16 U.S.C. § 470d : US Code - Section 470D: Loan insurance program for preservation of property included on National Register

Search 16 U.S.C. § 470d : US Code - Section 470D: Loan insurance program for preservation of property included on National Register

(a) Establishment
The Secretary shall establish and maintain a program by which he
may, upon application of a private lender, insure loans (including
loans made in accordance with a mortgage) made by such lender to
finance any project for the preservation of a property included on
the National Register.
(b) Loan qualifications
A loan may be insured under this section only if -
(1) the loan is made by a private lender approved by the
Secretary as financially sound and able to service the loan
properly;
(2) the amount of the loan, and interest rate charged with
respect to the loan, do not exceed such amount, and such a rate,
as is established by the Secretary, by rule;
(3) the Secretary has consulted the appropriate State Historic
Preservation Officer concerning the preservation of the historic
property;
(4) the Secretary has determined that the loan is adequately
secured and there is reasonable assurance of repayment;
(5) the repayment period of the loan does not exceed the lesser
of forty years or the expected life of the asset financed;
(6) the amount insured with respect to such loan does not
exceed 90 per centum of the loss sustained by the lender with
respect to the loan; and
(7) the loan, the borrower, and the historic property to be
preserved meet other terms and conditions as may be prescribed by
the Secretary, by rule, especially terms and conditions relating
to the nature and quality of the preservation work.
The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the Treasury
regarding the interest rate of loans insured under this section.
(c) Limitation on amount of unpaid principal balance of loans
The aggregate unpaid principal balance of loans insured under
this section and outstanding at any one time may not exceed the
amount which has been covered into the Historic Preservation Fund
pursuant to section 470h of this title and subsections (g) and (i)
of this section, as in effect on December 12, 1980, but which has
not been appropriated for any purpose.
(d) Assignability of insurance contracts; contract as obligation of
United States; contestability
Any contract of insurance executed by the Secretary under this
section may be assignable, shall be an obligation supported by the
full faith and credit of the United States, and shall be
incontestable except for fraud or misrepresentation of which the
holder had actual knowledge at the time it became a holder.
(e) Conditions and methods of payment as result of loss
The Secretary shall specify, by rule and in each contract entered
into under this section, the conditions and method of payment to a
private lender as a result of losses incurred by the lender on any
loan insured under this section.
(f) Protection of financial interests of Federal Government
In entering into any contract to insure a loan under this
section, the Secretary shall take steps to assure adequate
protection of the financial interests of the Federal Government.
The Secretary may -
(1) in connection with any foreclosure proceeding, obtain, on
behalf of the Federal Government, the property securing a loan
insured under this part; and
(2) operate or lease such property for such period as may be
necessary to protect the interest of the Federal Government and
to carry out subsection (g) of this section.
(g) Conveyance to governmental or nongovernmental entity of
property acquired by foreclosure
(1) In any case in which a historic property is obtained pursuant
to subsection (f) of this section, the Secretary shall attempt to
convey such property to any governmental or nongovernmental entity
under such conditions as will ensure the property's continued
preservation and use; except that if, after a reasonable time, the
Secretary, in consultation with the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation, determines that there is no feasible and prudent
means to convey such property and to ensure its continued
preservation and use, then the Secretary may convey the property at
the fair market value of its interest in such property to any
entity without restriction.
(2) Any funds obtained by the Secretary in connection with the
conveyance of any property pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
covered into the historic preservation fund, in addition to the
amounts covered into such fund pursuant to section 470h of this
title and subsection (i) of this section, and shall remain
available in such fund until appropriated by the Congress to carry
out the purposes of this subchapter.
(h) Assessment of fees in connection with loans
The Secretary may assess appropriate and reasonable fees in
connection with insuring loans under this section. Any such fees
shall be covered into the Historic Preservation Fund, in addition
to the amounts covered into such fund pursuant to section 470h of
this title and subsection (g) of this section, and shall remain
available in such fund until appropriated by the Congress to carry
out purposes of this subchapter.
(i) Treatment of loans as non-Federal funds
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any loan insured
under this section shall be treated as non-Federal funds for the
purposes of satisfying any requirement of any other provision of
law under which Federal funds to be used for any project or
activity are conditioned upon the use of non-Federal funds by the
recipient for payment of any portion of the costs of such project
or activity.
(j) Authorization of appropriations for payment of losses
Effective after the fiscal year 1981 there are authorized to be
appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to cover payments
incurred pursuant to subsection (e) of this section.
(k) Eligibility of debt obligation for purchase, etc., by Federal
Financing Bank
No debt obligation which is made or committed to be made, or
which is insured or committed to be insured, by the Secretary under
this section shall be eligible for purchase by, or commitment to
purchase by, or sale or issuance to, the Federal Financing Bank.