This bill would let the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, through the Federal Housing Commissioner, set up a pilot program to increase access to "small-dollar mortgages." A small-dollar mortgage is defined here as a loan with an original principal balance of $100,000 or less secured by a 1- to 4-unit home that is the borrower's primary residence.
The pilot must be allowed to begin no later than one year after the law is enacted and would end 4 years after it starts. Possible actions in the pilot include direct payments to mortgage lenders to encourage them to make small loans, changing FHA terms and fees for these loans, giving direct grants to borrowers for down payments, closing costs, appraisals, and title insurance, doing outreach to potential borrowers, and offering technical help to lenders who make these loans. The FHA Commissioner must send Congress annual reports starting within one year after the pilot starts and continuing until one year after the pilot ends. Those reports must track outcomes of the loans, analyze risks to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, include historical data about small-dollar mortgages from the prior 10 years, describe fixed mortgage costs, and identify regions with the greatest need or likelihood for small-dollar mortgage originations. The bill also says that after three years from enactment, the FHA Commissioner and HUD Secretary may not newly establish a pilot program to increase access to small-dollar mortgages.
No publicly available information on total costs or specific appropriations is included in the text. The bill would allow spending for direct payments to lenders, grants to borrowers (for down payments, closing costs, appraisals, and title insurance), outreach, technical assistance, and administrative work for reporting and evaluation. The required annual reports must analyze risks to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.