Abstract of Judgment
Summary of a court judgment creating a lien against a property when filed with the county recorder.

Abstract of Title
The condensed history of a title to a particular parcel of real estate, consisting of a summary of the original grant and all subsequent conveyances and encumbrances affecting the property and a certification by the abstractor that the history is complete and accurate.

Acceleration Clause
The clause in a mortgage or deed of trust that can be enforced to make the entire debt due immediately if the borrower defaults on an installment payment or other covenant.

Addendum
Any addition or change to a contract.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)
A loan with an interest rate that fluctuates based on a specified financial index, such as Treasury securities, or the 11th District Cost of Funds, etc.

Agent
A licensed representative of the state to conduct real estate transactions.

Agreement of Sale
Also known as an agreement to convey. A signed, written contract entered into between the seller (vendor) and buyer (vendee) for sale of real property (land) under certain specific terms and conditions.

Alienation Clause
A term of a mortgage which requires that the borrower pay in full the principal and interest due upon the sale of the property. ( See Acceleration or Due-on-Sale Clause)

All-Inclusive Deed of Trust
A form of deed of trust that, in addition to any other amounts actually financed, includes the amounts of any prior deeds of trust. Sometimes referred to as a wrap-around or over-riding trust deed.

Amortization
The repayment of a debt in installments.

Appraisal
A valuation or an estimation of value of property by disinterested persons of suitable qualifications; the process of ascertaining a value of an asset or liability that involves expert opinion rather than explicit market
transactions.

Appreciation
The difference between the increased value of the property and the original value.

Arrears
Generally, being overdue in an installment payment.

Assignee
The person to whom a transfer of interest is made. Hence an assignee of an Agreement of Purchase and Sale may buy the property and enforce the contract in the same fashion as the original party.

Assignment
The method by which a right or contract is transferred from one person (the assignor) to another (the assignee).

Assumable Mortgage
A mortgage that can be taken over (“assumed”) by the buyer when a home is sold. If interest rates have risen, an assumable mortgage at a low rate may prove a selling point for the property.

Balloon Payment
A final payment of a mortgage loan that is considerably larger than the required periodic payments because the loan amount was not fully amortized.

Bankruptcy
An action filed in a federal bankruptcy court that allows a creditor to reorganize or discharge credit obligations due to insolvency. A property owner may halt foreclosure action by filing bankruptcy. Bankruptcies remain on a credit record for seven years and can severely limit a person’s ability to borrow.

Chapter 7 – “Debtor Wipeout” The court oversees the liquidation of the debtors’ non-exempt assets, distributing the cash proceeds proportionally amongst their creditors.

Chapter 11 – This is a business reorganization proceeding.

Chapter 13 – “Debtor Workout” This is the almost-automatic choice of most trustors seeking to use a bankruptcy filing to delay the in- evitable trustee’s sale as long as they can. The purpose of this proceeding is to give a “wage earner” time for rehabilitation . . . a temporary respite free from the collection efforts of creditors.

Beneficiary
A person entitled to receive money or assets from a trust or an estate. A lender is a beneficiary with a deed of trust or a note as a security for a loan.

Bid
An offer by an intending purchaser to pay a designated price for property which is about to be sold at auction.

Blanket Deed of Trust
A deed of trust secured by more than one lot or parcel of land.

Borrower
He to whom a thing or money is lent at his request.

Breach
The breaking or violating of a law, a right, obligation, engagement, or duty, either by commission or omission.

Broker
A agent authorized by the state to deal in real estate.

Buy-Down mortgage
A financing technique used to reduce the monthly payments for the first few years of a loan. Funds in the form of discount points are given to the lender by the builder or seller to buy down or lower the effective interest rate paid by the buyer, thus reducing the monthly payments for a set time.

Buyers Market
A market condition where there are fewer buyers than there are sellers. Usually indicated when a property is on the market for more than 90 days and interest rates are very high. (12% or higher)

Capital Gain
A profit earned from the sale of an asset.

Cash Flow
The surplus left over out of the rents after paying out all operating expenses and mortgage payments.

Certificate of Sale
A certificate issued at a judicial sale that entitles the buyer to receive a deed after confirmation of court for the purchase of the property.

Chain of Title
A succession of conveyances that comprises the title record history to a specific parcel of real property.

Closing Costs
Expenses supplementary to the sale of real estate, which includes loan, title and appraisal fees.

Closing Date
The date agreed upon which the buyer takes over the property.

Cloud on Title
Any outstanding claim that contradicts the title record, if valid, would impair the owners title.

Code
A collection of laws relating to a certain topic, such as real property, patents, etc.

Co-signer
A co-signer signs a promissory note and takes responsibility for the debt.

Collateral
Real estate or personal property which is pledged as security for a debt.

Collection
Obtain payment or liquidation of a debt or claim, either by personal solicitation or legal proceedings.

Comparables
Similar properties used as yardsticks to determine the market value of a certain property.

Complaint
The original or initial pleading by which an action is commenced; a written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged.

Contingency
A specified condition that must be fulfilled before a contract becomes firm and binding.

Contract
An agreement between two or more persons that creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing.

Conventional Loan
A loan that requires no insurance or guarantees.

Conveyance
A written instrument that transfers title to or an interest in land from one party to another (i.e. a deed, an assignment, a bill of sale, etc.)

Counteroffer
A response given to an offer.

Credit report
A document from a credit bureau setting forth a credit rating and pertinent financial data concerning a person or a company and used by banks, merchants, suppliers and the like in evaluating a credit risk.

Creditor
One to whom money is owed.

Debt
A sum of money due by a certain and express agreement; a specified sum of money owing to one person from another, including not only obligation of debtor to pay but the right of the creditor to receive and enforce payment.

Debt Ratio
To compare the total monthly payments of all of the borrower’s debts (including the mortgage) with the gross monthly income of the borrower. It evaluates the borrower’s ability to pay mortgage. Also called Debt-to-Income ratio.

Debtor
An entity that owes a debt; one who owes a debt.

Decree of Foreclosure
A court order to set out the outstanding amount on a delinquent mortgage in order to sell the property to pay the mortgagee.

Deed
A written instrument that, when executed and delivered, conveys title to or an interest in real estate.

Deed in lieu of foreclosure
A process whereby the owner, with the approval of the lender, deeds the property to the lender to avoid foreclosure. Lenders are generally reluctant to accept a “deed in lieu” unless the title is free and clear of any other encumbrances junior to theirs and the owners execute an estoppel affidavit acknowledging that they are acting volitionally, with informed consent.

Deed of Reconveyance
A instrument that releases and discharges a deed of trust, when the mortgage has been paid out.

Deed of Trust (Trust Deed)
A three party security instrument conveying the legal title to real property as security for the repayment of a loan. The owner is called the “trustor”. The neutral third party to whom the bare legal title is conveyed (and who is called on to liquidate the property if need be) is the “trustee”. The lender is the “beneficiary”. When the loan is paid off the trustee is directed by the beneficiary to issue a deed of reconveyance to the trustor, which extinguishes the trust deed lien.

Default
The failure to make payments in full, on time or at all or to live up to any other obligations placed on the borrower by the loan agreement.

Defeasance Clause
A clause used in leases and mortgages that cancels a specified right upon the occurrence of a certain condition, such as cancellation of a mortgage upon repayment of the mortgage loan.

Defendant
The person who defends against a claim asserted in a Court action.

Deficiency Judgment
A judgment entered in a lawsuit when a property is sold for less than the amount of the loan.

Delinquency
A condition when the payment is being late but not yet in default.

Demand Letter
Also known as a Breach Letter or Notice of Intent to Foreclose. Notice to the borrower that he/she is in “breach” of the terms of the Note and advising of the right to “cure” the default.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
A federal department that focuses on programs regarding housing and renewal of city communities.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
An independent federal agency which oversees programs for military veterans, including loan and mortgage programs. This agency allows most veterans to purchase a house without a down payment.

Disclosure Statement
Document disclosing the terms of a loan.

Due-on-Sale Clause
A clause in a mortgage which requires that the mortgage be paid out in full upon the sale of the property.

Due Diligence
Such a measure of prudence, activity, or assiduity, as is properly to be expected from a reasonable and prudent man under the particular circumstance.

Equity
The surplus of value which may remain after existing liens are deducted from the property.

Equity Right of Redemption
The right to avoid foreclosure action by paying off the debts, interest, and fees that have accumulated on the property.

Escrow Account
A bank account generally held in the name of the depositor and an escrow agent which is returnable to the depositor or paid to a third person on the fulfillment of a condition.

Estate
The total assets a person has when he dies, including real property.

Estoppel Certificate
A certificate in which a borrower certifies the amount owed on a mortgage loan and the rate of interest.

Eviction
The act of depriving a person of the possession of land or rental property that he has held or leased.

Fair Market Value
The amount at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.

Fannie Mae
Its an official name of the Federal National Mortgage Association which is one of the largest agencies that buys mortgages from lenders and resells them as securities on the secondary mortgage market.

FHA
Stands for Federal Housing Administration. It’s a branch of H.U.D. It’s basic function is to direct housing in a way that Congress mandates by issuing mortgage insurance to institutional lenders on the loans they make. With such loan insurance, lenders are willing to lend with smaller down payments and at lower rates of interest.

FHA Loans
A loan program offering low-rate mortgages to buyers who are willing to make a down payment as small as 3 percent.

First Mortgage
A mortgage that is in first position and has priority as a lien over all other mortgages.

Foreclosure
A legal procedure whereby property used as security for a debt is sold to satisfy the debt in the event of default in payment of the mortgage note or default of other terms in the mortgage document. The foreclosure procedure brings the rights of all parties to a conclusion and passes the title in the mortgaged property to either the holder of the mortgage or a third party who may purchase the realty at the foreclosure sale, free of all encumbrances affecting the property subsequent to the mortgage.

Garnishment
A statutory proceeding whereby person’s property, money, credits in possession or under the control of, or owing by, another are applied to payment of the former’s debt to third person by proper statutory process against debtor and garnishee.

Good Faith Estimate
Institutional lender estimates the costs a borrower will incur, including inspection fees and loan-processing charges.

Grantee
The person to whom the title of the property is granted.

Grantor
The person (seller) who grants title to another person (buyer).

Home Equity Line of Credit
A loan that is secured by the owners property which can be repaid and borrowed again at the owners convenience.

Home Equity Loan
Owners who borrow against the equity in their homes.

HUD 1 Statement
A form, usually given by a bank, that includes the costs of purchasing a home.

Indemnify
Any losses and damages endured by another person that you are fully responsible for.

Instrument
A legal written document.

Involuntary lien
A lien issued against a property without the owners approval.

Judgment
The final decision of the court resolving the dispute and determining the rights and obligations of the parties.

Judicial Foreclosure
A foreclosure process which is executed via a court action.

Landlord
He who, being the owner of an estate of land, or rental property, has leased it to another person.

Lease
An agreement involving payment of rent for possession of real estate for a specific period of time.

Lease Option
A lease that contains the right to purchase a property for a specific price during a given time frame.

Lender
He from whom a thing or money is borrowed.

Lien
A claim or charge on a property for payment of some debt, obligation or duty.

