ABA and several trade groups wrote to congressional appropriators on Friday urging them to maintain the prohibition on federal funds being used to facilitate the seizure of underwater mortgages through eminent domain, as has been contemplated by several cities.
Existing law prohibits the Federal Housing Administration from insuring mortgages acquired and refinanced this way. “Using the power of eminent domain in this manner would harm our nation’s housing markets and the very communities it is intended to help,” the groups said.