Section 51652.

Loans insured under this part shall meet all of the following requirements:

(a)  The loans shall be made for a period acceptable to the agency not to exceed 40 years.

(b)  The loans shall be subject to maximum loan amounts for each category of loan authorized to be insured under this part.

(c)  The loans shall be secured by mortgages or deeds of trust, or the loan shall be wholly or partially insured or guaranteed by an agency or instrumentality of the United States, except for property improvement loans under limits established by the agency.

(d)  The agency may establish loan-to-value limitations for each category of loan and may set forth limitations on the further encumbrance of structures and other real property securing loans, but only to the extent necessary to prevent unreasonable impairment of the agency's security. In no case involving refinancing and rehabilitation shall the loan have a principal obligation in an amount exceeding the sum of the estimated cost of rehabilitation, if any, and the amount required to refinance existing indebtedness secured by the property and settlement and closing costs incurred in connection therewith.

(e)  Loans involving the rehabilitation of residential structures shall have a principal obligation not exceeding an amount which, when added to any outstanding indebtedness constituting a lien upon the property securing the loan, creates a total outstanding indebtedness which would be reasonably secured by a mortgage of first priority on the property pursuant to subdivision (d), and as set forth by the agency.

(f)  Loans involving refinancing may be insured only if refinancing is necessary to permit a borrower to afford the cost of rehabilitation, to lower his or her monthly debt-to-income payments, minimize rent increases for occupants of the residential structure, where the rents would otherwise exceed affordable rents due to the expense of rehabilitation, or to achieve another purpose specified in this division.

(g)  With respect to loans involving the rehabilitation of a residential structure, the agency shall determine that the rehabilitation is economically feasible. For purposes of this subdivision, the economic feasibility of rehabilitation projects involving commercial space in a mixed residential and commercial structure shall be determined independently for any structure to be rehabilitated for mixed residential and commercial uses.

(h)  For the purpose of increasing the efficiency and minimizing the cost of the loan insurance program, the agency may insure, or issue commitments to insure, loans, upon the certification of an officer of an approved lending institution that the proposed rehabilitation conforms to requirements specified by the agency regarding economic feasibility.

(i)  The agency shall contract with the insured or the borrower, or both, during the term of the insurance if the agency determines that either or both of those contracts is necessary to maintain residential rentals available to lower income households at affordable rents.

(j)  Relocation payments shall be made to persons and families displaced in making a site or residential structure available for rehabilitation or construction financed by loans insured under this part, and relocation advisory assistance provided to those persons, as specified by Section 51063. Relocation payments for rehabilitation or construction financed by loans insured by this part, shall also be made to owners involuntarily displaced because of inability to afford costs of compliance required pursuant to this part, but any payment pursuant to Section 4623 of Title 42 of the United States Code or Section 7263 of the Government Code shall be limited to the reasonable costs of a replacement dwelling adequate to accommodate the displaced person or family without regard to whether the dwelling is otherwise comparable to the dwelling formerly occupied, less the amount received from sale of the dwelling. Relocation payments may be made from the proceeds of insured loans as authorized by the agency.

(k)  The residential structure for which a loan is insured pursuant to this part shall be insured against loss due to fire and other causes, as provided by the agency.

( l)  Any other terms and conditions as the agency determines are necessary to further the purposes of this part.

(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 553, Sec. 12. Effective January 1, 2004.)