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Comment

Director Thompson,

I strongly recommend caution when it comes to exercising any new legislation regarding anyone's rights, when it comes to one party like tenant rights, you take away rights from the landlords or property managers. There is already enough protection for tenants and no further protection is needed. Our firm manages over 350 single family home units, and when the CDC ordered that landlords could not ask for rent, tenants took advantage of the situation. Some property owners only have one rental property in hopes of it funding their retirement. When government took away their rights to collect rent, in negatively affected their personal cashflow, and putting financial strain on the landlords, property managers and property owners. NOT all property owners are billionaires, and they need protection equal to or not greater than that of tenants. Tenants do not have any "skin in the game" or risk, the property owner has the greater exposure and should not be governed in a manner that it affects their ability to protect their property rights. With recent government intervention there were tenants that took advantage of the laws and though while still working or getting income, their just did not pay, we had to allow them to stay as a property manager and could not ask for them to pay rent, then when the law expired we had to go to court to sue for back rent and eviction. ON multiple occasions the tenant vacated and destroyed the property, and refused to pay back rent, leaving the property managers with alot of work and expense without any benefit to the REALTOR or the property owner. If more rights are granted to the tenants, you will force the small American investors out of real estate investments, leaving only large entities with foreign ownership to become the owners of our single family homes, apartment and condos. The much bigger issue is the foreign ownership of U.S.A soil, farmland, residential and commercial properties. Foreign owners do not abide by our guidelines and break the laws all the time. So doing this you will be putting our American citizens are greater risk , by having foreign investors become the majority if not all of residential rental properties, which will have a much greater negative impact for our tenants, and the US of A in whole. We have to stop foreign ownership, and adopt a law similar to what Canada has done, with citizenship requirements. We already have too many people playing the systems and a large number of people both natural citizens and illegal immigrants draining our welfare system. Laws need to be made to protect the working class Americans who strive for a better life, and want to own rental properties so that at the end of the mortgage period they own the home free and clear and have a form of retirement. Social security at $1,200 per month and charging from the for Medicare is lacking our working class citizens. We have to protect those that pay into the system more than those who take from the system or at some point the system will fail and our economy and government will be controlled by our enemies.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your Request for Input (RFI) on how the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), in its oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, can best provide affordable housing opportunities for renters. Approximately 40% of the National Association of REALTORS®'s (NAR) 1.5 million members own at least one rental housing unit, playing a vital role in providing safe, quality, and affordable housing in neighborhoods nationwide.

As the FHFA examines ways to improve access to affordable housing, it is critical to acknowledge the most significant driver of housing unaffordability is the limited supply of available housing. According to NAR data, the United States has an underproduction gap of over 5.5 million units – a key underlying reason housing costs have increased. On top of this, inflation has increased the prices of goods and services for all Americans. As housing providers strive to provide affordable housing opportunities in their communities, they also contend with rising mortgage rates and increased costs for supplies, services, and maintenance. When inflation is high, the prices of materials increase. That means it becomes exceedingly more expensive for construction teams to build new homes or renovate existing ones. Ultimately, these high costs spill into the housing market and lift home prices for new builds and existing housing.

As REALTORS®, we are committed to upholding the very specific provisions of our contracts with residents, and we often go above and beyond what is required to ensure residents have safe, quality, and affordable places to live. Rental housing is a deeply complex issue that is unique to every community. Creating additional layers of policies to a space that is already heavily regulated by state and local governments will have severe unintended consequences for renters as housing providers are leaving the market in communities where affordable housing is sorely needed.

Affordable housing is pivotal to creating paths to upward mobility for people across the country. I appreciate your commitment to ensuring we achieve this goal without impeding the creation of much-needed housing supply. Thomas Kougias