Save Our Neighborhoods Act of 2012 - Authorizes a mortgagor of a property subject to a federally related mortgage loan to file a motion before a court in the jurisdiction in which the property is located for an order to: (1) stay any foreclosure proceedings brought against the property; (2) remain in effect for up to three years; (3) prohibit the assessment or collection of any late fees regarding payments on such loan; (4) toll the statute of limitations for any other applicable laws pertaining to such loan; (5) require the mortgagor to make payments in an appropriate amount to the mortgagee at appropriate times; and (6) require the mortgagee to apply such payments first to any taxes owed on the property, and then to property insurance obligations, interest due, and the mortgage principal due.
Requires the court, if an order terminates before the mortgagor and mortgagee have submitted an agreement to the court, to enter an order: (1) ordering an appraisal by an approved licensed appraiser to determine the property's fair market value; (2) adjusting the principal amount to the property's fair market value if that value is less than the principal remaining on the mortgage loan; (3) ordering reasonable interest on the principal so adjusted, based on the average prime offer rate for mortgages; and (4) ordering payments set at a reasonable interest rate on the principal remaining on the mortgage loan, based on the average prime offer rate for mortgages on that date, if the fair market value is greater than the remaining principal.
Requires: (1) the court, on the date such motion is filed, to stay any foreclosure proceedings that have been brought against the property; (2) the mortgagor and mortgagee to meet after the mortgagor files the motion; and (3) the mortgagee to provide the mortgagor with a list of approved local housing counseling agencies.
Requires the foreclosure stay order to terminate if the mortgagor and mortgagee execute a consensually modified mortgage agreement within 60 days after the grant of the stay.
Authorizes the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of the Federal Reserve System to make rules or issue guidance to carry out this Act.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4848 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4848
To save neighborhoods and keep families in their homes by encouraging
mortgage loan modifications and suspending foreclosures and evictions.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 26, 2012
Mr. Clarke of Michigan (for himself, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Conyers,
Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Grijalva,
Ms. Waters, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Clarke
of New York, and Mr. Ellison) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the
Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To save neighborhoods and keep families in their homes by encouraging
mortgage loan modifications and suspending foreclosures and evictions.
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 ``Save Our Neighborhoods Act of
2012''.
SEC. 2. STAYS OF FORECLOSURES.
(a) Cause of Action.--
(1) In general.--A mortgagor of a property subject to a
federally related mortgage loan may file a motion before a
court in the jurisdiction in which the property is located for
an order under subsection (d).
(2) Interim order.--The court shall, on the date of such
filing, enter an order that shall--
(A) stay any foreclosure proceedings (including
proceedings before a State court) that have been
brought against the property that is subject to the
federally related mortgage loan; and
(B) remain in effect for a period of 60 days,
beginning on the date that the order is entered.
(3) Limitation.--The mortgagor of the property subject to a
federally related mortgage loan is only allowed to file one
motion under subsection (a)(1).
(b) Consensual Revision of Mortgage.--The mortgagor and mortgagee
shall meet not later than 30 days after the mortgagor files under
subsection (a). Not later than 15 days prior to that meeting, the
mortgagee shall provide the mortgagor with a list of local housing
counseling agencies approved by the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development. The mortgagor may be accompanied by a counselor from such
an agency. If the mortgagor and mortgagee execute a consensually
modified mortgage agreement within 60 days of the court granting the
stay, the order under subsection (a)(2) would terminate. If at the end
of the 60 days an agreement has not been reached, the court may issue
an order under subsection (d) in accordance with subsection (c). The
mortgagor may request not more than 1 additional meeting after the
first meeting and before the end of the period during which foreclosure
proceedings are stayed pursuant to an order under subsection (a) or
(d). The mortgagee shall comply with that request not later than 30
days after that request.
(c) Standard of Proof.--The court shall grant a motion under
subsection (a)(1) for an order under subsection (d), if the mortgagor
demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence the following:
(1) That the mortgagor has a reasonable ability to make
payments described under subsection (d)(5).
(2) Financial hardship of the mortgagor.
(3) That the property subject to the mortgage would be the
primary residence of the mortgagor.
