Yesterday I received an email with an urgent plea for action. The plea stated: “HUD has proposed to eliminate ALL seller financing unless the seller lives in the home or becomes a licensed mortgage originator.” The plea requested that I post a comment on HUD’s proposed rules regarding the S.A.F.E. (Secure and Fair Enforcement) Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 before the February 16th deadline for public comments expires.

As a landlord who sometimes buys or sells residential property using owner financing this email demanded my immediate attention. Not wanting to comment before reading the Act (part of the 261 page “Housing And Economic Recovery Act Of 2008”) and the proposed HUD Rule (16 pages titled “SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act: HUD Responsibilities Under the SAFE Act; Proposed Rule” Federal Register 12/15/09), I realized that my day was no longer my own. As an entrepreneur and business person I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to protect freedoms which I believed were guaranteed by our Constitution. This may seem unproductive, but it is necessary. Government should allow us to take risks and to succeed or fail without trying to protect us from our own ineptitude.

David Tilney
Keyper Corporation

Click here (My posting on HUD’s request for public comments)

Click here (read the Call to Action email)