§ 1715x. — Experimental housing insurance.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 12USC1715x]
TITLE 12--BANKS AND BANKING
CHAPTER 13--NATIONAL HOUSING
SUBCHAPTER II--MORTGAGE INSURANCE
Sec. 1715x. Experimental housing insurance
(a) Purpose; authorization
(1) In order to assist in lowering housing costs and improving
housing standards, quality, livability, or durability or neighborhood
design through the utilization of advanced housing technology, or
experimental property standards, the Secretary is authorized to insure
and to make commitments to insure, under this section, mortgages
(including home improvement loans, and including advances on mortgages
during construction) secured by properties including dwellings involving
the utilization and testing of advanced technology in housing design,
materials, or construction, or experimental property standards for
neighborhood design if the Secretary determines that (A) the property is
an acceptable risk, giving consideration to the need for testing
advanced housing technology or experimental property standards, (B) the
utilization and testing of the advanced technology or experimental
property standards involved will provide data or experience which the
Secretary deems to be significant in reducing housing costs or improving
housing standards, quality, livability, or durability, or improving
neighborhood design, and (C) the mortgages are eligible for insurance
under the provisions of this section and under any further terms and
conditions which may be prescribed by the Secretary to establish the
acceptability of the mortgages for insurance.
(2) The Secretary is further authorized to insure and to make
commitments to insure, under this section, mortgages (including advances
on mortgages during construction) secured by properties in projects to
be carried out in accordance with plans approved by the Secretary under
section 1701z of this title.
(b) Eligibility for insurance; conditions; limits
To be eligible for insurance under this section, a mortgage shall
meet the requirements of one of the other sections or subchapters of
this chapter; except that, in lieu of determining the appraised value or
the replacement cost of the property in cases involving new construction
or the estimated cost of repair and rehabilitation of improvement in
cases involving existing properties, the Secretary shall estimate the
cost of replacing the property using comparable conventional design,
materials, and construction, and any limitation upon the maximum
mortgage amount available to a nonoccupant owner shall not, in the
discretion of the Secretary, be applicable to mortgages insured under
this section.
(c) Contracts, agreements, and financial undertakings with mortgagor
The Secretary may enter into such contracts, agreements, and
financial undertakings with the mortgagor and others as he deems
necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this section, and
may expend available funds for such purposes, including the correction
(when he determines it necessary to protect the occupants), at any time
subsequent to insurance of a mortgage, of defects or failures in the
dwellings which the Secretary finds are caused by or related to the
advanced housing technology utilized in their design or construction or
experimental property standards. Any authority which the Secretary may
exercise in connection with a mortgage, or property covered by a
mortgage, insured under any other section of this subchapter (including
payments to reduce rentals for, or to facilitate homeownership by, lower
income families) may be exercised in connection with a mortgage, or
property covered by a mortgage, meeting the requirements of such other
section (except as specified in subsection (b) of this section), which
is insured under this section to the same extent and in the same manner
as if the mortgage insured under this section was insured under such
other section.
(d) Investigations and analysis of data; publication and distribution of
reports
The Secretary may make such investigations and analyses of data, and
publish and distribute such reports, as he determines to be necessary or
desirable to assure the most beneficial use of the data and information
to be acquired as a result of this section.
(e) Entitlement to insurance benefits
Any mortgagee or lender under a mortgage insured under subsection
(b) of this section shall be entitled to insurance benefits determined
in the same manner as such benefits would be determined if such mortgage
or loan were insured under the section or subchapter of this chapter for
which it otherwise would have been eligible except for the experimental
feature of the property involved.
(f) Defaults; payment in cash or debentures; acquisition of mortgage
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (e) of this section, in
the case of default on any mortgage insured under this section, the
Secretary in his discretion, in accordance with such regulations as he
may prescribe, may make payments pursuant to such subsections in cash or
in debentures (as provided in the mortgage insurance contract), or may
acquire the mortgage loan and the security therefor upon payment to the
mortgagee in cash or in debentures (as provided in the mortgage
insurance contract) of a total amount equal to the unpaid principal
balance of the loan plus any accrued interest and any advances approved
by the Secretary made previously by the mortgagee under the provisions
of the mortgage. After the acquisition of the mortgage by the Secretary
the mortgagee shall have no further rights, liabilities, or obligations
with respect to the mortgage. The appropriate provisions of sections
1710 and 1713 of this title relating to the issuance of debentures shall
apply with respect to debentures issued under this subsection, and the
appropriate provisions of sections 1710 and 1713 of this title relating
to the rights, liabilities, and obligations of a mortgagee shall apply
with respect to the Secretary when he has acquired an insured mortgage
under this subsection, in accordance with and subject to regulations
(modifying such provisions to the extent necessary to render their
application for such purposes appropriate and effective) which shall be
prescribed by the Secretary, except that as applied to mortgages insured
under this section (1) all references in section 1710 of this title to
the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund or the Fund shall be construed to
refer to the General Insurance Fund, and (2) all references in section
1710 of this title to section 1709 of this title shall be construed to
refer to this section. If the insurance payment is made in cash, there
shall be added to such payment an amount equivalent to the interest
which the debentures would have earned, computed to a date to be
established pursuant to regulations issued by the Secretary.
