HR 4776
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4776
To establish programs to provide counseling to homebuyers regarding
voluntary home inspections and to train counselors to provide such counseling,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 18, 2007
Ms. VELAZQUEZ (for herself and Ms. CLARKE) 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.
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 `Consumer Protection Home Inspection Counseling
Act of 2007'.
SEC. 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).
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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.
END