Lis pendens
A term meaning “legal action pending” that gives notice of an action or proceeding affecting the title of the property.

Loss Mitigation Department
A department which helps homeowners avoid foreclosure; the lender tries to help a borrower who has been unable to make loan payments and is in danger of defaulting on his or her loan

Marketable Title
A title with no claims or defects that could otherwise hinder a property being sold.

Mechanic’s lien
A claim created by state statutes for the purpose of securing priority of payment of the price or value of work performed and materials furnished in erecting or repairing a building or other structure, and as such, attaches to the land as well as buildings and improvements erected thereon.

Mortgage
An interest in land created by a written instrument providing security for the performance of a duty or the payment of a debt.

Mortgagee
The entity, usually a bank or financial institution, who lends money to a borrower.

Mortgagor
The person who borrows the money from a lender to purchase a property.

Multiple Listings Service (MLS)
A listing of properties from local real estate agents that consist of all homes available in an area. For-Sale-by-Owner properties are not listed in this database.

Notice of Default (NOD)
A notice that is sent out by the lender when a mortgage payment is late in an attempt to cure or make the loan current.

Notice of Rescission
A legal document used when the defaulting party has cured or corrected the default

Notice of Sale
The notice of an impending foreclosure sale required by the state. It recites the legal description of the property being foreclosed upon and gives the time, date and place of the pending sale.

Offer to Purchase
A contract expressing of a person’s willingness to purchase a certain property on terms expressed in the offer.

Power of Attorney
A written document signed by the owner which authorizes someone else to act in behalf of the owner.

Power of Sale
A clause commonly inserted in mortgages and deeds of trust that are in default, giving the mortgagee (or trustee) the right and power to advertise and sell the mortgaged property at public auction to satisfy the debt.

Pre-Foreclosure
Term used to discuss delinquent properties before they go to the foreclosure auction.

Quit Title
An action at law to remove an adverse claim or cloud from the title of property.

Quit Claim Deed
A deed of conveyance that releases any title, interest, or claim, which the grantor may have in the premises.

Real Estate Owned (REO)
Property acquired back by the lender after it has gone to auction.

Recorder
A public official that is responsible for keeping all the records of real estate transactions.

Redemption Period
The time allotted to the mortgagor to reclaim his/her property after it has been sold at an auction. Not all states have a redemption period.

Sales Contract
A contract to which the buyer and seller agree to terms of sale.

Second Mortgage
A second loan placed upon a property in addition to an existing first loan.

Sheriff’s Sale
The sale of a property to satisfy a debt or judgment.

Short Sale
The sale of a property under or at market value that’s lower than the loan balance.

Subject To
The transfer of rights to pay a debt from one party to another, with the original party remaining liable for the debt if the second party defaults.

Tax Deed
A type of deed used to convey title after real property is sold at auction by public authority for non-payment of taxes.

Tax Lien
A lien on real estate in favor of a state or local government that may be foreclosed on for the non-payment of taxes.

Tenant
A person in possession of real property with the owner’s permission.

Title
Evidence of ownership of land.

Title Company
Firms that examine properties to ensure that the title to a piece of property is clear and free of any encumbrances. They also issue title insurance.

Title Insurance
An insurance policy that provides protection for lenders and buyers against any losses caused by defects in the title.

Title Report
A report which sets out the current state of title to a property.

Title Search
A search within the public records to determine ownership and that there are no claims or liens against the property.

Torrens Title
A torrens title contains a listing of all legal instruments (mortgages, judgments, liens) that have been recorded on the property from its origin.

Trust Account
A special account used by a broker or escrow agent to safeguard funds for a buyer or seller.

Trust Deed
A three party security instrument conveying the legal title to real property as security for the repayment of a loan. The owner is called the “trustor”. The neutral third party to whom the bare legal title is conveyed (and who is called on to liquidate the property if need be) is the “trustee”. The lender is the “beneficiary”. When the loan is paid off the trustee is directed by the beneficiary to issue a deed of reconveyance to the trustor, which extinguishes the trust deed lien.

Trustee
A legally empowered person who holds or controls a piece of property for another person.

Trustee’s Deed
A deed given to the successful high bidder after a foreclosure auction.

Trustee’s Sale
An auction where a trustee may sell a property that has defaulted in effort to pay the outstanding debt that is owed.

Unsecured debt
Debt not secured by collateral.

Vacate
To make vacant or empty.

Warranty Deed
Deed in which the grantor warrants good clear title.

Without Recourse
Giving the lender no right to seek payment or seize assets in the event of nonpayment from anyone other than the party specified in the debt contract.

Wraparound Mortgage
The financing technique in which the payment of the existing mortgage is continued by the seller and a new, higher interest loan, which is larger than the existing mortgage, is paid by the borrower.

Yield
The return on investment or the amount of profit stated as a percentage of the amount invested.

Zoning
Regulations that control the use of land within a jurisdiction.

Additional information from IRS of extending the program into the year 2012 with links to IRS forms and more articles with FAQ’s at midway of this page.

Direct Link to IRS for the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 was enacted on December 20, 2007 (see News Release IR-2008-17). Generally, the Act allows exclusion of income realized as a result of modification of the terms of the mortgage, or foreclosure on your principal residence.

What does that mean?
Usually, debt that is forgiven or canceled by a lender must be included as income on your tax return and is taxable. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 allows you to exclude certain canceled debt on your principal residence from income.

Does the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 apply to all forgiven or canceled debts?
No, the Act applies only to forgiven or cancelled debt used to buy, build or substantially improve your principal residence, or to refinance debt incurred for those purposes.

What about refinanced homes?
Debt used to refinance your home qualifies for this exclusion, but only up to the extent that the principal balance of the old mortgage, immediately before the refinancing, would have qualified.

Does this provision apply for the 2007 tax year only?
It applies to qualified debt forgiven in 2007, 2008 or 2009.

If the forgiven debt is excluded from income, do I have to report it on my tax return?
Yes. The amount of debt forgiven must be reported on Form 982 and the Form 982 must be attached to your tax return.

Do I have to complete the entire Form 982?
Form 982, Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Adjustment), is used for other purposes in addition to reporting the exclusion of forgiveness of qualified principal residence indebtedness. If you are using the form only to report the exclusion of forgiveness of qualified principal residence indebtedness as the result of foreclosure on your principal residence, you only need to complete lines 1e and 2. If you kept ownership of your home and modification of the terms of your mortgage resulted in the forgiveness of qualified principal residence indebtedness, complete lines 1e, 2, and 10b. Attach the Form 982 to your tax return.

Where can I get this form?
You can download the form at IRS.gov, or call 1-800-829-3676. If you call to order, please allow 7-10 days for delivery.

How do I know or find out how much was forgiven?
Your lender should send a Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt, by January 31, 2008. The amount of debt forgiven or cancelled will be shown in box 2. If this debt is all qualified principal residence indebtedness, the amount shown in box 2 will generally be the amount that you enter on lines 2 and 10b, if applicable, on Form 982.

Can I exclude debt forgiven on my second home, credit card or car loans?
Not under this provision. Only canceled debt used to buy, build or improve your principal residence or refinance debt incurred for those purposes qualifies for this exclusion.

If part of the forgiven debt doesn’t qualify for exclusion from income under this provision, is it possible that it may qualify for exclusion under a different provision?
Yes. The forgiven debt may qualify under the “insolvency” exclusion. Normally, a taxpayer is not required to include forgiven debts in income to the extent that the taxpayer is insolvent. A taxpayer is insolvent when his or her total liabilities exceed his or her total assets. The forgiven debt may also qualify for exclusion if the debt was discharged in a Title 11 bankruptcy proceeding or if the debt is qualified farm indebtedness or qualified real property business indebtedness. If you believe you qualify for any of these exceptions, see the instructions for Form 982.

Is there a limit on the amount of forgiven qualified principal residence indebtedness that can be excluded from income?
There is no dollar limit if the principal balance of the loan was less than $2 million ($1 million if married filing separately for the tax year) at the time the loan was forgiven. If the balance was greater, see the instructions to Form 982, page 4.

Is there anything else I need to know before filing?
Yes. Because the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 was passed so late in the year, the software systems used by tax preparers and at the Internal Revenue Service need to be updated to accept the revised Form 982. The IRS expects to be able to process the new Form 982 electronically on March 3, 2008.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM IRS FOR THE YEAR 2008 – 2012 EXTENSION:

DIRECT LINK TO IRS ARTICLE

Updated with FAQs at bottom — Feb. 28, 2008
Updated with new link — Dec. 11, 2008

IR-2008-17, Feb. 12, 2008

WASHINGTON — Homeowners whose mortgage debt was partly or entirely forgiven during 2007 may be able to claim special tax relief by filling out newly-revised Form 982 and attaching it to their 2007 federal income tax return, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Normally, debt forgiveness results in taxable income. But under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, enacted Dec. 20, taxpayers may exclude debt forgiven on their principal residence if the balance of their loan was $2 million or less. The limit is $1 million for a married person filing a separate return. Details are on Form 982 and its instructions, available now on this Web site.

“The new law contains important provisions for struggling homeowners,” said Acting IRS Commissioner Linda Stiff. “We urge people with mortgage problems to take full advantage of the valuable tax relief available.”

The late-December enactment means that reporting procedures for this law change were not incorporated into tax-preparation software or IRS forms. For that reason, people using tax software should check with their provider for updates that include the revised Form 982. Similarly, the IRS is now updating its systems and expects to begin accepting electronically-filed returns that include Form 982 by March 3. The paper Form 982 is now being accepted, but the IRS reminds affected taxpayers to consider filing electronically, which greatly reduces errors and speeds refunds.

The new law applies to debt forgiven in 2007, 2008 or 2009. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, may qualify for this relief. In most cases, eligible homeowners only need to fill out a few lines on Form 982 (specifically, lines 1e, 2 and 10b).

The debt must have been used to buy, build or substantially improve the taxpayer’s principal residence and must have been secured by that residence. Debt used to refinance qualifying debt is also eligible for the exclusion, but only up to the amount of the old mortgage principal, just before the refinancing.

Debt forgiven on second homes, rental property, business property, credit cards or car loans does not qualify for the new tax-relief provision. In some cases, however, other kinds of tax relief, based on insolvency, for example, may be available. See Form 982 for details.

Borrowers whose debt is reduced or eliminated receive a year-end statement (Form 1099-C) from their lender. For debt cancelled in 2007, the lender was required to provide this form to the borrower by Jan. 31, 2008. By law, this form must show the amount of debt forgiven and the fair market value of any property given up through foreclosure.

The IRS urges borrowers to check the Form 1099-C carefully. Notify the lender immediately if any of the information shown is incorrect. Borrowers should pay particular attention to the amount of debt forgiven (Box 2) and the value listed for their home ( Box 7).

Note: Legislation enacted in October 2008 extended this relief through 2012. Thus this relief now applies to debt forgiven in calendar years 2007 through 2012.

