[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6332 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6332

     To enhance disclosure of private transfer fees in real estate 
                             transactions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2010

    Mr. Gingrey of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To enhance disclosure of private transfer fees in real estate 
                             transactions.

    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 ``Homebuyer Enhanced Fee Disclosure 
Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that transfer fee covenants represent an 
important economic tool with the potential to make homeownership more 
affordable and benefit local communities by positively restructuring 
the economics of real estate transactions by apportioning certain 
infrastructure and overhead costs over time.

SEC. 3. RECORDATION OF TRANSFER FEES.

    (a) Recordation Requirement.--A transfer fee covenant recorded on 
or after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be void and 
unenforceable unless, at the time the document containing the transfer 
fee covenant is submitted for recording, a notice described in 
subsection (b) is contemporaneously submitted for recording in the 
office of the applicable county recorder.
    (b) Notice Requirements.--Notice required under subsection (a) 
shall--
            (1) be titled, in boldface type, ``Payment of Transfer Fee 
        Required'';
            (2) include statements of--
                    (A) the name or names of the owner or owners of the 
                affected property;
                    (B) the legal description of the affected property;
                    (C) the dollar amount or, if applicable, the 
                percentage of sales price constituting the transfer fee 
                required to be paid under the transfer fee covenant;
                    (D) the method and manner of payment of the 
                transfer fee;
                    (E) in the case of affected property that is 
                residential property, actual dollar-cost examples of 
                the amount of the transfer fee for property priced at 
                $250,000, $500,000, and $750,000; and
                    (F) if applicable, the date on which or 
                circumstances under which the transfer fee covenant 
                expires.
    (c) Presumption of Validity.--A transfer fee covenant that imposes 
a transfer fee of not more than 1 percent of the gross sales price for 
the affected property, effective for a term of not more than 99 years, 
and which complies with the requirements under subsections (a) and (b) 
shall be presumed to be valid.
    (d) Limitation.--No property shall be subject to more than one 
transfer fee covenant.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall 
apply:
            (1) Affected property.--The term ``affected property'' 
        means, with respect to a transfer fee covenant, the real 
        property that is encumbered by the transfer fee covenant.
            (2) Applicable county recorder.--The term ``applicable 
        county recorder'' means, with respect to affected property, the 
        recorder of the county in which the affected property is 
        located.
            (3) Transfer fee.--The term ``transfer fee'' means a fee, 
        charge or payment imposed by a covenant, restriction, or 
        similar document filed in the applicable county recorder's 
        office and required to be paid in connection with or as a 
        result of a transfer of title to affected property, but does 
        not include fees, charges, payments, or other obligations 
        that--
                    (A) are imposed by a court judgment, order, or 
                decree;
                    (B) are imposed by or payable to the Federal 
                Government or a State or local government;
                    (C) arise out of a mechanic's lien;
                    (D) arise from an option to purchase, or for waiver 
                of the right to purchase, the affected property;
                    (E) are payable to a homeowners association, 
                condominium association, or similar entity for the 
                benefit of the owners; and
                    (F) are imposed by or payable to lenders or 
                purchasers of loans.
            (4) Transfer fee covenant.--The term ``transfer fee 
        covenant'' means a covenant, restriction, or agreement filed 
        with the office of the applicable county recorder that--
                    (A) affects real property; and
                    (B) obligates a future buyer or seller of the 
                affected real property, other than a person who is a 
                party to the covenant, restriction, or agreement, to 
                pay a transfer fee.
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