(June 27, 1934, ch. 847, title II, Sec. 233, as added Pub. L. 87-70,
title I, Sec. 103, June 30, 1961, 75 Stat. 158; amended Pub. L. 88-560,
title I, Secs. 105(c)(1), 118, Sept. 2, 1964, 78 Stat. 772, 779; Pub. L.
89-117, title XI, Sec. 1108(n), Aug. 10, 1965, 79 Stat. 505; Pub. L. 90-
19, Sec. 1(a)(3), May 25, 1967, 81 Stat. 17; Pub. L. 90-448, title I,
Sec. 108(f), title III, Sec. 309, Aug. 1, 1968, 82 Stat. 496, 509.)
References in Text
The General Insurance Fund, referred to in subsec. (f), was
established by section 1735c of this title.
Amendments
1968--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 90-448, Sec. 108(f)(1), designated
existing provision as par. (1), redesignated cls. (1), (2), and (3) as
cls. (A), (B), and (C), respectively, and added par. (2).
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 90-448, Sec. 309(1), substituted ``one of the
other sections or subchapters of this chapter'' for ``one of the other
sections of this subchapter''.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 90-448, Sec. 108(f)(2), inserted sentence
providing that any authority which the Secretary may exercise in
connection with a mortgage, or property covered by a mortgage, insured
under any other section of this subchapter (including payments to reduce
rentals for, or to facilitate homeownership by, lower income families)
may be exercised in connection with a mortgage, or property covered by a
mortgage, meeting the requirements of such other section (except as
specified in subsec. (b)), which is insured under this section to the
same extent and in the same manner as if the mortgage insured under this
section was insured under such other section.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 90-448, Sec. 309(2), substituted ``the section
or subchapter of this chapter'' for ``the section of this subchapter''.
1967--Subsecs. (a) to (d), (f). Pub. L. 90-19 substituted
``Secretary'' for ``Commissioner'' wherever appearing.
1965--Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 89-117, Sec. 1108(n)(1), (2), substituted
``General Insurance Fund'' for ``Experimental Housing Insurance Fund''
and struck out provision that all references in section 1713 of this
title to the Housing Insurance Fund, the Housing Fund, or the Fund shall
be construed to refer to the Experimental Housing Insurance Fund.
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 89-117, Sec. 1108(n)(3), repealed subsec. (g)
which created the Experimental Housing Insurance Fund, provided for
transfer of funds thereto, and authorized the charging of expenses
thereto.
1964--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 88-560, Sec. 118(a), substituted ``home
improvement loans, and including advances on mortgages'' for ``, in the
case of mortgages insured under subsection (b)(2) of this section,
advances on such mortgages''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 88-560, Sec. 118(b), substituted provisions
which make insurance available for mortgages meeting the requirements of
any other sections of subchapter II of this chapter for provisions which
made insurance available for mortgages meeting the requirements of
section 1709(b) or 1713(b), (c) of this title and made the
Commissioner's estimate of replacement cost of the property applicable
to mortgages meeting the requirements of any section of subchapter II of
this chapter in lieu of determining the appraised value or the
replacement cost of the property in new construction or estimated cost
of repair and rehabilitation or improvement for existing properties.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 88-560, Sec. 118(c), substituted provision for
entitlement to insurance benefits determined in the same manner as such
benefits would be determined if such mortgage or loan were insured under
the section of this subchapter for which it otherwise would have been
eligible except for the experimental feature of the property involved
for former provision for entitlement to insurance benefits provided in
section 1710(a) of this title.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 88-560, Secs. 105(c)(1), 118(c), (d), added to
subsec. (g), redesignated (f), provision that ``If the insurance payment
is made in cash, there shall be added to such payment an amount
equivalent to the interest which the debentures would have earned,
computed to a date to be established pursuant to regulations issued by
the Commissioner'', deleted former provisions of subsec. (f) which
related to entitlement to insurance benefits provided in section 1713(g)
of this title, now covered by subsec. (e) of this section, and
redesignated former subsec. (g) as (f), substituting in first sentence
``subsection (e)'' for ``subsections (e) and (f)'', respectively.
Subsecs. (g), (h). Pub. L. 88-560, Sec. 118(d), redesignated subsec.
(h) as (g). Former subsec. (g) redesignated (f).
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1701z, 1713, 1715c, 1715o,
1715q, 1715r, 1715z-3, 1735c of this title.