* Frequently asked questions on the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act
* Form 982, Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness
* 1099-C
* Publication 4681, Canceled Debts, Foreclosures, Repossessions, and Abandonment

• 501.1377 Florida Mortgage Foreclosure Protection Law
• Florida Statues for Mortgage Brokerage & Lending
• Florida Foreclosure Process

· Promissory Note Discovery

· Rescind Your Mortgage

· Truth In Lending Act – PDF

· Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief

· Foreclosure Dismissal

· RESPA ACT – Loan Regulations

· Foreclosure Counseling Assistance

· Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008

501.1377 Violations involving homeowners during the course of residential foreclosure proceedings.

(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.–The Legislature finds that homeowners who are in default on their mortgages, in foreclosure, or at risk of losing their homes due to nonpayment of taxes may be vulnerable to fraud, deception, and unfair dealings with foreclosure-rescue consultants or equity purchasers. The intent of this section is to provide a homeowner with information necessary to make an informed decision regarding the sale or transfer of his or her home to an equity purchaser. It is the further intent of this section to require that foreclosure-related rescue services agreements be expressed in writing in order to safeguard homeowners against deceit and financial hardship; to ensure, foster, and encourage fair dealing in the sale and purchase of homes in foreclosure or default; to prohibit representations that tend to mislead; to prohibit or restrict unfair contract terms; to provide a cooling-off period for homeowners who enter into contracts for services related to saving their homes from foreclosure or preserving their rights to possession of their homes; to afford homeowners a reasonable and meaningful opportunity to rescind sales to equity purchasers; and to preserve and protect home equity for the homeowners of this state.

(2) DEFINITIONS.–As used in this section, the term:

(a) “Equity purchaser” means any person who acquires a legal, equitable, or beneficial ownership interest in any residential real property as a result of a foreclosure-rescue transaction. The term does not apply to a person who acquires the legal, equitable, or beneficial interest in such property:

1. By a certificate of title from a foreclosure sale conducted under chapter 45;

2. At a sale of property authorized by statute;

3. By order or judgment of any court;

4. From a spouse, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, or sibling of the person or the person’s spouse; or

5. As a deed in lieu of foreclosure, a workout agreement, a bankruptcy plan, or any other agreement between a foreclosing lender and a homeowner.

(b) “Foreclosure-rescue consultant” means a person who directly or indirectly makes a solicitation, representation, or offer to a homeowner to provide or perform, in return for payment of money or other valuable consideration, foreclosure-related rescue services. The term does not apply to:

1. A person excluded under s. 501.212.

2. A person acting under the express authority or written approval of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or other department or agency of the United States or this state to provide foreclosure-related rescue services.

3. A charitable, not-for-profit agency or organization, as determined by the United States Internal Revenue Service under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which offers counseling or advice to an owner of residential real property in foreclosure or loan default if the agency or organization does not contract for foreclosure-related rescue services with a for-profit lender or person facilitating or engaging in foreclosure-rescue transactions.

4. A person who holds or is owed an obligation secured by a lien on any residential real property in foreclosure if the person performs foreclosure-related rescue services in connection with this obligation or lien and the obligation or lien was not the result of or part of a proposed foreclosure reconveyance or foreclosure-rescue transaction.

5. A financial institution as defined in s. 655.005 and any parent or subsidiary of the financial institution or of the parent or subsidiary.

6. A licensed mortgage broker, mortgage lender, or correspondent mortgage lender that provides mortgage counseling or advice regarding residential real property in foreclosure, which counseling or advice is within the scope of services set forth in chapter 494 and is provided without payment of money or other consideration other than a mortgage brokerage fee as defined in s. 494.001.

(c) “Foreclosure-related rescue services” means any good or service related to, or promising assistance in connection with:

1. Stopping, avoiding, or delaying foreclosure proceedings concerning residential real property; or

2. Curing or otherwise addressing a default or failure to timely pay with respect to a residential mortgage loan obligation.

(d) “Foreclosure-rescue transaction” means a transaction:

1. By which residential real property in foreclosure is conveyed to an equity purchaser and the homeowner maintains a legal or equitable interest in the residential real property conveyed, including, without limitation, a lease option interest, an option to acquire the property, an interest as beneficiary or trustee to a land trust, or other interest in the property conveyed; and

2. That is designed or intended by the parties to stop, avoid, or delay foreclosure proceedings against a homeowner’s residential real property.

(e) “Homeowner” means any record title owner of residential real property that is the subject of foreclosure proceedings.

(f) “Residential real property” means real property consisting of one-family to four-family dwelling units, one of which is occupied by the owner as his or her principal place of residence.

(g) “Residential real property in foreclosure” means residential real property against which there is an outstanding notice of the pendency of foreclosure proceedings recorded pursuant to s. 48.23.

(3) PROHIBITED ACTS.–In the course of offering or providing foreclosure-related rescue services, a foreclosure-rescue consultant may not:

(a) Engage in or initiate foreclosure-related rescue services without first executing a written agreement with the homeowner for foreclosure-related rescue services; or

(b) Solicit, charge, receive, or attempt to collect or secure payment, directly or indirectly, for foreclosure-related rescue services before completing or performing all services contained in the agreement for foreclosure-related rescue services.

(4) FORECLOSURE-RELATED RESCUE SERVICES; WRITTEN AGREEMENT.–

(a) The written agreement for foreclosure-related rescue services must be printed in at least 12-point uppercase type and signed by both parties. The agreement must include the name and address of the person providing foreclosure-related rescue services, the exact nature and specific detail of each service to be provided, the total amount and terms of charges to be paid by the homeowner for the services, and the date of the agreement. The date of the agreement may not be earlier than the date the homeowner signed the agreement. The foreclosure-rescue consultant must give the homeowner a copy of the agreement to review not less than 1 business day before the homeowner is to sign the agreement.

(b) The homeowner has the right to cancel the written agreement without any penalty or obligation if the homeowner cancels the agreement within 3 business days after signing the written agreement. The right to cancel may not be waived by the homeowner or limited in any manner by the foreclosure-rescue consultant. If the homeowner cancels the agreement, any payments that have been given to the foreclosure-rescue consultant must be returned to the homeowner within 10 business days after receipt of the notice of cancellation.

(c) An agreement for foreclosure-related rescue services must contain, immediately above the signature line, a statement in at least 12-point uppercase type that substantially complies with the following:

HOMEOWNER’S RIGHT OF CANCELLATION

YOU MAY CANCEL THIS AGREEMENT FOR FORECLOSURE-RELATED RESCUE SERVICES WITHOUT ANY PENALTY OR OBLIGATION WITHIN 3 BUSINESS DAYS FOLLOWING THE DATE THIS AGREEMENT IS SIGNED BY YOU.

THE FORECLOSURE-RESCUE CONSULTANT IS PROHIBITED BY LAW FROM ACCEPTING ANY MONEY, PROPERTY, OR OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT FROM YOU UNTIL ALL PROMISED SERVICES ARE COMPLETE. IF FOR ANY REASON YOU HAVE PAID THE CONSULTANT BEFORE CANCELLATION, YOUR PAYMENT MUST BE RETURNED TO YOU NO LATER THAN 10 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER THE CONSULTANT RECEIVES YOUR CANCELLATION NOTICE.

TO CANCEL THIS AGREEMENT, A SIGNED AND DATED COPY OF A STATEMENT THAT YOU ARE CANCELING THE AGREEMENT SHOULD BE MAILED (POSTMARKED) OR DELIVERED TO (NAME) AT (ADDRESS) NO LATER THAN MIDNIGHT OF (DATE) .

IMPORTANT: IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU CONTACT YOUR LENDER OR MORTGAGE SERVICER BEFORE SIGNING THIS AGREEMENT. YOUR LENDER OR MORTGAGE SERVICER MAY BE WILLING TO NEGOTIATE A PAYMENT PLAN OR A RESTRUCTURING WITH YOU FREE OF CHARGE.

(d) The inclusion of the statement does not prohibit the foreclosure-rescue consultant from giving the homeowner more time in which to cancel the agreement than is set forth in the statement, provided all other requirements of this subsection are met.

(e) The foreclosure-rescue consultant must give the homeowner a copy of the signed agreement within 3 hours after the homeowner signs the agreement.

(5) FORECLOSURE-RESCUE TRANSACTIONS; WRITTEN AGREEMENT.–

(a)1. A foreclosure-rescue transaction must include a written agreement prepared in at least 12-point uppercase type that is completed, signed, and dated by the homeowner and the equity purchaser before executing any instrument from the homeowner to the equity purchaser quitclaiming, assigning, transferring, conveying, or encumbering an interest in the residential real property in foreclosure. The equity purchaser must give the homeowner a copy of the completed agreement within 3 hours after the homeowner signs the agreement. The agreement must contain the entire understanding of the parties and must include:

a. The name, business address, and telephone number of the equity purchaser.

b. The street address and full legal description of the property.

c. Clear and conspicuous disclosure of any financial or legal obligations of the homeowner that will be assumed by the equity purchaser.

d. The total consideration to be paid by the equity purchaser in connection with or incident to the acquisition of the property by the equity purchaser.

e. The terms of payment or other consideration, including, but not limited to, any services that the equity purchaser represents will be performed for the homeowner before or after the sale.

f. The date and time when possession of the property is to be transferred to the equity purchaser.

2. A foreclosure-rescue transaction agreement must contain, above the signature line, a statement in at least 12-point uppercase type that substantially complies with the following:

I UNDERSTAND THAT UNDER THIS AGREEMENT I AM SELLING MY HOME TO THE OTHER UNDERSIGNED PARTY.

3. A foreclosure-rescue transaction agreement must state the specifications of any option or right to repurchase the residential real property in foreclosure, including the specific amounts of any escrow payments or deposit, down payment, purchase price, closing costs, commissions, or other fees or costs.

4. A foreclosure-rescue transaction agreement must comply with all applicable provisions of 15 U.S.C. ss. 1600 et seq. and related regulations.

(b) The homeowner may cancel the foreclosure-rescue transaction agreement without penalty if the homeowner notifies the equity purchaser of such cancellation no later than 5 p.m. on the 3rd business day after signing the written agreement. Any moneys paid by the equity purchaser to the homeowner or by the homeowner to the equity purchaser must be returned at cancellation. The right to cancel does not limit or otherwise affect the homeowner’s right to cancel the transaction under any other law. The right to cancel may not be waived by the homeowner or limited in any way by the equity purchaser. The equity purchaser must give the homeowner, at the time the written agreement is signed, a notice of the homeowner’s right to cancel the foreclosure-rescue transaction as set forth in this subsection. The notice, which must be set forth on a separate cover sheet to the written agreement that contains no other written or pictorial material, must be in at least 12-point uppercase type, double-spaced, and read as follows:

NOTICE TO THE HOMEOWNER/SELLER

PLEASE READ THIS FORM COMPLETELY AND CAREFULLY. IT CONTAINS VALUABLE INFORMATION REGARDING CANCELLATION RIGHTS.

BY THIS CONTRACT, YOU ARE AGREEING TO SELL YOUR HOME. YOU MAY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION AT ANY TIME BEFORE 5:00 P.M. OF THE THIRD BUSINESS DAY FOLLOWING RECEIPT OF THIS NOTICE.

THIS CANCELLATION RIGHT MAY NOT BE WAIVED IN ANY MANNER BY YOU OR BY THE PURCHASER.

ANY MONEY PAID DIRECTLY TO YOU BY THE PURCHASER MUST BE RETURNED TO THE PURCHASER AT CANCELLATION. ANY MONEY PAID BY YOU TO THE PURCHASER MUST BE RETURNED TO YOU AT CANCELLATION.

