Bill Text: PA HB2588 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: In homeowner's emergency assistance, further providing for eligibility.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-06-17 - Referred to COMMERCE [HB2588 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB2588-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 3934
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2588 Session of2010
INTRODUCED BY SEIP, BRENNAN, BROWN, GEORGE, CREIGHTON, HORNAMAN, JOSEPHS, MAHONEY, McGEEHAN, MUNDY, M. O'BRIEN AND SIPTROTH, JUNE 17, 2010
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, JUNE 17, 2010
AN ACT
Amending the act of December 3, 1959 (P.L.1688, No.621),
entitled, as amended, "An act to promote the health, safety
and welfare of the people of the Commonwealth by broadening
the market for housing for persons and families of low and
moderate income and alleviating shortages thereof, and by
assisting in the provision of housing for elderly persons
through the creation of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance
Agency as a public corporation and government
instrumentality; providing for the organization, membership
and administration of the agency, prescribing its general
powers and duties and the manner in which its funds are kept
and audited, empowering the agency to make housing loans to
qualified mortgagors upon the security of insured and
uninsured mortgages, defining qualified mortgagors and
providing for priorities among tenants in certain instances,
prescribing interest rates and other terms of housing loans,
permitting the agency to acquire real or personal property,
permitting the agency to make agreements with financial
institutions and Federal agencies, providing for the purchase
by persons of low and moderate income of housing units, and
approving the sale of housing units, permitting the agency to
sell housing loans, providing for the promulgation of
regulations and forms by the agency, prescribing penalties
for furnishing false information, empowering the agency to
borrow money upon its own credit by the issuance and sale of
bonds and notes and by giving security therefor, permitting
the refunding, redemption and purchase of such obligations by
the agency, prescribing remedies of holders of such bonds and
notes, exempting bonds and notes of the agency, the income
therefrom, and the income and revenues of the agency from
taxation, except transfer, death and gift taxes; making such
bonds and notes legal investments for certain purposes; and
indicating how the act shall become effective," in
homeowner's emergency assistance, further providing for
eligibility.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 404-C of the act of December 3, 1959
(P.L.1688, No.621), known as the Housing Finance Agency Law,
amended December 18, 1992 (P.L.1652, No.182) and December 21,
1998 (P.L.1248, No.160), is amended to read:
Section 404-C. Eligibility for Assistance.--(a) [No] Except
as set forth in subsection (a.1), no assistance may be made with
respect to a mortgage or mortgagor under this article unless all
of the following are established:
(1) The property securing the mortgage, or other security
interest in the case of units in cooperative or condominium
projects, is a one-family residence, or two-family owner-
occupied residence including one-family units in a condominium
project or a membership interest and occupancy agreement in a
cooperative housing project, is the principal residence of the
mortgagor and is located in this Commonwealth.
(2) (i) Any mortgagee has indicated to the mortgagor its
intention to foreclose; and
(ii) payments under any mortgage have been contractually
delinquent for at least sixty (60) days.
(3) The mortgage is not insured by the Federal Housing
Administration under Title II of the National Housing Act (12
U.S.C. §§ 1707-1715z-18).
(4) The mortgagor is a permanent resident of this
Commonwealth and is suffering financial hardship due to
circumstances beyond the mortgagor's control which render the
mortgagor unable to correct the delinquency or delinquencies
within a reasonable time and make full mortgage payments.
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(5) The agency has determined that there is a reasonable
prospect that the mortgagor will be able to resume full mortgage
payments within twenty-four (24) months after the beginning of
the period for which assistance payments are provided under this
article and pay the mortgage or mortgages in full by its
maturity date or by a later date agreed to by the mortgagee or
mortgagees for completing mortgage payments.
(6) The mortgagor has applied to the agency for assistance
on an application form prescribed by the agency for this use
which includes a financial statement disclosing all assets and
liabilities of the mortgagor, whether singly or jointly held,
and all household income regardless of source. Any applicant who
intentionally misrepresents any financial information in
conjunction with the filing of an application for assistance
under this article may be denied assistance or required to
immediately repay any amount of assistance made as a result of
such misrepresentation, and the mortgagee may, at any time
thereafter, take any legal action to enforce the mortgage
without any further restrictions or requirements under this
article.
(7) The mortgagee is not prevented by law from foreclosing
upon the mortgage.
(8) The agency has determined, based on the mortgagor's
financial statement, that the mortgagor has insufficient
household income or net worth to correct the delinquency or
delinquencies within a reasonable period of time and make full
mortgage payments.
(9) Except for the current delinquency, the mortgagor shall
have had a favorable residential mortgage credit history for the
previous five (5) years. This requirement shall mean that, if
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the mortgagor has been more than three (3) consecutive months in
arrears on a residential mortgage within the previous five (5)
years, he shall be ineligible for assistance, unless the
mortgagor can demonstrate that the prior delinquency was the
result of financial hardship due to circumstances beyond his
control.
(10) For purposes of this section, in order to determine
whether the financial hardship is due to circumstances beyond
the mortgagor's control, the agency may consider information
regarding the mortgagor's employment record, credit history and
current income.
(11) The mortgagor meets any other procedural requirements
established by the agency.
(12) The mortgagor is not more than twenty-four (24) months
delinquent or in default for more than twenty-four (24) months
pursuant to the terms of mortgagor's residential mortgage. This
requirement shall mean that if the mortgagor is more than
twenty-four (24) consecutive or nonconsecutive months in arrears
on the residential mortgage in question, no matter what the
reason therefor, he shall be ineligible for assistance.
(13) The property is not encumbered by more than two
mortgages, other than a mortgage filed by the agency to secure
repayment of the mortgage assistance loan, or by other liens or
encumbrances which would unreasonably impair the security of the
agency's mortgage.
(a.1) The agency may assist a mortgagor that is in danger of
losing due to the enforcement of a lien for unpaid tax if all of
the following apply:
(1) The property is subject to less than two mortgages.
(2) The mortgagor is not in default on a mortgage on the
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property.
(b) Upon a determination that the conditions of eligibility
described in [subsection (a)] this section have been met by a
mortgagor and money is available in the Homeowner's Emergency
Mortgage Assistance Fund, the mortgagor shall become eligible
for the assistance described in section 405-C. If the agency
determines that a mortgagor has not met the conditions of
eligibility described in subsection (a), the mortgagor shall be
prohibited from reapplying for assistance under this article for
a period of twenty-four (24) months from the date of such
determination unless there is a material change in
circumstances: Provided, however, That nothing is this
subsection shall prohibit any mortgagee from commencing legal
action to enforce the mortgage without any further restriction
or requirement under this article whenever the agency determines
that the mortgagor is ineligible for assistance as provided in
this section.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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