Congressman Barney Frank
2210 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515-2104

Dear Congressman Frank:

As you are well aware, before any legislation is passed the public gets plenty of advance notice so that those affected by it will have time to have input and plan for it. Similarly, when regulatory agencies decide to make a change that will have a major impact, they always publish in advance a notice and receive comments from the public before implementing a regulatory change.

Enclosed you will find two articles, one recently published in the Boston Courant (myself), and another recently published in the Bank & Tradesmen, both of which point out that Fannie Mae’s decision to make significant changes in its regulations dealing with it’s requirements in purchasing residential condominium loans has had a major negative impact on the buyers and sellers of condominium units and people who wish to refinance their units because of those changes, which almost no one knows about. As you know, Massachusetts, like every other state, is seeking to recover from the major decline in real estate values and activity. This knee-jerk reaction by Fannie Mae to criticisms that may have be leveled at it by implementing tough new underwriting guidelines without notice is not the way to jump start the housing market. I implore you to speak to those in control of Fannie Mae and have them suspend these changes for at least a year so that the public, including those who manage condominium buildings, can become aware of these regulations and have time to implement changes before regulations become effective so that the owners of the units are not financially damaged as a result of being unaware of those changes. Otherwise, the lenders will stop trying to make condominium loans because virtually every association is out of sync with these new Fannie Mae regulations.

Very truly yours,

Barron & Stadfeld, P.C.
Thomas V. Bennett