TO CANCEL, SIGN THIS FORM AND RETURN IT TO THE PURCHASER BY 5:00 P.M. ON (DATE) AT (ADDRESS) . IT IS BEST TO MAIL IT BY CERTIFIED MAIL OR OVERNIGHT DELIVERY, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED, AND TO KEEP A PHOTOCOPY OF THE SIGNED FORM AND YOUR POST OFFICE RECEIPT.

I (we) hereby cancel this transaction.

Seller’s Signature

Printed Name of Seller

Seller’s Signature

Printed Name of Seller

Date

(c) In any foreclosure-rescue transaction in which the homeowner is provided the right to repurchase the residential real property, the homeowner has a 30-day right to cure any default of the terms of the contract with the equity purchaser, and this right to cure may be exercised on up to three separate occasions. The homeowner’s right to cure must be included in any written agreement required by this subsection.

(d) In any foreclosure-rescue transaction, before or at the time of conveyance, the equity purchaser must fully assume or discharge any lien in foreclosure as well as any prior liens that will not be extinguished by the foreclosure.

(e) If the homeowner has the right to repurchase the residential real property, the equity purchaser must verify and be able to demonstrate that the homeowner has or will have a reasonable ability to make the required payments to exercise the option to repurchase under the written agreement. For purposes of this subsection, there is a rebuttable presumption that the homeowner has a reasonable ability to make the payments required to repurchase the property if the homeowner’s monthly payments for primary housing expenses and regular monthly principal and interest payments on other personal debt do not exceed 60 percent of the homeowner’s monthly gross income.

(f) If the homeowner has the right to repurchase the residential real property, the price the homeowner pays may not be unconscionable, unfair, or commercially unreasonable. A rebuttable presumption, solely between the equity purchaser and the homeowner, arises that the foreclosure-rescue transaction was unconscionable if the homeowner’s repurchase price is greater than 17 percent per annum more than the total amount paid by the equity purchaser to acquire, improve, maintain, and hold the property. Unless the repurchase agreement or a memorandum of the repurchase agreement is recorded in accordance with s. 695.01, the presumption arising under this subsection shall not apply against creditors or subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration and without notice.

(6) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.–Any foreclosure-rescue transaction involving a lease option or other repurchase agreement creates a rebuttable presumption, solely between the equity purchaser and the homeowner, that the transaction is a loan transaction and the conveyance from the homeowner to the equity purchaser is a mortgage under s. 697.01. Unless the lease option or other repurchase agreement, or a memorandum of the lease option or other repurchase agreement, is recorded in accordance with s. 695.01, the presumption created under this subsection shall not apply against creditors or subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration and without notice.

(7) VIOLATIONS.–A person who violates any provision of this section commits an unfair and deceptive trade practice as defined in part II of this chapter. Violators are subject to the penalties and remedies provided in part II of this chapter, including a monetary penalty not to exceed $15,000 per violation.

· Promissory Note Discovery

· Rescind Your Mortgage

· Truth In Lending Act – PDF

· Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief

· Foreclosure Dismissal

· RESPA ACT – Loan Regulations

· Foreclosure Counseling Assistance

· Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008

Direct Link to Fannie Mae Site – Fannie Mae to Increase Cash Incentives Paid to Servicers to Avoid Foreclosure

Washington, D.C. — As part of its ongoing efforts to support borrowers facing foreclosure and promote responsible servicing practices, Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) announced today that it will increase the cash incentives paid to servicers that pursue alternatives to foreclosure.

“We are working closely with our loan servicing partners to make the process of helping borrowers keep their homes as streamlined as possible and we continue to enhance delegation to ensure decisions can be made quickly. These loss mitigation incentives encourage our servicers to implement workout solutions and drive better processing and response time,” said Jason Allnutt, vice president for credit loss management at Fannie Mae.

Fannie Mae will increase loss mitigation incentives paid to servicers for foreclosure prevention options available to help a delinquent borrower prevent foreclosure. The company continues to pursue a variety of options to work with a delinquent borrower including repayment plans, HomeSaver AdvanceTM, loan modifications, pre-foreclosure sales, and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure.

Incentive payments for repayment plans (where a borrower makes up the past-due payments over time) will be doubled to $400. Fannie Mae will begin an incentive payment of $700 for a loan modification where the terms of the loan are renegotiated. As an additional effort to help cash-strapped borrowers, Fannie Mae will prohibit servicers from assessing a modification fee to borrowers.

The recently announced HomeSaver Advance offers servicers a solution for borrowers experiencing a temporary financial hardship. HomeSaver Advance provides an advance to cover past-due mortgage payments in exchange for a separate, unsecured loan. The HomeSaver Advance incentive structure will be modified to pay servicers based on the performance of the mortgage loan, with an initial incentive of $200 and an additional $500 to be paid after the borrower makes three consecutive timely scheduled payments.

Incentive payments for short sales (pre-foreclosure sales) will range from $1,000 to $1,500 and payments for deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure will increase to $1,000.

Fannie Mae is working with lenders, loan servicing companies, and policy makers to respond to the housing and mortgage market crisis with a goal to minimize the impact on families and communities by helping to prevent foreclosures, supporting counseling efforts and providing greater market stability. For more information, go to fanniemae.com and select “Keys to Recovery Initiatives.”

Fannie Mae is a shareholder-owned company with a public mission. We exist to expand affordable housing and bring global capital to local communities in order to serve the U.S. housing market. Fannie Mae has a federal charter and operates in America’s secondary mortgage market to enhance the liquidity of the mortgage market by providing funds to mortgage bankers and other lenders so that they may lend to home buyers. In 2008, we mark our 70th year of service to America’s housing market. Our job is to help those who house America.

Fannie Mae Resource Center Telephone 1-800-7FANNIE (1-800-732-6643)

· Promissory Note Discovery

· Rescind Your Mortgage

· Truth In Lending Act – PDF

· Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief

· Foreclosure Dismissal

· RESPA ACT – Loan Regulations

· Foreclosure Counseling Assistance

· Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008

· Freddie Mac Doubles Financial Incentives to Servicers Who Help Borrowers Avoid Foreclosure

For Immediate Release
July 31, 2008
Contact: corprel@freddiemac.com
or (703) 903-3933

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) today told mortgage servicers it was doubling the amount of money it pays for each workout that keeps a delinquent borrower with a Freddie Mac-owned mortgage out of foreclosure.

One of the nation’s largest investors in residential mortgages, Freddie Mac also announced it will start reimbursing servicers for the cost of door-to-door outreach programs, give servicers more time to negotiate workouts in states with fast foreclosure processes, and make administrative changes intended to streamline the workout process.

“We are taking these steps because we want to reinforce the tremendous importance of workouts and reward their use,” said Freddie Mac Vice President of Servicing and Asset Management Ingrid Beckles. “Giving our servicers more time and greater compensation to help troubled borrowers is fundamental to preserving homeownership and maximizing our efforts to minimize foreclosures.”

Freddie Mac’s 0.86 percent single-family delinquency rate is a fraction of the most recent national single-family delinquency rate (6.35 percent) calculated by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

According to Beckles, starting August 1, 2008, compensation for repayment plans will rise from $250 to $500 while loan modification compensation will increase from $400 to $800. For short sales or pre-foreclosure sales, where Freddie Mac agrees to accept less than the full amount owed on a borrower’s loan, compensation will go from $1,100 to $2,200. (The higher amount recognizes the greater servicer staff time involved when negotiating property sales.)

Freddie Mac also said it will now reimburse the cost of leaving a door hanger up to $15 per mortgage and up to $50 per mortgage for a door knocking that results in the borrower contacting their servicer. Freddie Mac will also reimburse servicers up to $200 for additional fees paid to vendors for door knocking that results in successful alternatives to foreclosure. This policy is effective from August 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009.

To qualify for the reimbursement, the servicer must show that the mortgage was at least 90 days delinquent, the servicer had no prior contact with the borrower, and that the outreach was done by an independent third party vendor.

Giving Borrowers Who Call More Time in Fast Foreclosure States

Freddie Mac also announced it is extending the time for foreclosures so servicers will have more time, if needed, to negotiate workouts with delinquent borrowers in Washington, DC, and 20 states with relatively fast foreclosure processes.

In addition to Washington, DC, the affected states include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Specifically, starting August 1, 2008, servicers are allowed up to 300 days (10 months) from the due date of the last payment to the foreclosure sale in these states to seek aggressive and sustainable workout solutions for the borrowers and still meet the standards set in Freddie Mac’s Servicer Performance Profiles. The company uses the Servicer Performance Profiles to measure and reward the quality of a servicers’ investor reporting and default management.

Even though the laws in these states permit a lender to foreclose in less than 300 days, this announcement means Freddie Mac will permit its servicers more time to complete foreclosures. The new policy won’t affect borrowers in states where the foreclosure process already exceeds 300 days.

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac raises capital on Wall Street and throughout the world’s capital markets to finance mortgages for families across America. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six home buyers and more than five million renters.

Telephone: 407.908.8125

Languages Spoken: English, Spanish

About Me

My name is Erika Echevestre and I am with The Helpful Hands Foundation in helping folks fight to save and keep their homes from foreclosure.

As a part of The Helpful Hands Foundation I specialize in helping people work with their foreclosure problems.

Foreclosure affects more than just you. It affects your whole family. Many families will face losing their homes this year. Call today for help. Because nothing is worse than doing nothing.

Title: A bill to provide needed housing reform and for other purposes.

H.R. 3221: Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 Direct Congressional Link

Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 110-289 7/30/2008

SUMMARY AS OF:

5/8/2008–House agreed to Senate amendment with amendment.

American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 – Title I: FHA Housing Stabilization and Homeownership Retention – FHA Housing Stabilization and Homeownership Retention Act of 2008 – Subtitle A: Homeownership Retention – (Sec. 112) Amends the National Housing Act (NHA) to create the Refinance Program Oversight Board, which shall establish and oversee a program for insuring homeownership retention mortgages.

Instructs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to insure any homeownership retention mortgage covering a one- to four-family residence made to pay or prepay outstanding obligations under an existing mortgage on the residence.

Sets forth mortgagor eligibility criteria, including mortgagor certification that: (1) the residence is the only residence in which the mortgagor has any present ownership interest; (2) the mortgagor has not intentionally defaulted on the existing mortgage, nor knowingly, willfully, and with actual knowledge furnished material information known to be false for the purpose of obtaining the existing mortgage.

Requires waiver or forgiveness of all: (1) prepayment penalties; and (2) fees and penalties related to default or delinquency on existing mortgages.

Sets forth terms for required: (1) reduction of indebtedness under an existing senior mortgage; (2) extinguishment of debt by refinancing; and (3) treatment of multiple mortgage liens.

Requires debt service payments due under a mortgage insured under this Act to be substantially reduced from the debt service payments due under the existing mortgage or mortgages.

Requires the mortgage to provide that the HUD Secretary retain a lien on the residence which shall: (1) be subordinate to the mortgage insured under this Act, but senior to all other existing mortgages on it; and (2) secure the repayment.

