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Tell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Not to Penalize Pregnant Women
  1. Signatures
    1,172 out of 1,500
    Petitioning
    1. Freddie Mac (+ 1 other)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Freddie Mac
      • Fannie Mae
  2. Created By
    Roxann MtJoy
    Mount Vernon, NY
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

After the devastating national sub-prime loan crisis, lenders needed to raise their guidelines for lending money. However, there is one segment of the population that is being affected unfairly: pregnant women and new moms.

Mortgage companies are now considering maternity leave to be the same as unemployment, and thus an immediate disqualification for a home loan. Even if a woman's leave is only scheduled for a couple weeks, that can still be enough to deny her application. The short-term disability insurance that new mothers can receive does not count as qualifying income, either.

Part of the reason behind these new harsher guidelines is due to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two mortgage behemoths that buy up most of the traditional loans from lenders, require both proof of income and verification that that income is likely to continue for at least three years. Previously, maternity leave was understood to be a brief break work (which clearly it is); now, oftentimes lenders consider it to be complete stoppage of income and will not approve the loan until the mom is back at work.

Tightening up guidelines for home loans is definitely a good thing. Of course lenders should not be giving money to people who can't reasonably afford it. The key word there, though, is reasonable. Using planned maternity leave to automatically disqualify a woman— especially when the woman has excellent credit, savings,  and a commitment to rejoin her workplace— is not reasonable.

Tell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac not to penalize women simply because they are pregnant.

 

Recent Signatures

Don't Penalize Women for Taking Maternity Leave

Greetings,

Lately, the mortgage companies that you buy loans from have been tightening up their guidelines for loan approval and that is certainly a good thing for all of us. However, the new restrictions are unfairly penalizing pregnant women for taking legal maternity leave and this must stop.

As you know, your company requires both proof of income and verification that that income is likely to continue for at least three years. Previously, maternity leave was understood to be a brief break work (which clearly it is); now, oftentimes lenders consider it to be complete stoppage of income and will not approve the loan until the mom is back at work.

Lenders say that a woman can still get a mortgage, just one that they can afford on her partner's income alone. Of course, this is problematic. First, it assumes that the partner is still in the picture, which he may not be. Secondly, if the woman has a significantly higher salary, you are asking the family to move into a much smaller house than they can afford in reality. Even if her income isn't higher, it is reasonable to assume that the quality of house two people are able to afford together is better than just one of them alone.

Tightening up guidelines for home loans is definitely a good thing. No one would say that lenders should be giving money to people who can't reasonably afford it. The key word there, though, is reasonable. Using planned maternity leave to automatically disqualify a woman— especially when the woman has excellent credit, savings, and a commitment to rejoin her workplace— is not reasonable, in my opinion.

Please make it clear in your official guidelines that maternity leave should not disqualify a woman from a mortgage. Let it be known that you do not equate taking care of a new baby to be the same as ongoing financial instability and that you are in the business of helping young families obtain homes, not penalizing them for having children.

Thank you. I look forward to seeing progress on this issue very soon.

[Your name]

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