President Donald Trump has a new housing-related bill in his hands, one promising protection of mortgage applicants' credit information.
The Senate unanimously approved the House version of the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act on Saturday, a proposal to guard mortgage applicants' information from solicitations.
When someone applies for a mortgage, the lender checks the client's credit report. The credit reporting agency can then sell the prospective borrower's information to third parties, which can result in a bombardment of solicitations. If Trump signs the measure, they won't be able to sell that information unless they have the applicant's consent or the consumer is already doing business with that third party.
"MBA celebrates the final passage of this important bill — a long-overdue measure that will finally put an end to the abusive use of mortgage credit trigger leads," Bob Broeksmit, CEO and president of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said in a statement. "This new law will help protect consumers from the barrage of unwanted calls, texts and emails they too often receive immediately after applying for a mortgage."
The proposal gained bipartisan support. Senators Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee, and Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, pushed the initiative forward in the Senate.
If signed, the bill won't go into effect for 180 days.
The Senate continues to focus on real estate initiatives tailored for buyers and owners. Last month, it passed the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act with 40 initiatives intended to address challenges faced by buyers, owners, and renters.
