110 HR 7113 IH: Preserve Our Neighborhoods Act of U.S. House of Representatives 2008-09-26 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7113 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.

1.

Short title

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

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.

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.

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.

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.