Congressman Sorensen Joins Legislation to Help Families Afford a Home

Congressman Eric Sorensen (IL-17) is supporting legislation that will help renters and first-time homebuyers afford a home for their families during a nationwide housing shortage that is leaving homeownership out of reach for millions of Americans. In Illinois’ 17th district, Rockford, the Quad Cities, and Peoria are all experiencing rising housing prices amidst a shortage of affordable homes.

“The number one issue for the vast majority of my neighbors is the cost of living, and frequently topping the list is the lack of affordable housing and skyrocketing home prices,” said Congressman Sorensen. “Right now, too many families across the district are being priced out of homes to raise their kids in. These pieces of legislation can help make homeownership a reality for these families and put the American dream back within reach for them.”

Congressman Sorensen is co-sponsoring the Access to Homeownership Act to require landlords that receive federal funding for apartment buildings to give tenants the option to have their positive, on-time rent payments reported to the major credit bureaus. It would also include their rental history in Federal Housing Authority (FHA) loan considerations. This would help families with a positive rental history successfully apply for a home mortgage by boosting their credit scores.

The Congressman is also co-sponsoring the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Act to establish a fully refundable tax credit for first-time homebuyers of up to 10% of the home’s value up to $15,000. The owners would receive the credit at closing through their lender for homes financed with federally backed mortgages. The credit would phase out to less than 10% of the home’s value when the owner earns more than 150% of the area median income.