Title: Fast Help For Homeowners Act
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Fast Help For Homeowners Act
This bill requires a subordinate lien holder on a property that secures a federally related mortgage loan to respond within a specified time frame to a request for a short sale of the property.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5237 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5237

   To require the holder of a subordinate lien on the property that 
   secures a federally related mortgage loan, upon a request by the 
homeowner for a short sale, to make a timely decision whether to allow 
                               the sale.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 2018

Mr. McNerney (for himself and Mr. Jones) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the holder of a subordinate lien on the property that 
   secures a federally related mortgage loan, upon a request by the 
homeowner for a short sale, to make a timely decision whether to allow 
                               the sale.

    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 ``Fast Help For Homeowners Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR PROMPT DECISION.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 
1631 et seq.) is amended by inserting before section 130 (15 U.S.C. 
1640) the following new section:

``SEC. 129I. PROMPT DECISIONMAKING REGARDING SHORT SALE.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than the end of the 10-calendar-day 
period beginning on the date of receipt of a written request from a 
mortgagor of a federally related mortgage loan that meets the 
requirements of subsection (c), a servicer shall--
            ``(1) notify in writing each holder of a subordinate lien 
        on the residential real property that secures such loan of such 
        request; and
            ``(2) submit to each such holder a copy of such request.
    ``(b) Timely Response to Servicer Notification Required.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Timely response required.--Except as provided 
                in subsection (d) and notwithstanding any other 
                provision of law or of any contract, including a 
                contract between a servicer of a federally related 
                mortgage loan and a securitization vehicle or other 
                investment vehicle, a holder of a subordinate lien that 
                is notified by a servicer under subsection (a) shall 
                respond in writing to such servicer not later than the 
                end of the 30-calendar-day period beginning on the date 
                of receipt of such notification.
                    ``(B) Failure to respond.--If the holder of a 
                subordinate lien that is notified by a servicer under 
                subsection (a) does not respond within the 30-calendar-
                day period described in subparagraph (A), the request 
                from a mortgagor described in subsection (a) shall be 
                considered to have been approved by the such holder.
            ``(2) Content.--A written response by such holder under 
        subsection (a) shall specify a decision on whether the request 
        described in such subsection has been denied, approved, or that 
        such request has been approved subject to specified changes.
    ``(c) Mortgagor Submission.--Subsection (a) shall apply in any case 
in which the mortgagor of a federally related mortgage loan submits to 
the servicer thereof--
            ``(1) a written offer for a short sale of the dwelling or 
        residential real property that is subject to a mortgage, deed 
        of trust, or other security interest that secures the mortgage 
        loan; and
            ``(2) all information required by the servicer in 
        connection with such a request (including a copy of an executed 
        contract between the owner of the dwelling or property and the 
        prospective buyer that is subject to approval by the servicer).
    ``(d) Inapplicability to Certain Existing Mortgages.--This section 
shall not apply to any federally related mortgage loan with respect to 
which the mortgagor and the mortgagee or servicer have entered into a 
written agreement before the date of the enactment of the Fast Help For 
Homeowners Act explicitly providing a procedure or terms for approval 
of a short sale.
    ``(e) Treatment of Other Time Limits.--This section may not be 
construed to preempt, annul, or otherwise affect any other provision of 
law or of any contract or program that provides a shorter period than 
is provided under subsection (b) for a decision to be made by a holder 
of a subordinate lien described in subsection (a)(1) regarding a short 
sale.
    ``(f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
            ``(1) Federally related mortgage loan.--The term `federally 
        related mortgage loan' has the same meaning as is given in 
        section 3 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 
        (12 U.S.C. 2602).
            ``(2) Securitization vehicle.--The term `securitization 
        vehicle' means a trust, special purpose entity, or other legal 
        structure that is used to facilitate the issuing of securities, 
        participation certificates, or similar instruments backed by or 
        referring to a pool of assets that includes federally related 
        mortgage loans (or instruments that are related to federally 
        related mortgage loans, such as credit-linked notes).
            ``(3) Servicer.--The term `servicer' has the same meaning 
        as in section 129A, except that such term includes a person who 
        makes or holds a federally related mortgage loan (including a 
        pool of federally related mortgage loans), if such person also 
        services the loan.
            ``(4) Short sale.--The term `short sale' means the sale of 
        the dwelling or residential real property that is subject to 
        the mortgage, deed or trust, or other security interest that 
        secures a federally related mortgage loan that--
                    ``(A) will result in proceeds in an amount that is 
                less than the remaining amount due under the mortgage 
                loan; and
                    ``(B) requires authorization by the securitization 
                vehicle or other investment vehicle or holder of the 
                mortgage loan, or the servicer acting on behalf of such 
                a vehicle or holder.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to any written request for a short sale made after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
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