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H.R. 6694: FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based Pricing Authorization Act of 2008

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H.R. 6694: FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based Pricing Authorization Act of 2008

110th Congress · introduced 2008-07-31 · Housing and Community Development · Latest: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 582.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2008-07-31 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 582. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based Pricing Authorization Act of 2008

Plain summary

FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based Pricing Authorization Act of 2008 - (Sec. 2) Amends the National Housing Act to make exceptions to the prohibition against mortgage insurance for mortgages involving a downpayment using funds furnished by: (1) the seller or any party that benefits financially from the transaction (seller-financed downpayment); or (2) any third party that is reimbursed by the seller or any such party. Makes eligible for mortgage insurance, in spite of a seller-financed downpayment, any mortagors with credit scores equivalent to a FICO score of: (1) 680 or more; (2) at least 620 but less than 680; or (3) 619 or less. Prescribes conditions for mortgage insurance in the latter two situations. Requires entities participating in a governmental or private nonprofit program that provides downpayment assistance for such a mortgage to offer and make available, before loan closing, counseling about the responsibilities and financial management involved in homeownership. Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to impose civil money penalties for improperly influencing appraisals. (Sec. 3) Prohibits the Secretary from implementing: (1) risk-based premiums designed for mortgage lenders to offer a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured product that provides a range of mortgage insurance premium pricing based upon a specified risk that the insurance contract represents; or (2) any other risk-based premium product for mortgage insurance on a single family residence where the premium price for such new product is based upon the borrower's Decision Credit Score. Makes an exception from such prohibition for flexible risk-based premiums. Authorizes the Secretary to establish, for a mortgagor whose FICO credit score is under 600, a mortgage insurance premium structure with a variable rate that reflects the mortgagor's credit risk, if the basis for determining such rate is established before the mortgage is executed. Requires notice to mortgagees and to Congress before such a premium structure is established or changed. Requires the Secretary to consider specified factors when premiums are established and collected under a flexible risk-based premium structure. Authorizes the Secretary to provide for variations in such rates according to the credit risk associated with the type of mortgage product that is being insured. Requires the Secretary to make payment incentives to a mortgagor, in the form of certain refunds, upon payment in full of timely mortgage payments. Authorizes the Secretary, for mortgages with a flexible risk-based premium, to establish a higher annual premium in lieu of a higher up-front premium.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House with amendment(s)), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based Pricing Authorization Act of 2008

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House with amendment(s))

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9] · 28 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 6694, FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based Pricing Authorization Act of 2008 (2008-09-29); CBO cost estimate: H.R. 6694, FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based Pricing Authorization Act of 2008 (2008-09-29)

Cosponsors on this site

Maxine Waters (D-CA), Doris O. Matsui (D-CA), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), André Carson (D-IN), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9] reported raising $1.7 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong110-hr6694 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong110 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong110