I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7113 
To preserve neighborhoods by permitting units of local government to pur-
chase from the Secretary of the Treasury certain mortgages secured 
by vacant and deteriorating real property held by persons who are not 
less than 120 days in default in repaying the mortgage debts. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 26, 2008 
Mr. TURNER (for himself and Mr. GERLACH) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To preserve neighborhoods by permitting units of local gov-
ernment to purchase from the Secretary of the Treasury 
certain mortgages secured by vacant and deteriorating 
real property held by persons who are not less than 
120 days in default in repaying the mortgage debts. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preserve Our Neigh-
borhoods Act of 2008’’. 
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SEC. 2. PURCHASE OF DEFAULTED MORTGAGES BY UNITS 
OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
An eligible unit of local government may purchase 
from the Secretary of the Treasury a group of not fewer 
than 25 available mortgages each of which is secured by 
real property with respect to which such unit of local gov-
ernment— 
(1) certifies in good faith to the satisfaction of 
the Secretary (in such form as the Secretary may re-
quire by rule) that each particular parcel of real 
property— 
(A) is located in the geographical area 
under the jurisdiction of such unit of local gov-
ernment, 
(B) has been vacant for a continuous pe-
riod of not less than 120 days, 
(C) secures a debt with respect to which 
the payor is then in default for a continuous pe-
riod of not less than 120 days, 
(D) is in a physical condition that renders 
the property uninhabitable, 
(E) is a blighting influence in the neigh-
borhood in which such parcel is located, and 
(F) could only be repaired to bring the 
property into compliance with the applicable 
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building code at a cost that exceeds the current 
value of the property, and 
(2) pays to the Secretary $1 for each mortgage 
held by the Secretary applicable to such parcel. 
SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF MORTGAGES AVAILABLE FOR 
PURCHASE; 
AUTHORITY 
TO 
SELL 
MORT-
GAGES. 
(a) PUBLICATION REQUIRED.—At 90-day intervals 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall make available to the pub-
lic by publication, a list of all parcels of real estate, identi-
fied by specific address, then available for purchase under 
this Act. 
(b) AUTHORITY TO SELL MORTGAGES.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the Secretary of the 
Treasury is hereby authorized to sell mortgages in accord-
ance with this Act. 
SEC. 4. HISTORICAL PRESERVATION. 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(16 U.S.C. 470f) shall apply with respect to the rights 
acquired by units of local government in property as a re-
sult of the foreclosure of mortgages purchased under sec-
tion 2. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act— 
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(1) the term ‘‘available mortgage’’ means a 
mortgage held by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
with respect to which no other person or govern-
mental entity has made a purchase offer that is 
pending before the Secretary, and 
(2) the term ‘‘eligible’’ means with respect to a 
unit of local government, that the poverty rate in the 
geographical area under the jurisdiction of such unit 
of local government is not less than 20 percent, as 
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury based 
on the most recent data then available from the Bu-
reau of the Census. 
Æ 
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