34 C.F.R. § 682.405 Loan rehabilitation agreement.
Title 34 - Education
Link to an amendment published at 71 FR 45707, Aug. 9, 2006. (a) General. (1) A guaranty agency that has a basic program agreement must enter into a loan rehabilitation agreement with the Secretary. The guaranty agency must establish a loan rehabilitation program for all borrowers with an enforceable promissory note for the purpose of rehabilitating defaulted loans, except for loans for which a judgment has been obtained, so that the loan may be purchased, if practicable, by an eligible lender and removed from default status. (2) A loan is considered to be rehabilitated only after the borrower has made one voluntary reasonable and affordable full payment each month and the payment is received by a guaranty agency or its agent within 15 days of the scheduled due date for 12 consecutive months in accordance with this section, and the loan has been sold to an eligible lender. (3) After the loan has been rehabilitated, the borrower regains all benefits of the program, including any remaining deferment eligibility under section 428(b)(1)(M) of the Act, from the date of the rehabilitation. (b) Terms of agreement. In the loan rehabilitation agreement, the guaranty agency agrees to ensure that its loan rehabilitation program meets the following requirements at all times: (1) A borrower may request the rehabilitation of the borrower's defaulted FFEL loan held by the guaranty agency. The borrower must make one on-time voluntary full payment each month for 12 consecutive months to be eligible to have the defaulted loans rehabilitated. For purposes of this section, “full payment” means a reasonable and affordable payment agreed to by the borrower and the agency. The required amount of such monthly payment may be no more than is reasonable and affordable based upon the borrower's total financial circumstances. Voluntary payments are those made directly by the borrower, and do not include payments obtained by Federal offset, garnishment, income or asset execution, or after a judgment has been entered on a loan. A guaranty agency must attempt to secure a lender to purchase the loan at the end of the twelve-(12-)month payment period. (i) For purposes of this section, the determination of reasonable and affordable must— (A) Include a consideration of the borrower's and spouse's disposable income and reasonable and necessary expenses including, but not limited to, housing, utilities, food, medical costs, work-related expenses, dependent care costs and other Title IV repayment; (B) Not be a required minimum payment amount, e.g. $50, if the agency determines that a smaller amount is reasonable and affordable based on the borrower's total financial circumstances. The agency must include documentation in the borrower's file of the basis for the determination if the monthly reasonable and affordable payment established under this section is less than $50.00 or the monthly accrued interest on the loan, whichever is greater. However, $50.00 may not be the minimum payment for a borrower if the agency determines that a smaller amount is reasonable and affordable; and (C) Be based on the documentation provided by the borrower or other sources including, but not be limited to— (1) Evidence of current income (e.g., proof of welfare benefits, Social Security benefits, child support, veterans' benefits, Supplemental Security Income, Workmen's Compensation, two most recent pay stubs, most recent copy of U.S. income tax return, State Department of Labor reports); (2) Evidence of current expenses (e.g., a copy of the borrower's monthly household budget, on a form provided by the guaranty agency); and (3) A statement of the unpaid balance on all FFEL loans held by other holders. (ii) The agency must include any payment made under §682.401(b)(4) in determining whether the 12 consecutive payments required under paragraph (b)(1) of this section have been made. (iii) A borrower may request that the monthly payment amount be adjusted due to a change in the borrower's total financial circumstances only upon providing the documentation specified in paragraph (b)(1)(i)(C) of this section. (iv) A guaranty agency must provide the borrower with a written statement confirming the borrower's reasonable and affordable payment amount, as determined by the agency, and explaining any other terms and conditions applicable to the required series of payments that must be made before a borrower's account can be considered for repurchase by an eligible lender. The statement must inform borrowers of the effects of having their loans rehabilitated (e.g. credit clearing, possibility of increased monthly payments). The statement must inform the borrower of the amount of the collection costs to be added to the unpaid principal at the time of the sale. The collection costs may not exceed 18.5 percent of the unpaid principal and accrued interest at the time of the sale. (v) A guaranty agency must provide the borrower with an opportunity to object to terms of the rehabilitation of the borrower's defaulted loan. (2) The guaranty agency must report to all national credit bureaus within 90 days of the date the loan was rehabilitated that the loan is no longer in a default status and that the default is to be removed from the borrower's credit history. (3) An eligible lender purchasing a rehabilitated loan must establish a repayment schedule that meets the same requirements that are applicable to other FFEL Program loans made under the same loan type and provides for the borrower to make monthly payments at least as great as the average of the 12 consecutive monthly payments received by the guaranty agency. The lender must treat the first payment made under the 12 consecutive payments as the first payment under the applicable maximum repayment term, as defined under §682.209(a) or (h). For Consolidation loans, the maximum repayment term is based on the balance outstanding at the time of loan rehabilitation. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1078–6) [59 FR 33355, June 28, 1994, as amended at 60 FR 30788, June 12, 1995; 64 FR 18980, Apr. 16, 1999; 64 FR 58965, Nov. 1, 1999; 66 FR 34764, June 29, 2001; 67 FR 67080, Nov. 1, 2002; 68 FR 75429, Dec. 31, 2003]
Title 34: Education
PART 682—FEDERAL FAMILY EDUCATION LOAN (FFEL) PROGRAM
Subpart D—Administration of the Federal Family Education Loan Programs by a Guaranty Agency
§ 682.405 Loan rehabilitation agreement.
