HR 363
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 363
To prevent foreclosure of home mortgages and provide for the affordable
refinancing of mortgages held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 20, 2011
Mr. CARDOZA (for himself, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. CASTOR of Florida,
Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. SIRES, Mr. COSTA,
Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BACA, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. SUTTON, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MCDERMOTT,
Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. STARK, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. WELCH, Mr.
FILNER, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. KUCINICH, and Mr. QUIGLEY) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
A BILL
To prevent foreclosure of home mortgages and provide for the affordable
refinancing of mortgages held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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 `Housing Opportunity and Mortgage Equity Act
of 2011'.
SEC. 2. AFFORDABLE REFINANCING OF MORTGAGES OWNED OR GUARANTEED BY FANNIE
MAE AND FREDDIE MAC.
(a) Authority- The Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home
Loan Mortgage Corporation shall each carry out a program under this section
to provide for the refinancing of qualified mortgages on single-family housing
owned by such enterprise through a refinancing mortgage, and for the purchase
of and securitization of such refinancing mortgages, in accordance with this
section and policies and procedures that the Director of the Federal Housing
Finance Agency shall establish. Such program shall require such refinancing
of a qualified mortgage upon the request of the mortgagor made to the applicable
enterprise and a determination by the enterprise that the mortgage is a qualified
mortgage.
(b) Qualified Mortgage- For purposes of this section, the term `qualified
mortgage' means a mortgage, without regard to whether the mortgagor is current
on or in default on payments due under the mortgage, that--
(1) is an existing first mortgage that was made for purchase of, or refinancing
another first mortgage on, a one- to four-family dwelling, including a condominium
or a share in a cooperative ownership housing association, that is occupied
by the mortgagor as the principal residence of the mortgagor;
(2) is owned or guaranteed by the Federal National Mortgage Association
or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation; and
(3) was originated on or before the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Refinancing Mortgage- For purposes of this section, the term `refinancing
mortgage' means a mortgage that meets the following requirements:
(1) REFINANCING OF QUALIFIED MORTGAGE- The principal loan amount repayment
of which is secured by the mortgage shall be used to satisfy all indebtedness
under an existing qualified mortgage.
(2) SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING- The property that is subject to the mortgage
shall be the same property that is subject to the qualified mortgage being
refinanced.
(3) INTEREST RATE- The mortgage shall bear interest at a single rate that
is fixed for the entire term of the mortgage, which shall be equivalent
to the premium received by the enterprise on the qualified mortgage being
refinanced plus the cost of selling a newly issued mortgage having comparable
risk and term to maturity in a mortgage-backed security, as such rate may
be increased to the extent necessary to cover, over the term to maturity
of the mortgage, any fee paid to the servicer pursuant to subsection (d),
the cost of any title insurance coverage issued in connection with the mortgage,
and, as determined by the Director, a portion of any administrative costs
of the program under this section as may attributable to the mortgage.
(4) WAIVER OF PREPAYMENT PENALTIES- All penalties for prepayment or refinancing
of the qualified mortgage that is refinanced by the mortgage, and all fees
and penalties related to the default or delinquency on such mortgage, shall
have been waived or forgiven.
(5) TERM TO MATURITY- The mortgage shall have a term to maturity of not
more than 40 years from the date of the beginning of the amortization of
the mortgage.
(6) PROHIBITION ON BORROWER FEES- The servicer conducting the refinancing
shall not charge the mortgagor any fee for the refinancing of the qualified
mortgage through the refinancing mortgage.
(7) TITLE INSURANCE- The fee for title insurance coverage issued in connection
with the mortgage shall be reasonable in comparison with fees for such coverage
available in the market for mortgages having similar terms.
(d) Fee to Servicer- For each qualified mortgage of an enterprise that the
servicer of the qualified mortgage refinances through a refinancing mortgage
pursuant to this section, the enterprise shall pay the servicer a fee not
exceeding $1,000.
(e) No Appraisal- The enterprises may not require an appraisal of the property
subject to a refinancing mortgage to be conducted in connection with such
refinancing.
(f) Termination- The requirement under subsection (a) for the enterprises
to refinance qualified mortgages shall not apply to any request for refinancing
made after the expiration of the one-year period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(g) Definitions- For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall
apply:
(1) DIRECTOR- The term `Director' means the Director of the Federal Housing
Finance Agency.
(2) ENTERPRISE- The term `enterprise' means the Federal National Mortgage
Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
(h) Regulations- The Director shall issue any regulations or guidance necessary
to carry out the program under this section.
END
