A simple guideline change could boost home sales and help homebuyers

By BrokerOwner.net July 11, 2025 Housing News

I
think
about
homeowner
affordability
a
lot.
My
job
as
a
loan
officer
is
to
help
people
prep
and
plan
to
buy
a
house.
Making
sure
they
can
afford
the
house
is
a
responsibility
I
take
very
seriously.
I
am
passionate
about
the
American
Dream
and
helping
my
clients
reach
their
goals.
There
is
a
lot
of
chatter
about
lower
mortgage
rates
and
increased
home
building,
which
will
improve
affordability
in
the
future;
however,
we
need
a
solution
now.

We
have
housing
markets
in
the
country
where
inventory
is
growing,
and
there
are
a
ton
of
opportunities
for
homebuyers.
How
can
we
help
more
people
realize
their
dream
of

homeownership
and
assist
them
in
affording
the
payments
now?

There
is
a
simple
guideline
change
that
I
believe
could
help
more
Americans
become
homeowners.

As
a
lender,
I
review

credit
reports
all
day
long.
One
of
the
biggest
obstacles
to
homeownership
and
affordability
is
debt.
The

Federal
Reserve’s
Q1
report
on
Household
Debt
and
Credit
shows
that,
on
average,
each
American
household
has
over
$8980
in
credit
card
debt,
$12,480
in
auto
loans,
$12,404
in
student
loans,
and
$4110
in
retail
cards
and
personal
loans.
This
debt
can
make
qualifying
for
a
home
and
comfortably
affording
it
a
challenge.
People
are
waiting
for
lower
rates
to
make
the
payment
more
palatable,
but
what
if
there
were
another
way?

There
is
a
solution
that
helps
both
the
homeowner
and
the
homebuyer.
The
homeowner
wants
to
sell
the
house,
and
the
homebuyer
wants
to
buy
it,
but
the
homebuyer
cannot
qualify
because
their
debt-to-income
ratio
is
too
high,
or
they
are
overwhelmed
by
their
total
monthly
payments.
As
the
top
VA
purchase
loan
officer
for
the
last
two
years,
I
have
seen
the
solution.
I
utilize
it
for
my
clients
every
day.
If
the
buyer
was
a
veteran
with
a

VA
loan,
I
could
have
the
buyer
ask
the
seller
to
pay
all
their
closing
costs
and
up
to
4%
towards
the
homebuyer’s
debt.

We
do
this
all
the
time.
Paying
off
the
debt
makes
the
house
affordable.
We
have
had
sellers
pay
off
clients’
cars,
their
credit
cards,
and
recently,
a
seller
paid
off
a
veteran’s
wedding.
Amazing!
The
seller
sold
the
house,
and
the
buyer
became
a
homeowner,
entering
homeownership
with
less
consumer
debt.
It
is
a
win-win
situation.

So
why
isn’t
everyone
doing
that?
Simple,
you
can
only
do
it
with
VA
loans.
Conventional
guidelines
do
not
allow
the
buyer
to
use
seller
concessions
towards
debt.
That
is
the
very
simple
guideline
I
would
like
to
change.

If
conventional
concession
guidelines
matched
VA
allowable
guidelines,
you
would
see
a
large
increase
in
the
number
of
people
who
would
be
able
to
buy
homes.
Currently,
in
many
markets,
we
have
builders
giving
out
huge
incentives
to
lower
the
rate,
but
if
they
could
use
those
incentives
towards
homebuyers’
debt,
they
would
make
a
greater
impact
in
both
the
short
and
long
run.

One
concern
some
may
have
with
this
change
is,
“What
if
they
take
out
more
debt
after
closing?”

That
is
a
risk
with
any
loan,
and
as
someone
who
has
been
utilizing
this
method
with
clients
for
years,
I
have
to
say
that
it
is
rare
that
I
see
the
buyer
go
and
take
out
more
debt.
They
are
so
happy
to
be
free
of
debt
and
finally
home
that
that
is
their
priority.
Yes,
I
talk
with
my
clients
a
lot,
and
we
talk
about
money
and
how,
if
the
seller
pays
off
debt,
charging
it
back
up
would
be
a
terrible
idea.
We
talk
about
planning
for
repairs
and
the
costs
of
homeownership.
I
say
to
everyone
firmly
that
debt
is
the
enemy
of
our
future.
I
care
about
my
clients
for
the
long
run,
and
having
these
conversations
is
critical.

I
believe
we
are
at
a
golden
moment
in
many
housing
markets,
where
we
can
help
more
homebuyers
and
reduce
their
consumer
debt.
This
is
something
I
am
speaking
with
my
Veteran
buyers
about
daily.

A
simple
guideline
change
could
open
that
opportunity
to
everyone.

There
is
no
single
solution
to
housing
affordability.
The
only
way
we
will
get
there
is
by
making
many
moves
towards
making
homeownership
more
affordable.
Every
guideline
change,
rate
dip,
or
wage
increase
helps,
and
I
think
that
as
an
industry,
we
need
to
start
thinking
about
all
the
little
things
we
can
do
to
increase
homeownership,
as
every
action
can
have
an
impact.
I
think
sharing
ideas
is
the
first
step.

Often,
we
rely
on
the
“powers
that
be”
to
fix
everything
and
are
hesitant
to
voice
an
idea.
If
I
were
at
a
level
where
I
could
wield
that
much
power,
I
would
want
to
hear
ideas.
Some
will
be
good,
some
will
be
interesting,
and
some
will
be
unrealistic;
however,
ideas
are
never
the
enemy.
Thinking
and
looking
for
solutions
is
the
key.

Everyone
has
a
seat
at
the
table
when
it
comes
to
keeping
the
American
dream
alive.

Pull
up
a
chair
and
share
your
ideas.
We
can
solve
this
together.