House unanimously and now goes to the President for his signature.

“I want to thank our members for urging the Senate to pass this bill”, said Patti Hill, President of Seattle King County REALTORS®.  “Over 530 of our members sent emails to Senators Murray and Cantwell in the past few weeks asking for immediate action.  This is a good start in addressing the inventory shortage in our greater Seattle market.”

The National Association of REALTORS® issued a “call for action” to members during June.  This grassroots lobbying effort was successful in getting 140,000 REALTORS® nationwide to contact Congress.  There were 2200 contacts from Washington State.  The final bill, H.R. 3700, promotes creation of condominium inventory by easing FHA restrictions on condominium sales and purchases. It reduces the FHA condo owner occupancy from no less than 50 percent to 35 percent, directs FHA to streamline the condo re-certification process, and provides more flexibility for mixed use buildings.

Read the full story HERE.