But there are many unanswered questions about how it would work and whether it could 5disrupt the U.S. housing market.
Many homeowners feel locked into their interest rate, but what if they could move with it?
"If you have someone who has an extremely low rate — the high 2s, low 3s on a home that they currently own, they may not want to move to another home because they're going to go from those low rates to current market rates, which are 6significantly higher."
Not only could a 7portable mortgage provide more flexibility to move to a new home, but it could also free up supply for future homebuyers.
Justin Demola with Lenders One says, in concept, it sounds great, but it does come with a lot of questions.
"If people are upgrading their homes, how are they going to 8bridge that gap for the 9equity for the down payment?"
Demola says, in this case, it depends on how much the homeowner is upgrading.
Additionally, mortgage agreements are clear contracts 10tied to a specific property with the home's address listed as 11collateral. Transferring that loan to a new house would mean effectively rewriting the contract.
And one key question: will banks go along with this? Congress might have to pass new laws.
"We don't know how that's going to work. But when we look at it, we really have to pay attention to, again, the mechanics of a mortgage, right? How are we going to actually take the 12workflow and make it so that a mortgage could be portable?"
