1.This Act may be cited as the
Temporary Mortgage Assistance Loan Act
of 2009
.
2.The Congress finds
that—
(1)as the economy
worsens and unemployment rates continue to rise, a growing number of long-time
homeowners are finding themselves in need of emergency short-term mortgage help
in the event of a job loss or other crisis;
(2)these homeowners
may not need or want a permanent modification of their home loans or they may
not qualify for government initiatives aimed principally at subprime borrowers
or homeowners with exotic mortgage products; and
(3)low-interest
emergency mortgage loans can fill this gap in options for responsible
homeowners in need of help and stem the rising tide of foreclosures that has
depressed housing values across the United States.
3.Temporary
mortgage assistance loans
(a)The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development (in this Act referred to as the Secretary
) shall, to
the extent amounts are made available in advance for loans under this section,
make loans under this section in the form of mortgage assistance payments to
mortgagees of all or part of the monthly payments due under the qualified
mortgages of qualified homeowners who are in default on their mortgages.
(b)For purposes of this section, the term qualified
homeowner means the mortgagor under a qualified mortgage or
mortgages—
(1)who is 60 days or
more delinquent with respect to any payment due under the qualified mortgage or
mortgages;
(2)who, or a member of whose household who
before unemployment contributed significantly to the household income—
(A)is unemployed,
which unemployment renders the mortgagor temporarily unable to correct the
delinquency and resume full payments under the qualified mortgage or
mortgages;
(B)has a reasonable
prospect, in the determination of the Secretary based on payment history prior
to such unemployment, education, or participation in worker retraining during
the period of such unemployment, for obtaining employment; and
(C)who has registered
for and is receiving State unemployment benefits;
(c)Qualified
mortgage and mortgages
(1)For purposes of this
section, the term qualified mortgage means, with respect to a
qualified homeowner, a first mortgage that—
(A)is secured by an
interest on a one- to four-unit residence that is the principal residence of
the qualified homeowner that is not subject to more than one other subordinate
mortgage; and
(B)has an aggregate outstanding obligation
that, at the time of application for assistance under this section, exceeds the
appraised value of the residence that is subject to the mortgages.
(2)The term
qualified mortgages means, with respect to a qualified homeowner,
a qualified mortgage and another subordinate mortgage secured by an interest in
the same residence, which mortgages have an aggregate outstanding obligation
that, at the time of application for assistance under this section, exceeds the
appraised value of the residence that is subject to the mortgages.
(d)A
loan under this section for a qualified mortgage or mortgages of a qualified
homeowner shall—
(1)be in the form of
monthly payments to the mortgagee or servicer of the mortgage or mortgages on
account of such mortgage or mortgages—
(A)during a period
that ends upon the earlier of—
(i)a
determination by the Secretary, pursuant to regular periodic reviews of the
financial circumstances of the household of the mortgagor, that because of
changes in such financial circumstances payments are no longer necessary;
or
(ii)the
making of the 18th such monthly payment on behalf of the qualified
homeowner;
(B)in an
amount—
(i)on a
monthly basis, that does not exceed the amount, as determined by the Secretary,
that bears the same proportion to the monthly amount due under the mortgage or
mortgages, including principal, interest, taxes, assessments, ground rents,
hazard and mortgage insurance, and such other fees as the Secretary may
approve, as the amount of monthly income lost due to the unemployment referred
to in subsection (b)(2) in the mortgagor’s household bears to the amount of the
aggregate household income of the mortgagor before such unemployment;
and
(ii)in
the aggregate, that does not exceed $30,000;
(2)be secured by a
lien on the principal residence that is subject to the qualified mortgage or
mortgages and subordinate in priority to such mortgage or mortgages; and
(3)be repayable upon
such terms and conditions as the Secretary shall establish, which shall provide
that—
(A)the loan shall bear interest at a rate
determined by the Secretary, which shall not exceed 3 percent annually;
(B)such interest
shall accrue from the time each monthly payment under the loan is
disbursed;
(C)repayment of the
loan principal and interest shall not be required until the expiration of the
60-day period that begins upon the earlier of—
(i)the
time that the mortgagor or member of the mortgagor’s household who is
unemployed, as referred to in subsection (b)(2), obtains employment; or
(ii)the
Secretary ceases making monthly payments under the loan on behalf of the
qualified mortgagor.
(e)Of the funds made available to the
Secretary of the Treasury under title I of the Emergency Economic Stabilization
Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211) that remain unobligated, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall make available to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
such sums as may be necessary for costs (as such term is defined in section 502
of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a)) of loans under this
section.
(f)Not
later than the expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue any regulations necessary to
carry out this Act.