Pennsylvania Code › Title 12 - COMMERCE, TRADE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT › Part I - General Administration › Subpart D - Housing Finance Agency › Chapter 31 - HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY › Subchapter B - POLICY STATEMENT ON HOMEOWNER'S EMERGENCY MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM › Section 31.203 - Notice; application procedures

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) Before a mortgagee accelerates the
					 maturity of a mortgage obligation, commences legal action including mortgage
					 foreclosure to recover under the obligation or takes possession of a security
					 of the mortgage debtor for the mortgage obligation, the mortgagee is required
					 to give notice in accordance with the guidance and form set forth in Appendix A
					 and subject to the following requirements:
(1) The notice is comprised of a one-page
					 English language version with a Spanish language version on the reverse side.
					 Following is an Account Summary which shall be completed by the mortgagee and
					 which must contain all relevant account and default information. The form of
					 notice is set forth in Appendix A. The form in Appendix A includes embedded
					 instructions on format and fonts, which mortgagees should not include in final
					 prepared notices to homeowners. The form in Appendix A may be available in
					 downloadable form on the Agency's web site at
www.phfa.org
.
(2) Except for the entry of the date at the
					 top of each page and the entry of the relevant homeowner account information on
					 the Account Summary, the notice shall be sent without modification or
					 alteration of its form or substance. The notice may not appear on company
					 letterhead. Other changes including formatting changes to font or type size or
					 the alteration of language contained in the body of the notice are not
					 permitted.
(3) The portion of the
					 notice entitled Account Summary may be amended to include the relevant
					 homeowner's complete account information only. The mortgagee may increase or
					 decrease the height of cells within the table to accommodate the homeowner
					 account information specifically indicated. In no circumstance may a mortgagee
					 add or remove any additional fields or cells. Fields that do not apply to a
					 homeowner's account shall be filled "Not Applicable" or "N/A."
(4) Each notice must include the English and
					 Spanish language versions set forth in Appendix A, with the Spanish language
					 version appearing on the reverse side of the English language version. In
					 addition to the required mailing of the English and Spanish versions set forth
					 in Appendix A, mortgagees are encouraged to send other translated versions of
					 the first page of the notice when reasonably necessary. Several alternative
					 language versions of the notice are available on the Agency's web site at
www.phfa.org
. Mortgagees are also encouraged
					 to ensure information is available to homeowners who have limited English
					 proficiency. Mortgagees are reminded that they are required to provide
					 accommodations for persons with disabilities as may be required by
					 law.
(5) Each notice must include
					 the list of consumer credit counseling agencies as updated periodically on the
					 Agency's web site at
www.phfa.org
. While this
					 list of counseling agencies will be continuously available on the Agency's web
					 site, a schedule of maintenance updates to the list will be provided by the
					 Agency on an annual basis in the
Pennsylvania Bulletin
. It is
					 the Agency's intention that the annual notice be provided to the industry to
					 reflect new addresses, updates in contact information and other timely
					 adjustments to the list. Mortgagees are expected to check the Agency's web site
					 on the scheduled dates to ensure they are providing the most current counseling
					 agency contact information in the notice. Counseling agencies shall provide the
					 Agency with any updates to mailing addresses, phone numbers and any other
					 pertinent updates as these changes occur.
(6) The notice shall be sent:
(i) By first class mail to the last known
					 address of all homeowners and, if different, the residence which is the subject
					 of the mortgage.
(ii) By registered
					 or certified mail.
(iii) Without
					 any other information or materials.
(iv) If using a window mailing envelope, with
					 either of the following:
(A) An addressed
					 single sheet of plain, white paper.
(B) A mailing insert containing either the
					 last known address of the homeowner or the residence which is the subject of
					 the mortgage.
(7) The notice should be sent at the point
					 the homeowner is at least 60 days contractually delinquent in his mortgage
					 payments or is in violation of other provisions of the mortgage. When the
					 original mortgagor is deceased, mortgagees are encouraged to send the notice to
					 the mortgaged premises at the point that mortgage payments are at least 60 days
					 contractually delinquent.
(8) A
					 mortgagee is not required to send the notice required by this subchapter
					 (unless the homeowner has cured his mortgage delinquency, by means of a
					 mortgage assistance loan or otherwise) as follows:
(i) To homeowners who do not qualify for
					 mortgage assistance under §
													31.202(a), (b) or
					 (c) (relating to eligibility for mortgage
					 loan assistance).
(ii) To
					 homeowners who are more than 24 months delinquent or in default for more than
					 24 months under the terms of the mortgage.
(iii) If the aggregate amount of arrearages
					 due to a mortgagee pursuant to the terms of the mortgage, without regard to any
					 acceleration under the mortgage including the amount of principal, interest,
					 taxes, assessments, ground rents, hazard insurance, any mortgage insurance or
					 credit insurance premiums, exceeds the sum of $60,000.
(iv) To a homeowner who has already been sent
					 the notice and who did not apply for a mortgage assistance loan, or who applied
					 for a mortgage assistance loan but whose application was denied, or whose
					 mortgage assistance disbursements were terminated by the Agency for any
					 reason.
(9) Unless the
					 homeowner has cured his mortgage delinquency, by means of a mortgage assistance
					 loan or otherwise, receipt of partial payments of arrears from the homeowner,
					 subsequent to the sending of the notice, does not mean that the mortgagee shall
					 send a new notice to the homeowner prior to legal action being taken to enforce
					 the mortgage.
(10) A notice sent to
					 the homeowner, while the homeowner was in bankruptcy, shall be valid and no new
					 notice need be provided as a result of any discharge or dismissal of the
					 bankruptcy petition or relief from the automatic stay.
(11) A notice sent under this subchapter, in
					 the form prescribed in Appendix A, shall be instead of any other notice
					 required by State law. If notice is not required to be sent under this
					 subchapter, the mortgagee may still be required to send the 30-day notice
					 required by the act of January 30, 1974 (P.L. 13, No. 6) (41 P.S. §§
													101-605), known as the Usury
					 Law.