Government Affairs News

The Housing Stimulus Bill

Summary of Key Provisions of H.R. 3221 -(as of 8/22/08)

H.R. 3221, the “Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008,” passed the House on July 23, 2008, by a vote of 272-152. On Saturday, July 26, 2008, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 72-13. The President signed the bill on July 30, 2008. The bill includes the following provisions:

GSE Reform – including a strong independent regulator, and permanent conforming loan limits up to the greater of $417,000 or 115% local area median home price, capped at $625,500. The effective date for reforms is immediate upon enactment, but the loan limits will not go into effect until the expiration of the Economic Stimulus limits (December 31, 2008).

FHA Reform – including permanent FHA loan limits at the greater of $271,050 or 115% of local area median home price, capped at $625,500; streamlined processing for FHA condos; reforms to the HECM program, and reforms to the FHA manufactured housing program. The downpayment requirement on FHA loans will go up to 3.5% (from 3%). The effective date for reforms is immediate upon enactment, but the loan limits will not go into effect until the expiration of the Economic Stimulus limits (December 31, 2008).

Homebuyer Tax Credit - a $7500 tax credit that would be would be available for any qualified purchase between April 9, 2008 and June 30, 2009. The credit is repayable over 15 years (making it, in effect, an interest free loan).

Additional Property Tax Deduction – HERA provides a one-year benefit that will be available to all homeowners. Under current law, property taxes are deductible only if an individual itemizes his/her deductions on Schedule A of their tax return. The new provision will permit a deduction of up to $500 ($1000 on a joint return) for all individuals who utilize the standard deduction and do not itemize. Instructions will be provided on the 2008 tax return when it is distributed at year-end.

FHA foreclosure rescue – development of a refinance program for homebuyers with problematic subprime loans. Lenders would write down qualified mortgages to 90% of the current appraised value and qualified borrowers would get a new FHA 30-year fixed mortgage at 90% of appraised value. Borrowers would have to share 50% of all future appreciation with FHA. The loan limit for this program is $550,440 nationwide. Program is effective on October 1, 2008.

Seller-funded downpayment assistance programs – codifies existing FHA proposal to prohibit the use of downpayment assistance programs funded by those who have a financial interest in the sale; does not prohibit other assistance programs provided by nonprofits funded by other sources, churches, employers, or family members. This prohibition does not go into effect until October 1, 2008.

VA loan limits – temporarily increases the VA home loan guarantee loan limits to the same level as the Economic Stimulus limits through December 31, 2008.

Risk-based pricing – puts a moratorium on FHA using risk-based pricing for one year. This provision is effective from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009.

GSE Stabilization – includes language proposed by the Treasury Department to authorize Treasury to make loans to and buy stock from the GSEs to make sure that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae could not fail.

Mortgage Revenue Bond Authority – authorizes $10 billion in mortgage revenue bonds for refinancing subprime mortgages.

National Affordable Housing Trust Fund – Develops a Trust Fund funded by a percentage of profits from the GSEs. In its first years, the Trust Fund would cover costs of any defaulted loans in FHA foreclosure program. In out years, the Trust Fund would be used for the development of affordable housing.

CDBG Funding – Provides $4 billion in neighborhood revitalization funds for communities to purchase foreclosed homes.

LIHTC – Modernizes the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program to make it more efficient.

Loan Originator Requirements – Strengthens the existing state-run nationwide mortgage originator licensing and registration system (and requires a parallel HUD system for states that fail to participate). Federal bank regulators will establish a parallel registration system for FDIC-insured banks. The purpose is to prevent fraud and require minimum licensing and education requirements. The bill exempts those who only perform real estate brokerage activities and are licensed or registered by a state, unless they are compensated by a lender, mortgage broker, or other loan originator.

