Title 4. Division of Development Finance — Subtitle 16. Residential Mortgage Programs for Certain Counties

a county that has adopted home rule powers under Article XI-F of the Maryland Constitution; or

Anne Arundel County, Calvert County, Frederick County, Howard County, or Washington County.

in many areas of covered counties, including areas that contain presently stable neighborhoods and middle class residential housing, families of low or moderate income cannot purchase, rehabilitate, or maintain decent, safe, and sanitary housing, and so do not have an opportunity for home ownership directly or through a condominium or cooperative;

the inability of families of low or moderate income under item (1) of this subsection is the result of continuing increases in:

the inability of families of low or moderate income to purchase and hold housing in covered counties results in the decline of new housing, the decay of existing housing and neighborhoods, and increased costs for welfare, police, and fire protection;

the decline in new housing construction and the decay of existing housing have produced a critical shortage of adequate housing, harming the economy of covered counties and the well-being of residents;

private enterprise cannot construct or rehabilitate adequate housing for families of low or moderate income without the assistance of a program; and

forcing families of low or moderate income to live in substandard housing is undesirable because it decreases the interest of the families in their communities and the maintenance of their property and their neighborhoods.

it will be hard for many residents in covered counties to find decent, safe, and sanitary housing unless housing is constructed or rehabilitated;

unless the supply of housing and the ability of families of low or moderate income to get mortgage financing are increased significantly and expeditiously, many residents of covered counties may have to live in unsanitary, overcrowded, or unsafe conditions to the detriment of the health, welfare, and well-being of these individuals and of the whole community of which they are a part; and

increasing the housing supply in covered counties and the ability of families of low or moderate income to get mortgage financing will:

a major cause of the housing crisis is a lack of:

the lack of money has frustrated the maintenance, sale, and purchase of existing housing in covered counties.

providing a supplemental source of single-family residential mortgage money for families of low or moderate income at a cost lower than otherwise prevailing for residential mortgages; and

stimulating a steady flow of money for residential housing for families of low or moderate income and for low and middle class residential housing to help maintain:

forward commitment mortgage purchase;

existing mortgage purchase;

loans to lenders;

revolving mortgage fund; or

any other means that the legislative body of the covered county considers appropriate.

the proposed program;

the amount of bonds to be issued;

the interest rate or rates that the bonds will bear or the method to determine the rate or rates; and

other provisions consistent with this subtitle that the legislative body considers appropriate to finance mortgage loans.

the appropriate ranges of income of families of low or moderate income;

the need for the financing that is allowed under this subtitle;

the types of housing available and needed in the covered county; and

other factors that the legislative body of the covered county finds appropriate to establish a program.

the time or times when interest is to be paid on the bonds;

the time or times when the bonds are to be executed, issued, and delivered;

the form, denomination, and tenor of the bonds;

the time or times when the principal of the bonds is to be paid, which may not be more than 40 years after the bonds are issued; and

the place or places where the bonds are to be paid.

a pledge of mortgages or notes secured by deeds of trust on any type of interest in real or other property, including the real property or other interests held by stock cooperatives or condominiums and their unit owners;

servicing agreements;

condemnation proceeds;

private, governmental, or other mortgage insurance proceeds;

casualty or special hazard insurance proceeds; or

any other security that the legislative body of the covered county finds appropriate.

the principal of a bond;

the transfer of, interest payable on, or income derived from a bond; and

profit made by the sale or transfer of a bond.

issue its bonds in coupon form; or

provide for registration of the bonds as to principal alone or principal and interest.

The bonds shall be signed by a commissioner or other chief executive officer of the covered county.

The seal of the covered county shall be affixed to the bond and attested to by the clerk or the officer exercising the functions of a clerk.

An officer’s signature or countersignature that appears on bonds or coupons is valid even if the officer leaves office before delivery of the bonds.

The bonds shall be sold at public or private sale on the terms that the legislative body of the covered county sets.

The bonds are not subject to §§ 19–205 and 19–206 of the Local Government Article.

The bonds and the interest on them shall be limited obligations of the covered county.

The principal and interest on the bonds shall be payable only from:

The bonds or coupons issued under this subtitle:

On the advice of counsel, the face of each bond may plainly state that the bond was issued under this subtitle and is not an indebtedness to which the faith and credit of the county is pledged.

to make money available through mortgage lending institutions only for residential mortgage loans to families of low or moderate income;

to establish reserves;

to pay the necessary expenses of financing; or

to advance the payment of interest on the bonds during the first 3 years after the date of the bonds.