laurie goodman estimated it was as much as $15,000 in additional costs that were being charged because there wasn't competition between servicers. so what we're trying to do with this legislation is remove those barriers to competition and that will take a family who may be eligible today, but they're going to look at the costs and say, it just doesn't make sense for they to spend as much as $15,000 extra to refinance. or they may not have it. >> give me an example, what would the $15,000 be for? >> so it would be not just the costs of refinancing -- closing costs, appraisals. appraisals frankly that aren't necessary given that the risk is already at the gse. then it would be additional fees that are being charged by that servicer for the refinancing. and there's a range of those kinds of fees. we can detail them for you. but that's the issue. >> senator merkley, do you have any questions? >> thank you, mr. chair, yes, i do. first i wanted to just note that you -- your comment about the window of opportunity that exists right now with the low interest rate, i want to accentuate that. t

i think laurie goodman estimated the potential was to save as much as $15,000 per borrower by increasing the competition there on the refinancing of these loans. >> one final comment on your remark. in the panel, i think we had about six witnesses representing a wide range of views, there was unanimity on the view that asking for all that documentation, when in fact already the risk is there, was not necessary and added as an obstacle for refinancing. it was interesting to hear some of the more conservative members of the panel had that view as well. appreciate your response. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator korver. >> thank you, mr. chairman and secretary. thank you for your testimony today. it was indicative of the secretary that i've grown to know and respect and i appreciate the way you've come in to talk about these bills in the way you have. might not agree for every comment but i thank you for the testimony. >> thank you. >> mr. chairman, i attended the subcommittee meeting that senator menendez had and it was a good hearing. i thought we had some good witnesses. for what it's

something that economists across a broad spectrum, i know you had testimony from chris mayer, laurie goodman, and many others here recently to this committee about the importance of refinancing overall. the fed has spoken very clearly about the ways that reductions in payments that average $2,500 to $3,000 a year boosts consumer spending and are a net plus to the economy in terms of the ripple effects that that spending has. so i think the broad case has been made very clearly this is good for the economy. what i would add to that is that for every point, additional point, of increase that we see in home prices, as the economy improves, as the number of foreclosures is reduced, we see a substantial benefit to fha and to the gses, because not just defaults go down, but as home values rise, the recoveries that we make on any foreclosures that do go forward are significantly lower. the estimates just to the benefits for the gses i think chris mayer when he was here estimated a more than $20 billion benefit to the gses from lower default rates. those -- depending on the takeup, those may be at t

i think laurie goodman estimated the potential was to save as much as $15,000 per borrower by increasingthe competition on the refinancing of these loans. >> one final comment. we had about six witnesses representing a wide range of views, there was unanimity on the view that asking for all of that documentation, when in fact, the risk is already there, it was not necessary. it actually added an obstacle towards refinancing. it was interesting for me to hear some of the most conservative members of the panel who had that view as well. i appreciate your response. thank you, mr. chairman. >> i think you for your testimony today. it was indicative of the secretary that i have grown to know and respect, and i appreciate the way you have common to talk about these bills and what you have. you might not agree with every comment, but i think you for the testimony. >> mr. chairman, i attended the subcommittee meeting that senator menendez had, and it was a good hearing. i thought we had some good witnesses. for what it is worth, i think there are some redeeming qualities to the boxer-menendez bi

laurie goodman estimated as much as $15,000 in additional cost we are being charged because there was a competition between servicers. so what we're trying to do with legislation is removed areas to competition and that will take a family who may be eligible today, but they will look at the cost and features doesn't make sense for me to spend as much as $15,000 extra to refinance. or there may not have it. >> give me an example over the $15,000 before? >> it would be not just the cost of refinancing, appraisals that frankly aren't necessary given the risk is already at the gse. then, additional fees charged by that service or for the refinance. there is a range of those kinds of fees we can detail for you, but that's the issue. >> senator merkley, do you have any questions? >> thank you, mr. chairman. yes, i do. first, i want to knock your comment about the window of opportunity that exists right now with low-interest rate at which accentuate that. the term as fierce as now as you were speaking and i recall many years ago in the early 90s i was involved in a project to help called pro