Modification of $250,000/$500,000 Exclusion – The sole real-estated related "pay-for" among the tax incentives modifies the $250,000/$500,000 exclusion of gain on the sale of a principal residence. Beginning in 2009, the exclusion, as it applies to a second home (or rental property) that is converted to a principal residence will be allocated. When the second home is sold, any gain attributable to use as a second home (or rental property) will be taxed at capital gains rates. Any gain attributable to use as a principal residence will remain excludable, up to the $250,000 and $500,000 limits. A formula is provided for computing the proper treatment of these gains.

FHA and GSE Maximum Loan Limits for Maryland Counties

Final Bill Signing by Governor

Governor Signs MAR Record Keeping Bill

New GSE Appraisal Code

The National Association of REALTORS® issued a statement on April 29, 2008 expressing concern over the implementation of the “New Home Valuation Protection Code (NHVPC)” created by the “Independent Valuation Protection Institute.”

The NHVPC was proposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in response to a lawsuit brought by the New York State Attorney General. The Code will establish standards regarding conflicts of interest in the appraisal industry, and will cover everything from compensation to solicitation.

Starting January 1, 2009, Fannie and Freddie have agreed not to purchase any loan from lenders if the appraisal fails to meet the NHVPC.

Summary of HB 1253 Amending the Critical Areas Law

Effective July 1, 2008 subject to the different grandfathering dates.

Amends the Critical Areas and Coastal Bay laws to provide the Critical Areas Commission (Commission) with greater regulatory oversight for more uniform enforcement/protection of critical areas and coastal bays. The legislation was significantly scaled back by the General Assembly. As passed, it would give the Commission greater regulatory authority over the standards used to regulate activity in the Critical Areas, including management of the buffer, mapping, growth allocations, and variances. However, the local county commissions would still enforce the program as under current law.

The legislation makes contractors liable for violations of the critical areas and coastal bays law based on the actions of the contractor. Under the old law, the home improvement commission had difficulty taking action against a contractor for such a violation. The new law gives the Home Improvement Commission clear authority to act on such violations. Additionally, the legislation adopted more uniform enforcement measures. While some counties already adopted such enforcement measures, others had not. The legislation makes clear that the current maximum penalties apply daily. It also makes clear that some alleged violators face additional fine limits for after-the-fact variances if the person challenges the Commission’s action and loses.

The legislation sets a more uniform definition of what constitutes unpermitted lot coverage. Though the new definition will not affect how some counties determine lot coverage, it will likely limit some other counties where items such as permeable pavers, shell and gravel were considered permitted, impervious surfaces. As for the definition of lot coverage, the legislation grandfathers existing lots as of July 1, 2008, and applies the current, local calculation of lot coverage to building permits applied for before July 1, 2008 which commence construction and have an inspection before July 1, 2009.

The legislation changes the 100 foot buffer for new subdivisions in a Resource Conservation Areas (RCAs are the most restrictive land classification under the law) to 200 feet unless the increase in the buffer area would reduce the overall density of 1 per 20 acreas permitted in an RCA. The legislation grandfathers projects from the increased buffer requirement if the projects apply for a subdivision approval before July 1, 2008 and are legally recorded before July 2010. The legislation also grandfathers intra-family transfers from the new buffer requirements as long as the transfer complies with existing requirements for intra-family transfers. Existing lots are not subject to the increased buffer requirement, nor are future lots in either Intensely Developed Areas (IDAs) or Limited Development Areas (LDAs).

Finally, the legislation creates a presumption that a landowner can construct a soft shoreline, unless the landowner and their contractor show that a soft shoreline is not feasible. The legislation makes clear that the presumption would not apply to areas mapped as inappropriate for soft shorelines.

Governor Signs Real Estate Bills into Law

On April 24, the Governor signed a number of real estate related bills into law, including measures that would: permit different delivery methods of pre-licensing courses; increase the enforcement powers of the Real Estate Commission; and reform the Critical Areas Law. Click below to see summaries of each of the bills.

Foreclosure Law: Questions and Answers for Real Estate Agents

Governor O'Malley Signs Emergency Legislation to Protect Homeownership

A Victory for Housing Affordability and a Preview of the 2008 Maryland General Assembly