Definitions, Fees, Membership Application Procedures, Property Standards, HOP Program Restrictions, Eligible Homebuyer Requirements, Homebuyer Loan Process, HOME Regulations

FLORIDA HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION
Departmental

RULE NO: RULE TITLE
67-57.005: Definitions
67-57.010: Fees
67-57.030: Membership Application Procedures
67-57.040: Property Standards
67-57.050: HOP Program Restrictions
67-57.060: Eligible Homebuyer Requirements
67-57.070: Homebuyer Loan Process
67-57.080: HOME Regulations

NOTICE OF CHANGE

Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol.32,No.12, March 24, 2006 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly.

PURPOSE, EFFECT AND SUMMARY:  The purpose of these rule amendments is to refine the procedures by which the Corporation shall administer the Homeownership Pool Program.

67-57.005 Definitions

(1) through (8)  No changes

(9)   “Calendar Days” means the seven (7) days of the week.  Wwith respect to computing any period of time allowed by this rule, the day of the event from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included.  The last day of the period so computed shall be included unless it is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, in which event the period shall run until the end of the next day which is neither a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.

(10) through (31)  No changes

(32) “Member Fee” means the fee earned by the Member on the construction of the Unit.

(32) through (36) renumber as (33) through (37)

(38) (37)          “Principal” means any general partner of a Member, and any officer, or director of any Member, or any officer or director of any general partner of a Member.

(38) through (40) renumber as (39) through (41)

(42) (41)“Self Help” means a type of construction utilizing sweat equity operating under the guidelines of Habitat for Humanity International or USDA-RD.

(42) through (48) renumber as (43) through (49)

67-57.010 Fees

(1)   The Corporation shall collect a HOP Membership Application fee of $500, with an annual renewal fee of $50, from all entities when applying to become a Mmember of the pool for the HOP program.  Thereafter, Members must pay an annual renewal fee of $50.

(2) and (3)  No changes

(4)   The Member Fee shall be limited to 16% of the development cost of the Unit.

67-57.030 Membership Application Procedures

In order to participate in the HOP program, the Applicant must first apply to become a Member by meeting the requirements of the HOP Membership Application (“HOPMBR101 (4/1/06)”) (“HOP Membership Application - 4/1/06”), which is adopted and incorporated herein by reference and is available on the Corporation’s Website at http://www.floridahousing.org/Home/Developers/HomeownershipPrograms/HOP.

(2) through (4)  No changes

Annually, bBeginning January 31, 2008, Members must renew their membership by advising of any changes to the development team or organization structure and paying a $50 renewal fee by January 31^st of each year.

Failure to advise of any changes to the development team or organization structure or failure to pay submit the fully and properly completed form and payment of the renewal fee will result in the termination of the membership of the Member being disqualified from HOP and the cancellation of any pending reservations.

67-57.040 Property Standards

(1)  No changes

(2)   All Units must include at a minimum the following exterior features:

        (a) through (c)  No changes

(3)   Site standards must include:

        (a) through (b)  No changes

        (c)           Site must be free from excessive traffic and noise, including that from cars, trains and airplanes.  Members must submit a mitigation plan to the Corporation for Loan Servicing, detailing the proposed means and methods of risk reduction, if a Unit is (i) located within 3,000 feet of an active railroad line and/or subject to high railroad noise levels, (ii) located within 1,000 feet of a major high-volume traffic artery, freeway, or other highway would carry a daily volume of 25,000 motor vehicles or more, or (iii) within 500 feet if the a highway that would carry more than 10,000 vehicles but fewer than 25,000.  The site must not be located in an airport clear zone;

The site must be free from significant industrial or agricultural hazards, including hazardous substances;, toxic chemicals;, gas, oil and chemical storage tanks and facilities;, runoff;, spills;, odors;, noise; and airborne particulates; and

(e)  No changes

Manufactured homes must meet or exceed the following standards, which are adopted and incorporated herein by reference and are available at http://www.floridahousing.org/Home/Developers/HomeownershipPrograms/HOP, unless superseded by state or local building codes:

(a)  No changes

(b)           Be sited on a permanent foundation in accordance with the Permanent Foundation Guide for Manufactured Housing (HUD-007487) Handbook 4145.1, REV-2, Change 1, Feb. 14, 1992;

        (c)  through (f)  No changes

67-57.050 HOP Program Restrictions

(1) and (2)  No changes

(3)   The maximum per-unit subsidy of HOME funding is limited to the lesser of twenty five percent (25%) of the purchase price of the Unit, $70,000, or the amount necessary to meet the borrower analysis criteria, with the exception of Eligible Homebuyers with disabilities and those at fifty percent (50%) AMI or below, which shall not exceed the lesser of thirty five percent (35%) of the purchase price, $80,000, or the amount necessary to meet the borrower analysis criteria.

