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The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act protects potential homebuyers from receiving hundreds of calls and text messages from third parties by restricting credit bureaus from selling data from mortgage applications

WASHINGTON - Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema cosponsored the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act - bipartisan legislation protecting homebuyers, many of whom are purchasing their first home, from scams.

"Our bipartisan legislation protects homebuyers from scammers - giving Arizona families the peace of mind and security needed to successfully purchase a home," said Sinema.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act currently requires homebuyers to opt out of the sale of their trigger leads that cause a flood of texts, calls, and emails. The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act switches to an opt-in model, exempting institutions that have an existing relationship with the consumer.

A trigger lead refers to the selling of data by a credit bureau when a homebuyer completes a mortgage application, resulting in potential homebuyers receiving hundreds of calls and text messages from third parties almost immediately after submitting their application.

The bipartisan bill restricts the use of automatic trigger leads only to a third party that has an existing relationship with the consumer. This includes institutions that originated the current residential mortgage loan of the consumer, the servicer of the consumer's current residential mortgage loan, or an insured depository institution or credit union that holds a current account for the consumer. The bill offers Arizonans the choice to opt in to the sale of their trigger leads, instead of the opt-out format that currently exists

In 2021, more than three in ten houses in Arizona were purchased by investors. Anyone applying for a mortgage on any of these homes will currently be flooded with spam texts, emails, and calls if they are not aware of the option to opt out of this before submitting their application. This deters and overwhelms possibly inexperienced first-time homebuyers from successfully purchasing a house.