Instructs the Oversight Board to prohibit borrowers from granting a new second lien on the mortgaged property during the first five years the mortgage is insured under this Act.

Requires the mortgagee to document and verify mortgagor income.

Requires a mortgage insured under this Act to: (1) bear interest at a single fixed rate for the entire mortgage term; and (2) involve a principal obligation that does not exceed the limitation that would be allowable for a mortgage insured pursuant to the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008.

Requires the Oversight Board to establish specified underwriting standards for mortgages insured under this Act, including a limitation on origination fees.

Sets forth criteria for appraisal independence. Subjects violations of such criteria to civil monetary penalties.

Prohibits the aggregate original principal obligation of all mortgages insured under this Act from exceeding $300 billion.

Directs: (1) the Oversight Board and the HUD Secretary to monitor independent quality reviews of designated underwriters; and (2) the Inspector General of HUD to conduct an annual compliance audit of the mortgage insurance program under this Act.

Requires the HUD Secretary to ensure that securities based on and backed by a pool or trust composed of mortgages insured under this Act are available to be guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) for timely payment of principal and interest.

Makes the insurance of each mortgage under this Act the obligation of the Special Risk Insurance Fund established by this Act.

Sets forth a sunset date of two years after enactment of this Act for commitments to insure under it.

Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2009, including specified funds earmarked for: (1) counseling for veterans recently returning from active duty in the Armed Forces; and (2) the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NRC).

Repeals the limitation on the aggregate number of home equity conversion mortgages for elderly homeowners insured under this Act.

(Sec. 113) Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to study and report to specified congressional committees on the need for an auction or bulk refinancing mechanism to facilitate refinancing of existing residential mortgages that are at risk for foreclosure into mortgages insured under the NHA.

(Sec. 114) Establishes a temporary increase in the maximum loan guaranty amount for certain housing loans guaranteed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

(Sec. 115) Requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to study and report to Congress on: (1) fair value accounting standards applicable to financial institutions with respect to residential mortgages at risk of foreclosure and mortgage-backed securities involving such mortgages; (2) the effects of such accounting standards upon such institutions’ balance sheets and capacity to provide refinancing to residential mortgagors at risk of foreclosure, including residential mortgagors during periods of market value declines and increased foreclosures; and (3) the advisability and feasibility of modifications of such standards during periods of market fluctuation in order to maintain the institution’s ability to continue to carry mortgages on residential property at risk of foreclosure and assure the availability of credit to refinance such mortgages.

(Sec. 116) Instructs the Comptroller General of the United States to study and report to Congress on the effects of tightening credit markets upon prospective first-time homebuyers in selected communities that have been most detrimentally affected by subprime mortgage foreclosure crises and predatory mortgage lending.

Subtitle B: Office of Housing Counseling – Expand and Preserve Home Ownership Through Counseling Act – (Sec. 132) Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to establish the Office of Housing Counseling.

(Sec. 133) Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to: (1) prescribe homeownership and rental counseling procedures and requirements; (2) direct the Secretary to make grants to qualified organizations for homeownership or rental counseling assistance; and (3) require such organizations to use only HUD-certified counselors.

(Sec. 136) Directs the HUD Secretary to study and report to Congress on the root causes of home loan defaults and foreclosures, including the role of escrow accounts in helping prime and nonprime borrowers avoid defaults and foreclosures.

(Sec. 138) Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to require a revamping of a public information booklet regarding federally related mortgage loans, with specified contents.

Subtitle C: Combating Mortgage Fraud – (Sec. 151) Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2012 for federal prosecution of mortgage fraud.

Title II: FHA Reform and Manufactured Housing Loan Insurance Modernization – Subtitle A: FHA Reform – Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2008 – (Sec. 203) Amends the NHA to: (1) increase the maximum principal loan obligation on residential homes eligible for mortgage insurance; (2) extend the mortgage term from 30 years to 40 years; (3) modify downpayment standards; (4) set a maximum premium payment for a mortgage for which any amounts are gifted by a qualified homeownership assistance entity at 3% of the original insured principal obligation; (5) direct the HUD Secretary to establish underwriting standards for mortgage insurance for higher-risk borrowers; and (6) authorize the Secretary to establish flexible risk-based mortgage insurance premium structure involving a single premium payment.

(Sec. 208) Sets forth: (1) discretionary three-year and mandatory five-year payment incentives for higher-risk borrowers; and (2) protections for higher-risk borrowers, including additional mandatory disclosures and counseling and a notice of the availability of foreclosure prevention counseling.

(Sec. 210) Requires the HUD Secretary to establish related underwriting standards and facilitate payment or prepayment (refinancing) of existing mortgages for borrowers: (1) with either adverse terms or rates in such mortgages; or (2) without access to mortgages at reasonable rates and terms because of adverse market conditions.

Authorizes the HUD Secretary to insure mortgages to borrowers in default or at imminent risk of being in default, if such loans meet HUD-established underwriting standards.

(Sec. 211) Requires the HUD Secretary to collect information on default and foreclosure rates for HUD mortgage insurance, including actions taken for loss mitigation.

(Sec. 212) Increases the maximum mortgage amount limitation for a residence licensed and certificated to operate a child care facility.

(Sec. 213) Requires all funds received and disbursements with respect to rehabilitation loans to be credited or charged, as appropriate, to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF) (currently, to the General Insurance Fund).

(Sec. 215) Requires a multifamily condominium project to have an insured blanket mortgage in order for a one-family unit in the project to qualify for mortgage insurance. Increase from 35 to 40 years the term of such a mortgage.

Provides for mortgage insurance for manufactured housing.

(Sec. 216) Limits the authority of the HUD Secretary to use the MMIF for mortgage loan guarantees for a particular fiscal year to the aggregate original principal loan amount specified in appropriations Acts for that fiscal year.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide for an annual independent actuarial study of the MMIF; and (2) make quarterly reports to Congress..

(Sec. 217) Makes insurance of mortgages in Hawaiian home lands and Indian reservations obligations of the MMIF (currently, of the General Insurance Fund).

(Sec. 219) Revises requirements for insurance of home equity conversion mortgages for elderly homeowners.

Includes among such insurable mortgages a leasehold under a lease with a term ending no earlier than the minimum number of years, as specified by the Secretary, beyond the actuarial life expectancy of the mortgagor or comortgagor, whichever is the later date.

Limits the benefits of such mortgage insurance to 132% of a specified dollar amount limitation for a one-family residence.

Permits insurance of such a mortgage when the primary purpose of the home equity conversion mortgage is to enable an elderly mortgagor to purchase a one- to four-family dwelling in which the mortgagor will occupy or occupies one of the units.

Allows insurance of subordinate mortgages or liens on cooperative dwelling units.

Prohibits an applicant mortgagor from satisfying the third party adequate counseling requirement by receiving such counseling from a reverse mortgage lender, servicer or investor, or an entity engaged in the sale of annuities, investments, long-term care insurance, or any other type of financial or insurance product.

Repeals: (1) the waiver of upfront premiums for insured mortgages whose total amount will be used only to fund long-term care insurance; and (2) funding for counseling and consumer education and outreach.

Instructs the HUD Secretary to: (1) prescribe regulations protecting elderly homeowners from the marketing of financial and insurance products not in their interest, including the marketing or sale of an annuity as a condition of obtaining any home equity conversion mortgage; (2) establish limits upon origination fees; and (3) study and report to Congress on mortgage insurance premiums that insure home equity conversion mortgages for elderly homeowners.

Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to authorize the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) to deal in NHA-insured mortgages, notwithstanding certain limitations upon maximum original principal obligations.

(Sec. 220) Instructs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the impact of financial audit and net worth requirements upon mortgage brokers and correspondent lenders, and specified related matters.

(Sec. 221) Revises the authority of the HUD Secretary to insure mortgages for disaster housing to increase the limit on the principal obligation by the amount of any initial service charges, appraisal, inspection, and other fees.

Authorizes the HUD Secretary, after a presidential major disaster declaration, to enter, for up to 36 months, into agreements to insure a mortgage which involves a principal obligation of up to 100% of a specified dollar amount limitation for a single-family mortgage.

(Sec. 222) Establishes penalties for: (1) failure by a mortgage servicer to make timely payments from escrow accounts; and (2) submission of information to a consumer reporting agency regarding such failure that is adverse to the mortgagor’s credit rating or interest. Prohibits the HUD Secretary from submitting such information to a consumer reporting agency.

(Sec. 223) Prescribes acceptable forms of identification for FHA mortgagors. Prohibits the Secretary from insuring a mortgage unless the mortgagor provides such identification.

(Sec. 224) Directs the HUD Secretary to implement a pilot program to make available to mortgagees an automated process for providing alternative credit rating information for actual and prospective mortgagors, under mortgages for one- to four-family residences to be insured, who have insufficient credit histories for determining their creditworthiness.

Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the number of additional mortgagors served using such automated process, and its impact upon the safety and soundness of the insurance funds under the NHA.

(Sec. 225) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the HUD Secretary should use a portion of the funds received from premiums paid for FHA single family housing mortgage insurance that exceed the amounts paid out in claims to increase the funding for technology used in such FHA program; (2) the goal of this investment should be to bring such technology up to or in excess of the level of technology used in the conventional mortgage lending market; and (3) the HUD Secretary should report to Congress on progress made toward such goal and the resources needed for greater progress.

(Sec. 226) States that the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 governing FHA asset disposition does not apply to a multifamily real property transaction for which: (1) the HUD Secretary has received, before enactment of such Act, written expressions of interest in purchasing the property from both a city government and its housing commission; (2) after such receipt, the Secretary acquires title to the property at a foreclosure sale; and (3) such city government and housing commission have resolved a previous disagreement regarding disposition of the property.

(Sec. 227) Directs the Secretary to consider industry standard appraisal practices when determining market value during FY2008 of a multifamily property or for any multifamily loan for noncompetitive sale to a state or local governmental entity (including repair costs: (1) to bring the property to minimum state and local code standards; and (2) of maintaining the affordability restrictions upon the multifamily real property or multifamily loan).

(Sec. 228) Prohibits mortgage insurance premium increases above the level in effect on October 1, 2006, unless in the absence of such an increase the appropriation of new budget authority would be required to cover the costs of such insurance.

(Sec. 229) Establishes civil money penalties for improperly influencing appraisals in connection with an insured mortgage.

(Sec. 230) Requires the HUD Secretary to provide refunds of unearned mortgage insurance premium charges paid with respect to certain insured mortgages. Authorizes appropriations.

Subtitle B: FHA Manufactured Housing Loan Insurance Modernization – FHA Manufactured Housing Loan Modernization Act of 2008 – (Sec. 253) Exempts a manufactured home or its lot from the limitation on insurance for a financial institution’s loans, advances of credit, and purchases.

(Sec. 254) Makes any contract of insurance with respect to loans, advances of credit, or purchases in connection with a manufactured home or its lot conclusive evidence of the institution’s eligibility for insurance.

(Sec. 255) Increases maximum loan limits for such insurance.

(Sec. 256) Prescribes requirements for insurance premiums.

(Sec. 258) Directs the Secretary to establish insurance underwriting criteria for loans and advances of credit for such homes or lots.

(Sec. 259) Requires a borrower to have a valid Social Security account number in order for any obligation to be insured.