(d) Order Described.--An order under this subsection shall,
beginning on the date that is 60 days after the filing of the motion
under subsection (a)(1)--
(1) stay any foreclosure proceedings that have been brought
against the property that is subject to the federally related
mortgage loan, including proceedings before a State court and
eviction or detainer proceedings in a non-judicial foreclosure
State;
(2) remain in effect for a period of up to 3 years
beginning on the date that the order is entered, except that
the period shall terminate if an agreement under subsection (b)
is executed during such period;
(3) prohibit the assessment or collection of any late fees
regarding payments on the federally related mortgage loan;
(4) toll the statute of limitations for any other
applicable laws pertaining to the federally related mortgage
loan;
(5) require that the mortgagor make payments in an amount
the court determines appropriate, which may include the fair
market rental value of the property (determined by the court in
accordance with subsection (f)), to the mortgagee at such times
as the court determines appropriate; and
(6) require that the mortgagee apply such payments--
(A) first, to any taxes owed on the property;
(B) then, to any obligations relating to insurance,
including homeowner's insurance on the property;
(C) then, to any interest due on the mortgage for
that period under the terms of the mortgage; and
(D) finally, to the principal amount due on the
mortgage for that period under the terms of the
mortgage.
(e) Result of Failure To Revise During Stay of Foreclosure.--If an
order under subsection (d) terminates and the mortgagor and mortgagee
have not submitted an agreement described in subsection (b) to the
court on or before the date that the order terminates, the court shall
enter an order--
(1) ordering an appraisal to determine the fair market
value of the property to be performed by a licensed appraiser
approved by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(2) if the fair market value of the property, as determined
by the appraiser is less than the principal remaining on the
mortgage loan, adjusting the principal amount to the fair
market value, giving consideration to the appraisal and any
other information the court determines appropriate;
(3) ordering reasonable interest on the principal as
adjusted under paragraph (2) based on the average prime offer
rate (as such term is defined in section 129C of the Truth in
Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1639c)) for mortgages; and
(4) if the fair market value is greater than the principal
remaining on the mortgage loan, ordering payments set at a
reasonable interest rate on the remaining principal based on
the average prime offer rate for mortgages on that date.
(f) Determination of Fair Market Rental Value.--In determining the
fair market rental value of a property for purposes of subsection
(d)(5), the court shall consider the following:
(1) The fair market rents for the market area in which the
property is located for similar property calculated for other
Federal rental housing programs.
(2) Any other information the court determines appropriate.
(g) Authority of Magistrate Judges.--Any proceeding regarding a
motion under subsection (a) may be heard by a magistrate judge of the
United States, and that magistrate judge, notwithstanding section
636(b)(1)(A) of title 28, United States Code, may issue an order in
accordance with this section.
(h) Limitation on Remedies.--The mortgagee's remedies shall be
limited to those that would be available as if the proceeding were a
foreclosure proceeding.
(i) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) The term ``federally related mortgage loan'' has the
meaning given such term under section 3 of the Real Estate
Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2602).
(2) The term ``financial hardship'' means any financial
burden of a mortgagor that causes that mortgagor to be
reasonably unable to make a payment on that mortgage,
including--
(A) reduction in or loss of income that was
supporting the mortgage;
(B) change in household financial circumstances;
(C) recent or upcoming increase in the mortgagor's
monthly mortgage payment;
(D) an unavoidable increase in other expenses;
(E) a lack of cash reserves to maintain payment on
the mortgage and cover basic living expenses at the
same time (cash reserves include assets such as cash
savings, money market funds, stocks or bonds, but
exclude retirement accounts);
(F) excessive monthly debt payments, including if
the mortgagor has been using credit cards, a home
equity loan or other credit to make the mortgage
payment;
(G) the mortgagor has been subject to predatory
lending practices; and
(H) other reasons for hardship identified and
explained by the mortgagor.
(3) In determining whether a lending practice is predatory,
the court shall consider whether the mortgagor has been subject
to practices including but not limited to: abusive collection
practices; balloon payments; encouragement of default; repeat
financing where the equity is depleted as a result of
financing; excessive fees; excessive interest rates; fraud,
deception, and abuse; high loan-to-value ratio; lending without
regard to ability to repay; loan flipping; mandatory
arbitration clauses; payday lending; pre-payment penalties;
refinancing of mortgages with a loan that does not provide a
tangible economic benefit to the borrower; refinancing
unsecured debt; payment of single-premium credit insurance; the
process of referring borrowers who qualify for lower-cost
financing to high-cost lenders; subprime lending; high yield-
spread premiums.
SEC. 3. REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
BUREAU.
The Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection of the
Federal Reserve System may make rules or issue guidance to carry out
this Act.
SEC. 4. DURATION OF THIS ACT.
This Act shall be effective for 5 years, beginning on the date of
enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line