Bill offers firefighters, police and teachers access to program akin to what veterans get
A truly rare thing was introduced in Congress this week: a bipartisan bill. The Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder (HELPER) Act was introduced on May 20 by Representatives John Rutherford (R-FL), Al Lawson (D-FL), John Katko (R-NY) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ). The bill would open up federally funded affordable mortgage solutions, akin to VA loans, to firefighters, police, EMS workers and teachers across America.
The bill began as the initiative of Samuel Royer (pictured), the national director of Heroes First Home Loans. Royer is himself a marine corps veteran who served in a non-combat role and was able to secure his first home via a VA loan. Working in the mortgage industry, Royer saw hundreds of other Americans working on the frontlines to serve their neighbors and communities and he wanted to find a way to show gratitude. He worked with Congressman Rutherford, a former sheriff, to craft this bill which will lower monthly payments, require less money upfront, and eliminate monthly mortgage insurance payments for qualifying borrowers. Royer sees this as a means of showing first responders and frontline workers the gratitude they are owed.
“This is a bipartisan bill with individual categories that everybody can get behind,” Royer said. “With police officers, firefighters, EMS workers and teachers, even if there’s rhetoric out there from some people who don’t like law enforcement, those people probably like firefighters and teachers. If you don’t like teachers, you probably like police officers and firefighters. With where America is at today, I think this is a bill that can say ‘thank you’ to these leaders here at home for what they do every single day.”
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The bill, Royer explained, would be administered under HUD or the FHA and would allow any qualifying individual to go to any FHA approved lender for 100% financing, and no monthly mortgage insurance, which would be replaced by an upfront mortgage insurance premium at around 3.6%. HELPERS Act would have some particular differences - it would effectively open up FHA and VA financing options to people working in these fields. On a baseline $200,000 purchase, Royer estimates it would either save a borrower around $90 a month or, if they could afford traditional FHA payments, it would significantly improve their buying power.
While Royer would also like to see these loans opened up to other first responders, like nurses and paramedics, he noted that they’re currently operating under the HUD’s definition of first responders used in their ‘good neighbor next door program.’ He said that after all these frontline workers have had to endure during the COVID-19 pandemic, this bill is a way of showing gratitude and helping them join in the American dream. He expects that with the bipartisan support this bill already has, and the broad-based positivity of its goals, it is very likely to pass in Congress.
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While Royer believes that mortgage professionals should be excited about this bill and the opportunity it presents to support these hardworking people, he noted that this effort is not about making money and pumping up volume, it’s about helping Americans who have served their neighbors to get homes.
“When you have mortgage professionals doing things that ultimately go back to the community through a better program, that’s where the job is real,” Royer said. “At the end of the day, this is not a program so people can get rich or do more volume of business. We’re trying to serve the individual person that’s serving our community. That’s what this is all about.”