(Sec. 260) Instructs the Comptroller General to assess and report to Congress on how the HUD Secretary utilizes the FHA manufactured housing loan insurance program to mitigate tornado risks to manufactured housing residents and communities.

Title III: Reform of Government-Sponsored Entities for Housing Finance – Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2008 – Subtitle A: Reform of Regulation of Enterprises and Federal Home Loan Banks – Chapter 1: Improvement of Safety and Soundness – (Sec. 311) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to replace the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (Agency). Grants the Agency supervisory and regulatory authority over Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the federal home loan banks (enterprises).

Requires the Agency to have Deputy Directors: (1) of the Division of Enterprise Regulation; (2) of the Division of Federal Home Loan Bank Regulation; and (3) for Housing. Requires the Agency Director to establish the position of Ombudsman.

Instructs the Director to establish prudential management and operations standards for the enterprises.

(Sec. 313) Establishes the Federal Housing Enterprise Board to advise the Director on overall strategies and policies.

(Sec. 315) Authorizes the Director to require the enterprises to: (1) report fraudulent financial transactions; and (2) disclose charitable contributions they have made.

(Sec. 316) Prescribes annual assessments to be collected from the enterprises. Requires the Comptroller General to audit annually and report to Congress on the financial transactions of the Agency.

(Sec. 318) Revises the prohibition against excessive executive compensation for officers of the enterprises.

Authorizes the Director to require a regulated entity to withhold any payment, transfer, or disbursement of compensation to an executive officer, or to place such compensation in an escrow account, during the review of the compensation’s reasonableness and comparability.

(Sec. 320) Requires each regulated entity to either establish an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, or designate an office responsible for diversity in management, employment, and business activities.

Requires the Agency to take affirmative steps to seek diversity at all levels in its workforce consistent with the demographic diversity of the United States.

(Sec. 321) Repeals the requirement for congressional review of regulations proposed by the Director.

(Sec. 322) Declares that submission by any person to the Agency of any information for any purpose in the course of any supervisory or regulatory process shall not be construed as waiving, destroying, or otherwise affecting any privilege such person may claim with respect to such information under federal or state law as to any person or entity other than the Agency.

(Sec. 323) Revises requirements for risk-based capital levels for the enterprises, including federal home loan banks.

(Sec. 324) Prescribes minimum and critical capital levels for federal home loan banks and the enterprises.

Empowers the Director to: (1) increase temporarily the minimum capital level for a regulated entity; (2) establish additional capital and reserve requirements for particular programs; (3) review core capital maintained by such entities; (4) review assets and liabilities of the entities and monitor their portfolios; and (5) require disposition or acquisition of assets and liabilities by the enterprises.

(Sec. 326) Sets forth corporate governance and risk-management requirements for the enterprises, including a specified code of ethics.

(Sec. 327) Requires each of them to register at least one class of its stock with the SEC.

(Sec. 328) Amends the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 to require one representative of the Agency to sit on the liaison committee of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

(Sec. 329) Requires the Director to study and report to Congress on the pricing, transparency, and reporting of the enterprises with respect to guarantee fees and analogous practices, transparency, and reporting requirements of other participants in the mortgage purchasing and securitization business (including advances pricing practices by the federal home loan banks).

Chapter 2: Improvement of Mission Supervision – (Sec. 332) Instructs the Director to require the enterprises to obtain the Director’s approval before offering a product. Sets forth approval standards and procedures, including expedited review.

(Sec. 333) Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to increase the limitations governing the maximum original obligation of conventional mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for 2008. Prescribes a formula for calculating such limitations for mortgages originated on or after January 1, 2009.

Instructs the Director to establish and maintain a method of assessing the national average one-family house price (housing price index) for use in adjusting the conforming loan limitations of the enterprises.

Requires the Comptroller General to audit the Director’s methodology and report the results to certain congressional committees.

Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) securitization of mortgages by the enterprises plays an important role in providing liquidity to the U.S. housing markets; and (2) Congress encourages them to securitize mortgages acquired under the increased conforming loan limits established by this Act.

(Sec. 334) Requires the Director to report annually to specified congressional committees on the enterprises.

(Sec. 335) Requires the enterprises to report annually to Congress on affordable housing stock.

(Sec. 336) Requires the Director to establish and enforce standards that: (1) prohibit the enterprises from the purchase, service, holding, selling, lending on the security of, or otherwise dealing with any mortgage on a one- to four-family residence that will be used as the principal residence of a mortgagor that does not have a Social Security number (mortgagor identification requirements); and (2) prohibit the federal home loan banks from providing any advances to a member for use in financing, and from accepting as collateral for any advance to a member, any mortgage on a one- to four-family residence that will be used as the principal residence of the mortgagor that does not have such a number.

(Sec. 337) Instructs the Director to establish and report annually to Congress on annual single family and multifamily special affordable housing goals with respect to mortgage purchases by the enterprises.

Authorizes an enterprise to petition the Director during a year to reduce the level of any goal for that year. Prescribes standards for such a goal reduction.

(Sec. 338) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to impose a duty upon the enterprises to serve underserved markets (rural markets and very low-, low-, and moderate-income families). Prescribes requirements for enterprise development of loan products and flexible underwriting guidelines to facilitate a secondary market for mortgages on manufactured homes.

(Sec. 339) Requires the Director to assign additional credit toward achievement of the housing goals for enterprise mortgage purchase activities that comply with such goals and support: (1) environmental housing standards; and (2) housing that includes a licensed childcare center.

Sets forth penalties for noncompliance with housing goals.

(Sec. 340) Instructs the Director to establish an affordable housing fund with amounts allocated by the enterprises to: (1) increase homeownership for extremely low-and very low-income families; (2) increase investment in housing in low-income areas, including those designated as qualified census tracts or an area of chronic economic distress; (3) increase and preserve the supply of rental and owner-occupied housing for extremely low- and very low-income families; (4) invest in public infrastructure development; and (5) leverage investments from other sources to affordable housing and its attendant public infrastructure development.

Sunsets the affordable housing fund program after five years.

Prohibits the enterprises from redirecting (passing through) costs to the originators of mortgages they purchased or securitized. Prescribes formulas for affordable housing needs allocations for Louisiana and Mississippi. Requires each grantee to establish an allocation plan.

Cites Social Security, photo, REAL ID, passport, and USCIS photo identification requirements for recipients of affordable housing grants.

Instructs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the effects the affordable housing fund will have upon credit for homebuyers, including: (1) the requirement that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac make allocations to such fund based on the average total mortgage portfolios; and (2) the extent to which the mandatory allocation costs will either be borne by such entities or will be passed on to homebuyers.

(Sec. 342) Specifies additional grounds for the issuance of cease-and-desist orders by the Director upon an enterprise.

Chapter 3: Prompt Corrective Action – (Sec. 345) Requires the Director to establish specified capital classification criteria for the federal home loan banks. Authorizes the Director to reclassify an enterprise in circumstances of rapidly depleting of core or total capital or engagement in unsafe or unsound practices.

(Sec. 346) Specifies regulatory actions for enterprises which are undercapitalized, including: (1) mandatory monitoring; (2) restricted asset growth; and (3) prior approval of acquisitions, including new products and new activities.

(Sec. 347) Specifies management improvement actions, including dismissal of directors or executive officers and ordering the election of a new board, the Director must take with respect to a significantly undercapitalized enterprise.

Prohibits any significantly undercapitalized enterprise, without the Director’s prior approval, from paying an executive officer of the enterprise: (1) any bonus; or (2) any compensation exceeding the officer’s average rate (excluding bonuses, stock options, and profit sharing) for the previous 12 months.

(Sec. 348) Changes from mandatory to discretionary the authority of the Director to appoint a conservator or receiver of a critically undercapitalized enterprise.

Requires the Director to appoint the Agency as such conservator or receiver. Specifies circumstances and grounds for exercise of such authority, including grounds for mandatory receivership.

Authorizes an enterprise to seek judicial review of the Agency’s appointment as conservator or receiver. Revises procedures for a conservatorship or receivership. Specifies the Agency’s powers as conservator or receiver.

Chapter 4: Enforcement Actions – (Sec. 351) Revises the Director’s authority to issue charges and/or a temporary cease-and-desist order upon an enterprise or affiliated party for unsafe or unsound practices or violations of law. Authorizes the Director to deem an entity to be engaging in an unsafe or unsound practice if it receives a less-than-satisfactory rating in its most recent examination.

(Sec. 353) Authorizes a court, upon the application of the Director or the Attorney General, to issue a restraining order: (1) prohibiting any person from disposing of any funds or other property of an enterprise (prejudgment attachment); and (2) appointing a person temporarily to administer the order.

(Sec. 354) Authorizes the Director to apply for enforcement of a notice or order directly (currently, only through the Attorney General) to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, or the U.S. district court within the jurisdiction of which the enterprise’s headquarters are located.

(Sec. 355) Revises the three tiers of violations subject to civil money penalties. Increases such penalties.

(Sec. 356) Grants the Director removal, prohibition, and subpoena authority over an enterprise or affiliated party in violation of any law or order.

(Sec. 357) Subjects to criminal liability any person, subject to a removal order, who without the Director’s prior written approval knowingly participates, directly or indirectly, in any manner in the affairs of any enterprise.

(Sec. 358) Authorizes the Director to apply directly for enforcement of any subpoena or subpoena duces tecum (currently, only through the Attorney General) to the appropriate U.S. District court.

Chapter 5: General Provisions – (Sec. 361) Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to revise requirements governing the boards of the enterprises. Changes the number of board members for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from 18, of whom five must be appointed by the President, to 13, or any other number the Director determines appropriate. Eliminates presidential appointments. Requires all board members to be elected by the common stockholders.

(Sec. 362) Instructs the Director to report to Congress on portfolio operations, safety and soundness, and mission of the enterprises, including an analysis of potential systemic risk implications, the housing and capital markets, and the financial system of portfolio holdings.

(Sec. 364) Requires the Director to study and report to Congress on the effects upon financial and housing finance markets of alternatives to the current secondary market system for housing finance.

Subtitle B: Federal Home Loan Banks – (Sec. 372) Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to: (1) bring the federal home loan banks under Agency regulation; (2) revise requirements governing membership, terms, and compensation of the board of directors; (3) permit joint activities by the banks; and (4) permit information sharing and voluntary mergers between such banks.

(Sec. 377) Exempts home loan banks from specified requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Securities Act of 1933, and related SEC regulations regarding: (1) transactions in capital stock of such banks; (2) bonds, debentures and other obligations of such banks; (3) periodic reporting requirements; and (4) tender offers in connection with transactions in capital stock of the banks.

(Sec. 378) Increases from $500 million to $1 billion the total asset requirement for a community financial institution member.

Adds community development activities to the limited uses of a secured long-term advance from a federal home loan bank.

(Sec. 380) Instructs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress and the Director on: (1) the use of the affordable housing programs of the banks to determine the extent to which such programs are used to assist long-term care facilities for low- and moderate-income individuals; and (2) the effectiveness and adequacy of such assistance in meeting the needs of affected communities.

Subtitle C: Transfer of Functions, Personnel, and Property of Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Federal Housing Finance Board, and Department of Housing and Urban Development – Chapter 1: Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight – (Sec. 385) Abolishes the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight of HUD (OFHEO).

