America's Homeowner Alliance Issues Statement In Response To National Council Of La Raza Housing Reform Hearing

ELLISVILLE, Mo., Dec. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tino Diaz, President of the America's Homeowner Alliance (AHA), released the following statement regarding the field hearing on housing reform hosted by the National Council of La Raza on Thursday, December 19, 2013:

"AHA would like to sincerely thank the National Council of La Raza for hosting yesterday's field hearing in Woodbridge, VA to discuss the future of housing, as we begin to move past the recent housing crisis. 

The 2006-2009 housing crisis left many families throughout America in foreclosure and many more underwater on their mortgages. 

According to studies from organizations like the Pew Research Center and Center for Responsible Lending, Hispanics and African Americans were almost twice as likely as whites to experience foreclosures. Many financial institutions were bailed out with taxpayer money while the most vulnerable families were left with little recourse.

AHA encourages a thoughtful discussion on how best to strengthen our nation's commitment to housing.  At the same time, we caution against using the housing crisis as an excuse to limit access to affordable housing and increase the cost of homeownership on families, especially low-to-moderate income families.  Our objective must be to protect and promote sustainable homeownership for all segments of America. These safeguards are critical in order for credit worthy, hard-working, responsible Americans to own a piece of the American Dream.

As a homeowner, a father, and a taxpayer - this is an issue of particular interest to me.  Most families see homeownership as a critical part of achieving the American Dream.  Homeownership is also essential to a family's ability to accumulate net worth and save for retirement.  Indeed, this is a way that we can build generational wealth, and pass it on to our children.  Our economy remains fragile, but is finally beginning to recover, and an indispensable component of that is housing.  Every economic recovery in our lifetime has been led by housing sales and construction. 

Now, more than ever, we need housing policy that does not impinge on our national commitment to provide credit worthy families an opportunity to find a good home, obtain a mortgage and build their own American Dream.

At AHA we want to express the need for caution in light of the multiple discussions taking place on developing new housing policies for America. We want families across the country to have affordable options to purchase their homes.  And, we certainly caution against making it more difficult for families to achieve homeownership. We also appreciate the need to have a robust, deep and liquid secondary mortgage market to accomplish these goals. We do not want to repeat the mistakes that led to the problems in our recent past.  

For generations our country has had a rock solid commitment to homeownership and within that, to affordable housing, and we encourage the continuation of that commitment for the benefit of current and future generations of American families that aspire to own a home so they can fulfill their American Dream.''

For more information about America's Homeowner Alliance, visit www.myaha.com.

About America's Homeowner Alliance

America's Homeowner Alliance (the Alliance) is the first national homeowner alliance dedicated to protecting and promoting sustainable homeownership for all segments of America. Established in September 2013, the Alliance is based in St. Louis, Missouri and serves as the representative public policy voice of existing and aspiring homeowners. The Alliance is a nonpartisan organization, representing homeowners of all ethnic, income and demographic backgrounds. Additional information can be found at www.myaha.com.

CONTACT: Tino Diaz
(305) 401-7507
[email protected]

SOURCE America’s Homeowner Alliance