For Immediate Release: Contact: Rachel Wolf
March 30, 2011 (202) 331-2120
Arkansas Becomes 22nd State to Restrict Dangerous Wall Street Home Resale Fees
Broad, Bipartisan Coalition Thanks Governor Beebe, Representative Vines, Senator Burnett and the Legislature for Standing Up for Homeowners by Banning Fees
Little Rock, Arkansas – Governor Beebe took swift action to protect Arkansas homeowners by signing House Bill 1388 to restrict Wall Street Home Resale Fees (also known as “private transfer fees”). The new law, sponsored by Representative Vines and Senator Burnett places a ban on these fees,a dangerous new financial scheme that steals home equity, lowers home resale values and adds another layer of difficulty to selling a home.
“The Governor and Legislature stood up for Arkansas homeowners by protecting consumers from these for profit fees,” said Wes Lasseigne, Vice President of the Arkansas Land Title Association. “This bill is an important step in enhancing consumer protections and safeguarding a fragile real estate market from further abuse.”
Manhattan-based Freehold Capitol Partners is leading the push to add these fees to home purchase contracts. The fees require that a percentage of the final sale price of a home be paid to a private third party every time the property is sold, typically for 99 years. Freehold is attempting to then sell the right to collect these fees on Wall Street—all the while padding investors’ pockets while stealing equity from homeowners.
Arkansas becomes the 22nd state to have restricted the use of Wall Street Resale Fees.
The bill is the latest in a series of government actions to limit Wall Street Home Resale Fees. Arkansas joins Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas and Utah in restricting the dangerous On the federal level, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has issued a proposed rule that would prevent government-sponsored entities from investing in mortgages with these fees.
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The Coalition to Stop Wall Street Home Resale Fees has organized to fight the dangerous financial scheme of transfer fee covenants and to protect homeowners across the country. Together, we are fighting to ensure that homeowners keep full equity in their home, and have the freedom to buy or sell their home without paying-off a private third party.
For more information, go to www.stophomeresalefees.com or visit us on Twitter or Facebook.