(4)  No changes

Any Member may not be a Financial Beneficiary of another Member.

(6) through (12)  No changes

(13) Homebuyer reservations will be denied at the time of submission iIf a Member or any Principal, or Affiliate of a Member has any existing developments participating in any Corporation programs that remain in non-compliance with the Code, the applicable Florida Statutes and rule chapters, loan documents, or any loan commitment after any applicable cure period granted for correcting such non-compliance has ended, at the time of submission of the HOP homebuyer reservation the requested allocation will be denied.

67-57.060 Eligible Homebuyer Requirements

In order to receive a HOP Loan under the HOP program, the Eligible Homebuyer must:

(a)  No changes

Qualify as an Eligible Homebuyer at the time of the execution of the purchase contract;

(c) through (f)  No changes

(2) and (3)  No changes

The Corporation will consider resubordinating its HOP Loan to a first mortgage loan when a refinancing occurs.  In making a determination, the Corporation will review the following terms of the new transaction: loan type, term of the loan, interest rate, type of interest rate (variable or fixed), principal balance of the loan, reason for the request and whether or not the terms of the new loan are beneficial to the homebuyer.

The homebuyer is subject to the following:

  No changes

2. No additional debt can be refinanced into the new first mortgage, with the exception of Unit repairs or improvements which requires that these funds be escrowed;

3. through 4.  No changes

        (b)  No changes

67-57.070 Homebuyer Loan Process

Once construction on the Unit has begun, Members shall may reserve homebuyer financing, on a loan-by-loan basis, by providing the required date of foundation inspection on the submitting a HOP Hhomebuyer Rreservation (“HOPRES201 (4/1/06)”), which is adopted and incorporated into this rule chapter by reference and which is available on our website at http://www.floridahousing.org/Home/Developers/HomeownershipPrograms/HOP which must include the date of the foundation inspection.

Within fourteen (14) Calendar Days of making the reservation, unless a Member is subject to paragraph (8) below, Members must submit to the Corporation a copy of the building permit and the Corporation must approve the A completed Eenvironmental Cchecklist (“HOPENV301 (4/1/06)”), which is adopted and incorporated into this rule chapter by reference and which is available on our website at http://www.floridahousing.org/Home/Developers/HomeownershipPrograms/HOP with a copy of the building permit must be received and approved by the Corporation within fourteen (14) Calendar Days of making the reservation or the reservation will be cancelled.

(3) through (7)  No changes

(8)  Members using Self Help under USDA-RD Section 502 financing can make reservations four (4) weeks prior to the homebuyer closing.  Once a reservation is received, the borrower analysis package, including the statutory Eenvironmental Statutory Cchecklist (“HOPENV302 (4/1/06)”), which is adopted and incorporated into this rule chapter by reference and which is available on our website at http://www.floridahousing.org/Home/Developers/HomeownershipPrograms/HOP, must be sent to Loan Servicing within ten (10) Calendar Days for review and approval.  Upon approval, the closing can occur and funds will be held in escrow by USDA-RD until completion of the loan closing package.

67-57.080 HOME Regulations

All Members, homebuyers, and Units must conform to the following federal requirements, as applicable, which are adopted and incorporated herein by reference, available at http://www.floridahousing.org/Home/Developers/HomeownershipPrograms/HOP:

        (a) through (s)  No changes

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE:

Bridget Warring, Homeownership Programs Manager

Florida Housing Finance Corporation

227 North Bronough Street, Suite 5000

Tallahassee, Florida 32301-1329

[phone]

NAME OF SUPERVISOR OR PERSON WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE:

David R. Westcott, Deputy Development Officer, Homeownership Programs

Florida Housing Finance Corporation

227 North Bronough Street, Suite 5000

Tallahassee, Florida 32301-1329

[phone]

DATE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT APPROVED: 

                October 14, 2005 Corporation Board Meeting

DATE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN THE FAW:

Volume 32, Number 5, February 3, 2006

Any person requiring special accommodation at this hearing because of a disability or physical impairment should contact Bridget Warring at the above address.  If you are hearing or speech impaired, please use the Florida Dual Party Relay system, which can be reached at 1-800-955-8770 (Voice) or 1-800-955-9771 (TDD).