CHAPTER 10
MORTGAGE CREDIT CERTIFICATES
265—10.1(16) General. Mortgage credit certificates (MCCs) were authorized by Congress in the 1984 Tax Reform Act as a new concept for providing housing assistance. The Iowa finance authority may elect to allocate a portion of its mortgage revenue bonding authority for single-family housing toward an MCC program. The program will be made available to home buyers through participating Iowa lenders on a first-come, first-served basis.
The MCC operates as a federal income tax credit. The MCC tax credit will reduce the federal income taxes of qualified home buyers purchasing qualified residences, in effect assisting buyers with their house payments.
A purchaser of a new or existing single-family residence may apply for an MCC through a participating lender at the time of purchasing a home and obtaining financing through the lender. An MCC cannot be issued to a home buyer who is refinancing an existing mortgage or land contract, nor can it be used in conjunction with a mortgage financed through a mortgage subsidy bond.
MCCs will be made available to home buyers with generally the same noncredit eligibility requirements as are in effect for the authority’s single-family mortgage program. However, mobile and manufactured housing are eligible under the MCC program.
265—10.2(16) Participating lenders. The authority will disseminate a summary of the MCC program to mortgage lenders operating within Iowa. Each branch office of a mortgage lender is deemed to be a separate mortgage lender. Any mortgage lender as defined in Iowa Code section 16.1 may become a participating lender by entering into an MCC lender participation agreement with the authority. All other participating lenders may take applications for MCCs on loans closed after the effective date of the participation agreement. The authority shall set and post on its Web site annual participation fees to be paid by participating lenders as a condition of participating in the MCC program.
[ARC 1845C, IAB 2/4/15, effective 3/11/15]
265—10.3(16) Eligible borrowers. To be eligible to receive a mortgage credit certificate, an eligible borrower must, on the date the loan is closed:
	1.	Be a resident of Iowa.
	2.	Be a purchaser of a single-family residence who will occupy the single-family residence as a permanent, primary, principal residence located within the state.
	3.	Have the legal capacity to incur the obligations of the loan.
	4.	Agree not to rent the single-family residence any time during the term of the loan except under special circumstances and with a lease arrangement, the terms and conditions of which are acceptable to the authority.
	5.	To the extent determined by the authority to assure its MCCs will be qualified mortgage credit certificates pursuant to a qualified mortgage credit certificate program, the authority shall require that the eligible borrower meet the requirements of Section 25 of the Internal Revenue Code and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, as well as the requirements set forth in the MCC program guide. Copies of the program guide are available from the authority.
265—10.4(16) MCC procedures. Applications for MCCs may be made with any participating lender. The applicant shall provide the lender with all information that is necessary to secure a mortgage loan and an MCC. An applicant must meet the eligibility requirements set out in rule 265—10.3(16). If the eligibility requirements are met, the participating lenders may nonetheless deny a loan, subject to all reporting and disclosure requirements of applicable state and federal law, for any reason premised on sound lending practices, including underwriting risk evaluation, portfolio diversification, and limitations on restrictions on investments or available funds. If the loan is approved, the terms of the loan, including interest rate, length of loan, down payment, fees, origination charge and repayment schedule, shall not be greater than those available to similar customers that do not make application for an MCC. However, the lender may collect a one-time MCC commitment fee, which may be paid by the borrower, lender, or any other party. An MCC program application fee must accompany the MCC application and be submitted to the authority by the lender. The amount of the maximum allowable MCC commitment fee and the amount of the MCC program application fee shall be set by the authority from time to time and posted on the authority’s Web site.
No MCC will be issued unless the requirements and procedures set out in the MCC program guide are complied with by all parties to the home sale and financing.
[ARC 1845C, IAB 2/4/15, effective 3/11/15]
These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code section sections 16.5(1)“e,”16.5(1)“m,” and 16.36.
[Filed 9/10/86, Notice 6/18/86—published 10/8/86, effective 11/12/86]
[Filed 3/19/91, Notice 10/17/90—published 4/3/91, effective 5/8/91]
[Filed ARC 1845C (Notice ARC 1724C, IAB 11/12/14), IAB 2/4/15, effective 3/11/15]