Home Equity “Sharing” Agreements (HESA) agreements are complex, predatory contracts that mislead consumers into thinking they are taking out a loan, rather than selling their home equity. To receive an up-front payment, homeowners agree to pay the HESA company a high percentage of the equity that accumulated during the term of the contract, sometimes as high as 80%. Homeowners count on using their home equity to buy a new house, pay for end-of-life care, fund retirement, and pass generational wealth on to their children, but find themselves empty handed after selling their equity to HESA providers.

HB 1464 exempts HESAs from our state's mortgage laws, legalizing predatory lending that targets people in financial distress when other alternatives are available. This bill would allow HESA providers to purchase an unacceptably high percentage of a homeowner's equity, trapping homeowners in a downward spiral that often results in bankruptcy, foreclosure and eviction.

Our state has made strides towards increasing access to the benefits of homeownership to people living on a low income and communities of color in Washington, but Home Equity Sharing Agreements would bring Washingtonians backwards.

Tell your lawmakers: Vote NO on HB 1464 to protect Washingtonians from these predatory products.

Our state is facing a revenue shortfall over the next four years. Governor Ferguson has committed to exhausting options for budget cuts instead of pursuing options for progressive revenue, but we must urge lawmakers to take the opposite approach.
 
Even a 6% cut to vital resources like the Department of Social and Health Services would take over $702 million away from programs that serve low income families in Washington. During hard times, families rely on TANF, SNAP, and other services to get by, and these cuts would strand people who need support. Our state is still recovering from the harm that cutting vital programs and services caused during the Great Recession, and it would be a mistake to repeat this approach.
 
Instead of balancing the budget on the backs of Washingtonians living on a low income again, we should ask those who can afford it to pay their fair share. When families face difficult times financially, they don't just tighten their belts, they look for new opportunities for income. Washington has a clear opportunity - with progressive revenue, we can afford to meet this budget shortfall and maintain funding for vital programs that support our state's most vulnerable residents.
 
Tell your lawmakers: Pass progressive revenue, not budget cuts!

Statewide Poverty Action Network
1501 N 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98103
United States

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