[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7113 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7113

 To preserve neighborhoods by permitting units of local government to 
 purchase from the Secretary of the Treasury certain mortgages secured 
 by vacant and deteriorating real property held by persons who are not 
     less than 120 days in default in repaying the mortgage debts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 26, 2008

Mr. Turner (for himself and Mr. Gerlach) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To preserve neighborhoods by permitting units of local government to 
 purchase from the Secretary of the Treasury certain mortgages secured 
 by vacant and deteriorating real property held by persons who are not 
     less than 120 days in default in repaying the mortgage debts.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preserve Our Neighborhoods Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. PURCHASE OF DEFAULTED MORTGAGES BY UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

    An eligible unit of local government may purchase from the 
Secretary of the Treasury a group of not fewer than 25 available 
mortgages each of which is secured by real property with respect to 
which such unit of local government--
            (1) certifies in good faith to the satisfaction of the 
        Secretary (in such form as the Secretary may require by rule) 
        that each particular parcel of real property--
                    (A) is located in the geographical area under the 
                jurisdiction of such unit of local government,
                    (B) has been vacant for a continuous period of not 
                less than 120 days,
                    (C) secures a debt with respect to which the payor 
                is then in default for a continuous period of not less 
                than 120 days,
                    (D) is in a physical condition that renders the 
                property uninhabitable,
                    (E) is a blighting influence in the neighborhood in 
                which such parcel is located, and
                    (F) could only be repaired to bring the property 
                into compliance with the applicable building code at a 
                cost that exceeds the current value of the property, 
                and
            (2) pays to the Secretary $1 for each mortgage held by the 
        Secretary applicable to such parcel.

SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF MORTGAGES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE; AUTHORITY TO 
              SELL MORTGAGES.

    (a) Publication Required.--At 90-day intervals beginning on the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
make available to the public by publication, a list of all parcels of 
real estate, identified by specific address, then available for 
purchase under this Act.
    (b) Authority To Sell Mortgages.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to 
sell mortgages in accordance with this Act.

SEC. 4. HISTORICAL PRESERVATION.

    Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
470f) shall apply with respect to the rights acquired by units of local 
government in property as a result of the foreclosure of mortgages 
purchased under section 2.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``available mortgage'' means a mortgage held 
        by the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to which no 
        other person or governmental entity has made a purchase offer 
        that is pending before the Secretary, and
            (2) the term ``eligible'' means with respect to a unit of 
        local government, that the poverty rate in the geographical 
        area under the jurisdiction of such unit of local government is 
        not less than 20 percent, as determined by the Secretary of the 
        Treasury based on the most recent data then available from the 
        Bureau of the Census.
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