(Sec. 387) Transfers each OFHEO employee to the Agency.

Chapter 2: Federal Housing Finance Board – (Sec. 391) Abolishes the Federal Housing Finance Board.

(Sec. 393) Transfers each Board employee to the Agency.

Chapter 3: Department of Housing and Urban Development – (Sec. 395) Transfers specified enterprise-related functions, employees, and property from HUD and OFHEO to the Agency Director.

Title IV: Emergency Mortgage Loan Modification – Emergency Mortgage Loan Modification Act of 2008 – (Sec. 402) Establishes a standard for loan modifications or workout plans for pools of certain residential mortgage loans.

States that the servicer of such pooled loans owes a duty to the securitization vehicle to maximize recovery of proceeds for the benefit of all investors and holders of beneficial interests in the pooled loans in the aggregate, and not to any individual party or group of parties.

Deems the loan servicer to be acting on behalf of the securitization vehicle in the best interest of investors and holders if the servicer makes certain loss mitigation efforts for a loan in or facing payment default in the reasonable belief that the particular modification, workout plan, or other mitigation actions will maximize the net present value to be realized over that which would be realized through foreclosure.

Shields a servicer, acting in a manner consistent with such duty, from liability to specified persons for entering into a qualified loan modification or workout plan for loss mitigation purposes (including any person obligated to make specified payments pursuant to a derivatives instrument).

Defines “qualified loan modification or workout plan” as one that: (1) is scheduled to remain in place until the borrower sells or refinances the property, or for at least five years from the date of adoption of the plan, whichever is sooner; (2) does not provide for a repayment schedule that results in negative amortization; and (3) does not require the borrower to pay additional points and fees.

Defines “securitization vehicle” as a trust, corporation, partnership, limited liability entity, special purpose entity, or other structure that: (1) is the issuer, or is created by the issuer, of mortgage pass-through certificates, participation certificates, mortgage-backed securities, or other similar securities backed by an asset pool that includes residential mortgage loans; and (2) holds such loans.

Title V: Other Housing Provisions – (Sec. 501) Amends the Home Owners’ Loan Act to authorize investments by a federal savings and loan association to promote the public welfare through the provision of housing, services, and jobs that target low- and moderate-income communities or families.

Prohibits such investment, however, if it would subject a federal savings association to unlimited liability to any person. Sets limitations upon such investments in the aggregate.

(Sec. 502) Permits the conversion of two specified HUD contracts to a contract for project-based rental assistance for low-income families upon request of the owner of the multifamily housing project subject to such contracts.

(Sec. 503) Declares eligible for low-income housing and enhanced housing voucher assistance the Heritage Apartments in Malden, Massachusetts.

(Sec. 504) Directs the HUD Secretary to transfer, upon owner request, certain rental assistance contracts on housing owned or managed by: (1) Community Properties of Ohio Management Services LLC, or an affiliate of Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, located in Franklin County, Ohio, to other properties located in such county; and (2) The Model Group, Inc., located in Hamilton County, Ohio, to other properties located in such county.

(Sec. 505) Amends federal bankruptcy law to prohibit a governmental unit that operates a mortgage loan program from denying program benefits (including a loan guarantee or subsidy) to a disabled veteran who has been declared a debtor in bankruptcy, has been insolvent before commencement of a bankruptcy case, or meets related criteria.

Title VI: Revenue and Other Provisions – Subtitle A: Housing Tax Incentives – Part 1: Multi-Family Housing – Subpart A: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit – Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the low-income housing tax credit and tax-exempt bond rules for financing low-income housing projects.

(Sec. 601) Increases in 2008 and 2009 the per capita amount of the low-income housing tax credit allocable by each state.

(Sec. 602) Modifies rules for the low-income housing tax credit to: (1) eliminate the distinction between new and existing buildings for purposes of such credit; (2) establish a minimum credit rate for nonfederally subsidized buildings; (3) set forth criteria for designating a building as federally subsidized and for considering federal assistance in calculating such credit; and (4) revise basis rules for certain state buildings and community service facilities.

(Sec. 604) Repeals: (1) the prohibition against providing low-income housing tax credits to properties receiving moderate rehabilitation assistance under the Housing Act of 1937; and (2) bond posting requirements relating to the disposition of buildings for which a low-income housing tax credit was claimed.

Requires states to consider the energy efficiency of a low-income housing project and its historical nature in allocating credit amounts among such projects.

Extends eligibility for the low-income housing tax credit to students who receive foster care assistance under title IV (Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and for Child-Welfare Services) of the Social Security Act.

Subpart B: Modifications to Tax-Exempt Housing Bond Rules – (Sec. 606) Modifies rules pertaining to tax-exempt housing bonds to: (1) permit treatment of certain residential rental project bonds as refunding bonds regardless of any change in the obligors of such bonds; and (2) allow continued eligibility for low-income housing tax benefits with respect to new tenants, students, and single-room occupancies.

Subpart C: Reforms Related to the Low-Income Housing Credit and Tax-exempt Housing Bonds – (Sec. 609) Requires that median gross income levels established for calendar years after 2008 for determining eligibility for low-income housing tax benefits remain at the same level as preceding calendar years.

(Sec. 610) Waives annual income recertification requirements for residents of low-income rental projects whose incomes do not exceed applicable limits.

Part 2: Single Family Housing – (Sec. 612) Allows first-time homebuyers a tax credit for 10% of the purchase price of a principal residence. Limits the dollar amount of such credit to $7,500.

(Sec. 613) Allows individual taxpayers who claim the standard deduction an additional deduction from gross income for state and local real property taxes.

Part 3: General Provisions – (Sec. 615) Authorizes in 2008 an additional $10 billion in the volume cap for issuing tax-qualified bonds for certain residential rental projects.

Allows, until December 31, 2010, the use of mortgage bond proceeds to refinance certain subprime residential mortgage loans made between 2002 and 2008.

(Sec. 616) Exempts from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) tax-exempt interest on certain housing bonds. Allows low-income housing and rehabilitation tax credit amounts to offset AMT liability.

(Sec. 617) Allows certain municipal bonds that are guaranteed by federal home loan banks to qualify as tax-exempt bonds.

(Sec. 618) Sets forth an alternative procedure for furnishing a nonforeign affidavit in connection with the sale of a U.S. real property interest (USRPI) and the exemption from withholding of tax requirements. Allow a transferor of a USRPI to furnish a nonforeign affidavit to a qualified substitute (i.e., a person responsible for closing the transaction involving a USRPI or the transferee’s agent). Denies an exemption from withholding of tax requirements if the qualified substitute or a transferee has actual knowledge that the nonforeign affidavit is false.

(Sec. 619) Increases from 35 to 50 the percentage of property that may be leased to a tax-exempt entity without affecting such property’s allowable rehabilitation tax credit.

Subtitle B: Reforms Related to Real Estate Investment Trusts – Part 1: Foreign Currency And Other Qualified Activities – (Sec. 621) Amends the Internal Revenue Code relating to real estate investment trusts (REITs) to treat passive foreign exchange gains attributable to overseas real estate investment as qualifying REIT income. Revises income and asset tests for such REITs for purposes of determining REIT qualifying income.

Part 2: Taxable REIT Subsidiaries – (Sec. 625) Increase from 20 to 25% the the maximum value of a REIT’s total assets that may be represented by securities of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries.

Part 3: Dealer Sales – (Sec. 627) Reduces from four to two years the holding period for certain assets exempted from prohibited transaction rules for REITs.

(Sec. 628) Revises criteria for imposing an excise tax penalty for prohibited transactions for sales by REITs.

Part 4: Health Care REITS – (Sec. 630) Allows the treatment of rental payments by a health care facility to a taxable REIT subsidiary to be treated as qualifying REIT rental income.

Part 5: Effective Dates – (Sec. 632) Sets forth the effective dates for provisions of this Subtitle.

Subtitle C: Revenue Provisions – (Sec. 641) Requires brokers who are required to report gross proceeds from the sale of any publicly-traded security to report the holder’s adjusted basis in such security and whether any gain or loss with respect to such security is long or short term.

(Sec. 642) Delays until 2010 the application of special rules for the worldwide allocation of interest for purposes of computing the limitation on the foreign tax credit.

(Sec. 643) Amends the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 to: (1) repeal the adjustment to the estimated tax liability of corporations with at least $1 billion in assets for the third quarter of 2012; and (2) increase the estimated tax payments of such corporations in the third quarter of 2013 by 13%.

Subtitle D: Coordination of Federal Housing Programs and Tax Incentives for Housing – Housing Tax Credit Coordination Act of 2008 – (Sec. 652) Instructs the HUD Secretary to implement administrative and procedural changes to expedite approval of multifamily housing projects under HUD jurisdiction that meet HUD requirements, including: (1) projects for which assistance is provided by HUD in conjunction with low-income housing tax credits or tax-exempt housing bonds; and (2) existing public and assisted housing projects for which HUD approval is necessary for transactions involving project preservation or rehabilitation.

(Sec. 653) Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to direct the HUD Secretary to facilitate, for rehabilitation or preservation purposes, timely approval of requests to transfer ownership or control of certain multifamily farm housing projects assisted by the Secretary of Agriculture in conjunction with low-income housing tax credits, or tax-exempt housing bonds.

(Sec. 654) Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 to exclude mortgage insurance from certain limits on HUD assistance to housing projects.

Amends the National Housing Act to exempt from builders’ costs certification requirements certain housing projects assisted with low-income housing tax credits.

Prescribes procedures governing the treatment of mortgages executed in connection with the construction, rehabilitation, purchase, or refinancing of a multifamily housing project for which equity is provided through any low-income housing tax credit.

(Sec. 655) Amends specified housing law with respect to: (1) an increase in contract term from 10 to 15 years for PHA project-based housing assistance payment contracts; (2) housing assistance contracts for dwelling units in cooperative housing and high-rise elevator buildings; (3) waiver of subsidy layering and environmental reviews for housing assistance payments contracts for existing structures; (4) treatment of tax credit projects under voucher program rent reasonableness requirements; (5) delegation to state or local housing agencies of processing authority for capital advances in connection with housing for the elderly; (6) contract renewals in connection with a shelter for the homeless; and (7) collection of information on tenants in tax credit projects. Authorizes FY2009-FY2013 appropriations for collection of such information.

Subtitle E: Limitation on Sale, Foreclosure, or Seizure of Property Owned by Servicemembers – (Sec. 661) Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to extend from 90 days to one year after the period of a servicemember’s military service the period of protection against mortgage foreclosure.

(Sec. 662) Requires the mortgagor or loan servicer, in the case of a servicemember who defaults on a mortgage obligation for two consecutive months, to furnish the servicemember with a written financial disclosure describing the servicemember’s liability for the period during which a sale, foreclosure, or seizure of the property is not valid.

States that neither this Act, the National Bank Act, nor the Home Owners’ Loan Act preempts state law regulating foreclosure of residential real property or the treatment of foreclosed property.

MAJOR ACTIONS:

7/30/2007 Introduced in House

8/4/2007 Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 241 – 172 (Roll no. 832).

4/10/2008 Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment and an amendment to the Title by Yea-Nay Vote. 84 – 12. Record Vote Number: 96.

