Title: FHA In-Person Servicing Improvement Act of 2017
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
FHA In-Person Servicing Improvement Act of 2017
This bill directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to carry out a pilot program to use authority under the National Housing Act to pay insurance benefits to compensate a mortgagee for any costs of taking loss mitigation actions providing an alternative to foreclosure of a mortgage in default or facing imminent default.
HUD must make payments to a qualified entity or entities to compensate for their costs of making in-person contact with mortgagors whose payments under covered mortgages are more than 60 days past due.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 125 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 125

 To authorize a pilot program to improve asset recovery levels, asset 
  management, and homeownership retention with respect to delinquent 
   single-family mortgages insured under the FHA mortgage insurance 
 programs by providing for in-person contact outreach activities with 
        mortgagors under such mortgages, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2017

Mr. Al Green of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize a pilot program to improve asset recovery levels, asset 
  management, and homeownership retention with respect to delinquent 
   single-family mortgages insured under the FHA mortgage insurance 
 programs by providing for in-person contact outreach activities with 
        mortgagors under such mortgages, 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 ``FHA In-Person Servicing Improvement 
Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Authority.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall carry out a pilot program under this section to use the authority 
under section 204(a)(2) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
1710(a)(2)) to make payments to a qualified entity or entities to 
compensate for their costs of making in-person contact with mortgagors 
whose payments under covered mortgages are more than 60 days past due, 
for the purpose of--
            (1) identifying mortgagors eligible for loan modifications 
        or refinances and providing packages to the mortgagee for such 
        purposes;
            (2) identifying mortgagers not eligible for a loan 
        modification or refinance but willing to engage in pre-
        foreclosure sales or deeds in lieu of foreclosure, and 
        providing information to the mortgagee in order to facilitate 
        such actions;
            (3) identifying whether a home's current occupant is the 
        mortgagor or a renter, and if not occupied, taking steps to 
        locate and make contact with the mortgagor;
            (4) providing information to the Secretary and the 
        mortgagee regarding the condition of the home, in order to 
        facilitate any actions needed to prevent the deterioration and 
        loss of value of the home and assist the Department more 
        generally in its asset management responsibilities; and
            (5) providing all relevant information on mortgagors and 
        homes to the mortgagee on the loan and the Secretary in a 
        format, approved by the Secretary, which helps improve asset 
        management and maximize asset recovery of these delinquent 
        loans.
    (b) Qualified Entities.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``qualified entity'' means a single entity or a consortia or 
partnership of entities that--
            (1) have experience in carrying out the activities 
        identified in subsection (a);
            (2) are not affiliated with the mortgagor under any of the 
        covered mortgages for which it is authorized to carry out 
        actions under the pilot program under this section; and
            (3) comply with all relevant State and Federal laws.
    (c) Selection of a Qualified Entity or Entities.--
            (1) Scope.--The Secretary shall have the discretion to 
        select qualified entities to participate in the pilot program 
        under this section.
            (2) Criteria.--Such selection shall be based on the 
        qualifications and experience of the entity or entities to 
        carry out the specific activities identified in subsection (a), 
        including the level of infrastructure capability in reporting 
        detailed information on the mortgage loan, underlying property, 
        and the mortgagor.
            (3) Participating loans.--The Secretary shall make 
        available not less than 50,000 and not more than 100,000 loans 
        that meet the delinquency criteria of subsection (a) for this 
        pilot program.
            (4) Timing.--The Secretary shall select the qualified 
        entity and entities and make available loans under the pilot 
        for their performance within 90 days of the enactment of the 
        Act.
    (d) Payments.--Payments to the entity or entities selected to carry 
out the pilot program under this section may be based on--
            (1) a flat amount per covered mortgage;
            (2) a performance success basis based on--
                    (A) completed packages; or
                    (B) completed loan modifications, pre-foreclosure 
                sales, and deeds in lieu of foreclosure; or
            (3) a combination of the methods under paragraphs (1) and 
        (2).
    (e) Prohibition on Fees.--Entities selected to participate in the 
pilot program under this section may not charge any fees or require any 
payments, directly or indirectly, from the mortgagor or the mortgagee 
of a covered mortgage in connection any activities under the program.
    (f) HUD Review and Reporting.--The Secretary shall publish periodic 
updates on the status of the pilot program under this section, 
commencing not later than 30 days after the completion of actions under 
subsections (c)(1) and (c)(3), and thereafter not less often than every 
90 days until termination of the pilot program under subsection (h). 
Not later than 60 days after termination of the pilot program, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Congress and make publicly available a 
final report on the pilot program, including information and analysis 
of performance characteristics, which may include comparisons of 
estimated asset recovery levels under the pilot program compared to 
comparable loans not included in the pilot and loans that have gone 
through loan sales.
    (g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
            (1) Covered mortgage.--The term ``covered mortgage'' means 
        a mortgage on a 1- to 4-family residence insured under 
        subsection (b) or (k) of section 203, section 234(c), or 251 of 
        the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1709 (b) or (k), 1715y(c), 
        1715z-16).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
    (h) Termination.--The Secretary may not make any payments under the 
pilot program under this section to any qualified entity for any in-
person contact with a mortgagor that occurs after the expiration of the 
24-month period beginning upon the completion of the actions under 
subsections (c)(1) and (c)(3).
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