I 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2130 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 27, 2009 Ms. Velázquez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To establish programs to provide counseling to homebuyers regarding voluntary home inspections and to train counselors to provide such counseling, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Consumer Protection Home Inspection Counseling Act of 2009.

2.

Program to train counselors to provide consumers with voluntary home inspection counseling

(a)

Establishment

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in this Act referred to as the Secretary) shall establish a comprehensive program to train staff of the Department, contractors, individuals, and entities that provide housing counseling under programs authorized, certified, or funded under section 106 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x) to also provide counseling to consumers on voluntary home inspection. The training program shall include development of a training module to train counselors as well as counseling aids to be used by housing counselors and suitable for distribution to consumers. The training materials shall be written in plain language and shall be comprehensible to untrained consumers with or without ongoing assistance from housing counselors. (b)

Content

At a minimum, the home inspection counseling program established under this section, and the training module and counseling aids developed under this section, shall convey the following information: (1)That a home inspection in connection with purchase of a home is voluntary, but not mandatory. (2)That the Department of Housing and Urban Development recommends that homebuyers obtain a voluntary home inspection. (3)That a home inspection is not required in the case of an FHA loan insured under title II of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.) and that a home inspection is not performed by FHA. (4)That in most cases, no home inspection will be performed unless the homebuyer requests one. (5)That it is the burden of the homebuyer to arrange for a home inspection if one is requested. (6)That an appraisal is not equivalent to a home inspection. (7)That the homebuyer may be able to make the purchase of a home contingent on the outcome of a home inspection if the seller agrees to such a contingency in the sales contract. (8)That if the homebuyer chooses to obtain a home inspection, it is generally to the homebuyer’s benefit to do so as early as possible. (9)That the homebuyer should consider requesting a voluntary home inspection. (c)

Mandatory HUD form

Individuals and entities that provide housing counseling under programs authorized, certified, or funded under section 106 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x) shall be instructed to present and explain in person at a counseling session, to each homebuyer who is receiving such counseling, a copy of HUD Form 92564–CN, For Your Protection: Get a Home Inspection. (d)

Additional guidance materials

The Secretary shall develop, in consultation with national professional home inspector associations, additional guidance materials to educate housing counselors on how to advise consumers how to locate, interview, and select a professional home inspector, and on how consumers may independently locate, interview, and select a professional home inspector. The Secretary shall require that these materials be made available to counselors providing housing counseling under the programs referred to in subsection (c).

3.

Certification of counselors

(a)

Protocol

The Secretary shall, in the discretion of the Secretary, develop a new independent protocol, or amend existing protocols, to certify that housing counselors whose activities are authorized, certified, or funded in whole or in part under section 106 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x) have successfully completed training using the voluntary home inspection training module and counseling aids established and developed pursuant to section 2 of this Act. (b)

Standards for materials and forms

The Secretary shall establish standards and requirements for voluntary home inspection counseling materials and forms to be used, as appropriate, by organizations providing voluntary home inspection counseling. Such standards shall conform with the content requirements under section 2(b) of this Act.

4.

Home inspection counseling requirements

Each person providing counseling for a housing counseling entity authorized, certified, or funded in whole or in part under section 106 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x) shall be trained through the voluntary home inspection training module established pursuant to section 2(a) of this Act and shall distribute the counseling aids to be developed under such section. Any homeownership counseling program required under, or provided in connection with, any program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be provided only by organizations or counselors certified by the Secretary pursuant to this Act as competent to provide voluntary home inspection counseling. The Secretary may withhold, withdraw, or suspend housing counseling certifications for any housing counselor or counseling entity that fails to meet the requirements of this Act.

5.

Public outreach

(a)

In general

The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to make the existence of the training module and counseling aids developed under section 2 known to State and local governments, nonprofit organizations, consumer organizations, and the general public. The Secretary shall further make the materials generally available for electronic access, including the World Wide Web, and via other means. Such public outreach activities shall include— (1)the development of a one-page, plain-language statement in conspicuous 16-point type or larger, rendered at least in both English and Spanish versions; (2)the development and distribution of national multimedia public service announcements to be made available to print, broadcast, electronic, and web-based media outlets; (3)the development of an advisory statement to mortgage lenders advising them to provide notice of the availability of home inspection counseling at time of mortgage application; and (4)the establishment, operation, and publication by the Department of Housing and Urban Development of a toll-free telephone number to receive requests for information on home inspection counseling. (b)

Targets

The public outreach carried out under this section shall be designed to reach real estate professionals, State and local housing counseling authorities, nonprofit housing organizations, employers who engage in employer-assisted housing programs, community-based organizations with expertise in the field of housing counseling, and high school guidance counselors. (c)

Emphasis on vulnerable populations

In carrying out public outreach under this section, the Secretary shall place special emphasis on reaching vulnerable populations, including first-time and low-income homebuyers.

6.

Report

Not later than the expiration of the 12-month period beginning upon the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress describing the actions that have been undertaken to comply with this Act, disclosing the actions that are required under this Act but have not at such time been addressed, assessing the results of this Act that have been achieved at such time, identifying areas for improvement in the implementation of the Act, and making recommendations to enhance implementation of this Act.