To establish a program to provide low- and moderate-income first-time, first-generation homebuyers with access to affordable and sustainable wealth-building home loans.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Warner (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Ossoff, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill, known as the "LIFT Homebuyers Act of 2023," creates a new federal program to help low- and moderate-income Americans who have never owned a home and whose parents never owned a home purchase their first house. The program offers specially priced 20-year mortgage loans through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and USDA Rural Housing Service, designed to build wealth faster through accelerated equity accumulation.
Who Benefits and How
- First-time, first-generation homebuyers earning up to 120% of area median income (or 140% in high-cost areas) gain access to wealth-building home loans with favorable terms, including fixed interest rates and lower monthly payments compared to standard loans
- Former foster care youth are explicitly included as eligible regardless of parental homeownership history
- Mortgage lenders and servicers are protected from liability if they approve loans in good-faith reliance on borrower attestations, even if eligibility criteria are not actually met
- Rural homebuyers benefit from the USDA Rural Housing Service component of the program
Who Bears the Burden and How
- Federal government / taxpayers bear the financial risk through the LIFT HOME Fund in each agency, which covers costs of loan guarantees; the Treasury Department must purchase securities backed by these mortgages
- FHA and USDA Rural Housing Service face administrative burden of establishing pricing terms, managing the fund, and operating outreach programs
- The mortgage insurance funds may face solvency concerns if high default rates occur, though Secretaries can waive premium caps to protect fund solvency
Key Provisions
- Establishes the "LIFT HOME Fund" within FHA and USDA Rural Housing Service to manage program finances
- Creates 20-year fixed-rate mortgage products with monthly payments capped at 100-110% of a comparable 30-year loan payment
- Limits mortgage insurance premiums and guarantee fees to 4% of loan balance (waivable if fund solvency is threatened)
- Requires only borrower attestation to verify first-generation homebuyer status, with no additional documentation required
- Applies to mortgages with case numbers issued on or before December 31, 2025
- Authorizes the Treasury Secretary to purchase securities backed by these mortgage loans
- Excludes "heir property" (inherited property held by multiple heirs) from disqualifying individuals from first-time homebuyer status
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
This bill establishes a program to provide low- and moderate-income first-time, first-generation homebuyers with access to affordable and sustainable wealth-building home loans.
Policy Domains
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Federal Housing Administration or the Rural Housing Service, depending on the context.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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