Ch. 220                                           LAWS OF MARYLAND

Mortgage Assistance Program and transferring provisions,
with modifications, relating to emergency mortgage
assistance into the new Maryland Home Financing Program;
requiring the Department to adopt certain policies, annually
set upper income limits, periodically set appropriate
interest rates and terms, and adopt regulations for the
Maryland Home Financing Program; establishing qualification
requirements for loan applicants under the Maryland Home
Financing Program; authorizing the Department to set terms
for each loan under the Maryland Home Financing Program
including acceleration and deferral terms under certain
conditions; establishing maximum loan amounts for different
types of loans made under the Maryland Home Financing
Program; authorizing the Department to make adjustable
interest rate mortgages and to reserve funds under the
Maryland Home Financing Program for developers of housing
affordable to limited income households; authorizing the
Department to contract for certain services, to purchase and
commit to purchase notes or mortgages that evidence mortgage
loans under the Maryland Home Financing Program, and to have
certain powers with respect to mortgaged property in default
without approval by the Board of Public Works; specifying
the sources of moneys and establishing certain requirements
with respect to the Homeownership Programs Fund and
permitting the transfer of moneys to certain funds upon
certain conditions; establishing certain penalties;
transferring to a separate subtitle provisions relating to
loans to finance group homes; establishing a Group Home
Financing Program in the Department of Housing and Community
Development for the purpose of providing loans for the
acquisition, construction, and modification of buildings to
provide group homes for low income, elderly, handicapped,
disabled, and other citizens of the State with special
housing needs; requiring the Department to administer the
Group Home Financing Program, adopt certain policies and
regulations, and establish certain guidelines; requiring
loans to be secured by a mortgage lien; requiring that loans
provide for repayment of all principal and interest and some
form of equity participation; allowing for deferred payment
of principal and interest and interest rates as low as zero
percent in exceptional circumstances; specifying the costs
which may be financed with a loan and permitting the
Department to establish standards of eligibility, loan fees,
maximum loan amounts, and a process for selecting group
homes to be financed that promotes a statewide distribution
of funds; specifying the source of moneys and certain
requirements relating to the Group Home Financing Program;
removing provisions relating to the Settlement Expense Loan
Fund; making certain provisions of this Act subject to
certain contingencies; and generally relating to the
Maryland Home Financing Program, the Group Home Financing
Program, the Settlement Expense Loan Program, and the
Homeownership Programs Fund.

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