Senate File 2272 - Introduced SENATE FILE 2272 BY J. SMITH A BILL FOR An Act codifying a first home buyer program administered by the 1 Iowa finance authority. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 6077XS (3) 89 ko/jh
S.F. 2272 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 16.54A Firsthome program. 1 1. For the purposes of this section: 2 a. “First-time homebuyer” means any of the following: 3 (1) An individual who has not owned a primary residence in 4 the last three consecutive years immediately prior to the date 5 of the individual’s application for the firsthome program. 6 (2) A member of the military who has not previously used a 7 mortgage revenue bond program to finance a home purchase. 8 (3) An individual who is purchasing a home in a targeted 9 area as determined by the authority. 10 b. “Member of the military” means any of the following: 11 (1) An individual who has served ninety days active duty 12 between August 2, 1990, and April 6, 1991, or September 11, 13 2001, to the date of application for the firsthome program. 14 The ninety days of active duty may be cumulative, but are not 15 required to be consecutive. Inactive duty training, annual 16 training, and active duty for training shall not count toward 17 the ninety days. 18 (2) An individual who is a former member of the national 19 guard, or a reserve or regular component of the armed forces of 20 the United States, who was honorably discharged due to injuries 21 incurred while on federal active duty beginning on or after 22 September 11, 2001, or during the period of the Persian Gulf 23 Conflict, beginning August 2, 1990, and ending April 6, 1991, 24 that precluded completion of a minimum aggregate of ninety days 25 of federal active duty. 26 (3) The surviving spouse of an individual under 27 subparagraph (1) or (2). 28 c. “Program” means the firsthome program established in this 29 section. 30 d. “Second loan” means a loan that is up to a certain 31 percentage of the sale price of a home, or a certain fixed 32 dollar amount, that must be repaid when the home is sold, 33 refinanced, or the first mortgage on the home is satisfied. 34 2. The firsthome program is established to continue the 35 -1- LSB 6077XS (3) 89 ko/jh 1/ 3
S.F. 2272 firsthome program administered by the authority to provide 1 assistance to eligible first-time homebuyers. The firsthome 2 program shall be administered by the authority and shall 3 provide down payment and closing cost assistance grants, second 4 loans, free Iowa title guaranty owner’s certificates, or other 5 assistance to eligible first-time homebuyers. 6 3. To qualify for assistance under the firsthome program, an 7 individual must meet the following requirements: 8 a. The individual must be a first-time homebuyer. 9 b. The individual’s household income must meet the 10 eligibility requirements established by the authority by rule. 11 c. The purchase price of the home that the individual wants 12 to purchase must be within the price limits established by the 13 authority by rule. 14 d. The individual must occupy the purchased home as a 15 primary residence within sixty days of closing. 16 e. The individual must have a minimum credit score of six 17 hundred forty. If an individual does not have a credit score, 18 nontraditional credit documentation may be submitted to the 19 authority as established by the authority by rule. 20 f. The individual’s debt-to-income ratio must be no greater 21 than forty-five percent. 22 g. The individual, if applying for a conventional loan, must 23 complete homebuyer education as established by the authority 24 by rule. 25 h. The individual must contact an Iowa finance authority 26 participating lender. 27 4. An individual must submit an application for the program 28 in the form and manner as established by the authority by rule. 29 5. An individual who receives assistance under the 30 firsthome program may also participate in other loan and grant 31 programs administered by the authority if the individual 32 qualifies for the other loan or grant program. 33 6. The authority shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 34 as necessary to implement and administer this section. 35 -2- LSB 6077XS (3) 89 ko/jh 2/ 3
S.F. 2272 EXPLANATION 1 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 2 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 3 This bill codifies the firsthome program administered by 4 the Iowa finance authority and requires that the program 5 be administered by the authority to provide down payment 6 and closing cost assistance grants, second loans, free Iowa 7 title guaranty owner’s certificates, or other assistance to 8 eligible first-time homebuyers. “First-time homebuyer” and 9 “second loan” are defined in the bill. The requirements for an 10 individual to qualify for the program are detailed in the bill. 11 The Iowa finance authority shall adopt rules as necessary to 12 implement and administer the bill. 13 -3- LSB 6077XS (3) 89 ko/jh 3/ 3