5/8/2008 Resolving differences — House actions: On motion to agree to the Senate amendment with House amendment No. 1 Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 266 – 154 (Roll No. 301).

5/8/2008 Resolving differences — House actions: On motion to agree to the Senate amendment with House amendment No. 2 Agreed to by recorded vote: 322 – 94 (Roll No. 302).

5/8/2008 Resolving differences — House actions: On motion to agree to the Senate amendment with House amendment No. 3 Agreed to by recorded vote: 256 – 160 (Roll No. 303).

6/25/2008 Resolving differences — Senate actions: Senate concurred in House amendment striking section 1 through title V and inserting certain language to the Senate amendment with an amendment (SA 4983) by Yea-Nay Vote. 79 – 16. Record Vote Number: 157.

7/8/2008 Resolving differences — Senate actions: Senate agreed to amendments of the House, striking titles VI through XI, to the Senate amendment by Unanimous Consent.

7/11/2008 Resolving differences — Senate actions: Senate disagreed to the amendments of the House adding a new title and inserting a new section to the amendment of the Senate to H.R. 3221 by Yea-Nay Vote. 63 – 5. Record Vote Number: 173.

7/23/2008 Resolving differences — House actions: On motion that the House agree with an amendment to the Senate amendment to the House amendments to the Senate Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 272 – 152 (Roll no. 519).

7/26/2008 Resolving differences — Senate actions: Senate agreed to the motion to concur in House amendment to Senate amendment to House amendments to Senate amendment to the bill by Yea-Nay Vote. 72 – 13. Record Vote Number: 186.

7/26/2008 Cleared for White House.

7/29/2008 Presented to President.

7/30/2008 Signed by President.

7/30/2008 Became Public Law No: 110-289 [Text, PDF]

Information Links

Promissory Note Discovery

Rescind Your Mortgage

Truth In Lending Act – PDF

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief

Foreclosure Dismissal

RESPA ACT – Loan Regulations

Foreclosure Counseling Assistance

Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008

Basic Counseling Qualifications for Stopping Foreclosure

Remember, not all options will apply to everyone. Each homeowner will have a unique set of circumstances. It is very important that an assessment of your current crisis situation be performed before we can find the right solution for you.

Below, you’ll find a list of questions that will help us determine the best option for you.

• Is your mortgage payment 1 to 15 months behind?
• Are you able to make your regular mortgage payment now?
• Can you make your regular mortgage payments consecutively?
• Are you currently living in your home?
• Have you recovered from the financial hardship that caused you to get behind?

If you answered “YES” to the above questions, you may qualify for Mortgage Counseling Assistance.

Call Us Now 407.366.3999

Our Guarantee – We are here to coach you to get back on your feet with-out loosing your greatest asset – YOUR HOME.

KEY REASON as a non profit foreclosure prevention counseling organization: we provide foreclosure counseling, and hands on assistance in dealing with your lender, bank and investor properly and most of all, successfully.

The Second Key Reason is this: We ARE NOT & DO NOT work with ANY individuals or businesses that buy ANY portion of their clients real estate assets as part of their “counseling options”.

This is Our Guarantee, and it is this simple. If you are willing to work hand in hand with us, you have a wonderful chance to get back on your feet and successfully keep and retain your home ownership.

H.R. 3221: Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 became law on 7/30/2008 signed by presidential order.

Mortgage Payments Sending You Reeling? Here’s What to Do

The possibility of losing your home because you can’t make the mortgage payments can be terrifying. Perhaps you are one of the many consumers who took out a mortgage that had a fixed rate for the first two or three years and then had an adjustable rate. Or maybe you’re anticipating an adjustment, and want to know what your payments will be and whether you’ll be able to make them. Or maybe you’re having trouble making ends meet because of an unrelated financial crisis.

Regardless of the reason for your mortgage anxiety, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, wants you to know how to help save your home, and how to recognize and avoid foreclosure scams.

Know Your Mortgage

Do you know what kind of mortgage you have? Do you know whether your payments are going to increase? If you can’t tell by reading the mortgage documents you received at settlement, contact your loan servicer and ask. A loan servicer is responsible for collecting your monthly loan payments and crediting your account.

Here are some examples of types of mortgages:

• Hybrid Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs): Mortgages that have fixed payments for a few years, and then turn into adjustable loans. Some are called 2/28 or 3/27 hybrid ARMs: the first number refers to the years the loan has a fixed rate and the second number refers to the years the loan has an adjustable rate. Others are 5/1 or 3/1 hybrid ARMs: the first number refers to the years the loan has a fixed rate, and the second number refers to how often the rate changes. In a 3/1 hybrid ARM, for example, the interest rate is fixed for three years, then adjusts every year thereafter.
• ARMs: Mortgages that have adjustable rates from the start, which means your payments change over time.
• Fixed Rate Mortgages: Mortgages where the rate is fixed for the life of the loan; the only change in your payment would result from changes in your taxes and insurance if you have an escrow account with your loan servicer.

If you have a hybrid ARM or an ARM and the payments will increase — and you have trouble making the increased payments, find out if you can refinance to a fixed-rate loan. Review your contract first, checking for prepayment penalties. Many ARMs carry prepayment penalties that force borrowers to come up with thousands of dollars if they decide to refinance within the first few years of the loan. If you’re planning to sell soon after your adjustment, refinancing may not be worth the cost. But if you’re planning to stay in your home for a while, a fixed-rate mortgage might be the way to go. Online calculators can help you determine your costs and payments.

If You Are Behind On Your Payments

If you are having trouble making your payments, contact your loan servicer to discuss your options as early as you can. Most loan servicers are willing to work with customers they believe are acting in good faith, and those who call them early on. The longer you wait to call, the fewer options you will have. After you’ve missed three or four payments and your loan is in default, most loan servicers won’t accept a partial payment of what you owe. They will start foreclosure unless you can come up with the money to cover all your missed payments, plus any late fees.

Avoiding Default and Foreclosure

If you have fallen behind on your payments, consider discussing the following foreclosure prevention options with your loan servicer:

Reinstatement: You pay the loan servicer the entire past-due amount, plus any late fees or penalties, by a date you both agree to. This option may be appropriate if your problem paying your mortgage is temporary.

Repayment plan: Your servicer gives you a fixed amount of time to repay the amount you are behind by adding a portion of what is past due to your regular payment. This option may be appropriate if you’ve missed only a small number of payments.

Forbearance: Your mortgage payments are reduced or suspended for a period you and your servicer agree to. At the end of that time, you resume making your regular payments as well as a lump sum payment or additional partial payments for a number of months to bring the loan current. Forbearance may be an option if your income is reduced temporarily (for example, you are on disability leave from a job, and you expect to go back to your full time position shortly). Forbearance isn’t going to help you if you’re in a home you can’t afford.

Loan modification: You and your loan servicer agree to permanently change one or more of the terms of the mortgage contract to make your payments more manageable for you. Modifications can include lowering the interest rate, extending the term of the loan, or adding missed payments to the loan balance. A loan modification may be necessary if you are facing a long-term reduction in your income.

Before you ask for forbearance or a loan modification, be prepared to show that you are making a good-faith effort to pay your mortgage. For example, if you can show that you’ve reduced other expenses, your loan servicer may be more likely to negotiate with you.

Selling your home: Depending on the real estate market in your area, selling your home may provide the funds you need to pay off your current mortgage debt in full.

Bankruptcy: Personal bankruptcy generally is considered the debt management option of last resort because the results are long-lasting and far-reaching. A bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years, and can make it difficult to obtain credit, buy another home, get life insurance, or sometimes, even get a job. Still, it is a legal procedure that can offer a fresh start for people who can’t satisfy their debts.

If you and your loan servicer cannot agree on a repayment plan or other remedy, you may want to investigate filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy. If you have a regular income, Chapter 13 may allow you to keep property, like a mortgaged house or car, that you might otherwise lose. In Chapter 13, the court approves a repayment plan that allows you to use your future income toward payment of your debts during a three-to-five-year period, rather than surrender the property. After you have made all the payments under the plan, you receive a discharge of certain debts.

Contacting Your Loan Servicer

Before you have any conversation with your loan servicer, prepare. Record your income and expenses, and calculate the equity in your home. To calculate the equity, estimate the market value less the balance of your first and any second mortgage or home equity loan. Then, write down the answers to the following questions:

• What happened to make you miss your mortgage payment(s)? Do you have any documents to back up your explanation for falling behind? How have you tried to resolve the problem?
• Is your problem temporary, long-term, or permanent? What changes in your situation do you see in the short term, and in the long term? What other financial issues may be stopping you from getting back on track with your mortgage?
• What would you like to see happen? Do you want to keep the home? What type of payment arrangement would be feasible for you?

Throughout the foreclosure prevention process:

• Keep notes of all your communications with the servicer, including date and time of contact, the nature of the contact (face-to-face, by phone, email, fax or postal mail), the name of the representative, and the outcome.
• Follow up any oral requests you make with a letter to the servicer. Send your letter by certified mail, “return receipt requested,” so you can document what the servicer received. Keep copies of your letter and any enclosures.
• Meet all deadlines the servicer gives you.
• Stay in your home during the process, since you may not qualify for certain types of assistance if you move out. Renting your home will change it from a primary residence to an investment property. Most likely, it will disqualify you for any additional “workout” assistance from the servicer. If you choose this route, be sure the rental income is enough to help you get and keep your loan current.

Consider Giving Up Your Home Without Foreclosure

Not every situation can be resolved through your loan servicer’s foreclosure prevention programs. If you’re not able to keep your home, or if you don’t want to keep it, consider:

Selling Your House: Your servicers might postpone foreclosure proceedings if you have a pending sales contract or if you put your home on the market. This approach works if proceeds from the sale can pay off the entire loan balance plus the expenses connected to selling the home (for example, real estate agent fees). Such a sale also would allow you to avoid late and legal fees and damage to your credit rating, and protect your equity in the property.

Short Sale: Your servicers may allow you to sell the home yourself before it forecloses on the property, agreeing to forgive any shortfall between the sale price and the mortgage balance. This approach avoids a damaging foreclosure entry on your credit report. You still may face a tax liability on the amount of debt forgiven. Consider consulting a financial advisor, accountant, or attorney for more information.

Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure: You voluntarily transfer your property title to the servicers (with the servicer’s agreement) in exchange for cancellation of the remainder of your debt. Though you lose the home, a deed in lieu of foreclosure can be less damaging to your credit than a foreclosure. You will lose any equity in the property, and you may face an income tax liability on the amount of debt forgiven. A deed in lieu may not be an option for you if other loans or obligations are secured by the property on your home.

Housing and Credit Counseling

You don’t have to go through the foreclosure prevention process alone. A counselor with a housing counseling agency can assess your situation, answer your questions, go over your options, prioritize your debts, and help you prepare for discussions with your loan servicer. Housing counseling services usually are free or low cost.

More Links of Similar Interest to Foreclosure Assistance:

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007

Truth In Lending Act

Rescind Your Mortgage Loan and Save Your Home From Foreclosure

Fight Your Foreclosure: Make Them Produce The Original Promissory Note

RESPA ACT – Loan Regulations Servicing Guidelines

American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008: H.R. 3221

Foreclosure Dismissal