The Secretary shall establish and maintain a program by which he may, upon application of a private lender, insure loans (including loans made in accordance with a mortgage) made by such lender to finance any project for the preservation of a property included on the National Register.
A loan may be insured under this section only if—
(1) the loan is made by a private lender approved by the Secretary as financially sound and able to service the loan properly;
(2) the amount of the loan, and interest rate charged with respect to the loan, do not exceed such amount, and such a rate, as is established by the Secretary, by rule;
(3) the Secretary has consulted the appropriate State Historic Preservation Officer concerning the preservation of the historic property;
(4) the Secretary has determined that the loan is adequately secured and there is reasonable assurance of repayment;
(5) the repayment period of the loan does not exceed the lesser of forty years or the expected life of the asset financed;
(6) the amount insured with respect to such loan does not exceed 90 per centum of the loss sustained by the lender with respect to the loan; and
(7) the loan, the borrower, and the historic property to be preserved meet other terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Secretary, by rule, especially terms and conditions relating to the nature and quality of the preservation work.
The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the Treasury regarding the interest rate of loans insured under this section.
The aggregate unpaid principal balance of loans insured under this section and outstanding at any one time may not exceed the amount which has been covered into the Historic Preservation Fund pursuant to section 470h of this title and subsections (g) and (i) 1 of this section, as in effect on December 12, 1980, but which has not been appropriated for any purpose.
Any contract of insurance executed by the Secretary under this section may be assignable, shall be an obligation supported by the full faith and credit of the United States, and shall be incontestable except for fraud or misrepresentation of which the holder had actual knowledge at the time it became a holder.
The Secretary shall specify, by rule and in each contract entered into under this section, the conditions and method of payment to a private lender as a result of losses incurred by the lender on any loan insured under this section.
In entering into any contract to insure a loan under this section, the Secretary shall take steps to assure adequate protection of the financial interests of the Federal Government. The Secretary may—
(1) in connection with any foreclosure proceeding, obtain, on behalf of the Federal Government, the property securing a loan insured under this part; and
(2) operate or lease such property for such period as may be necessary to protect the interest of the Federal Government and to carry out subsection (g) of this section.
(1) In any case in which a historic property is obtained pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, the Secretary shall attempt to convey such property to any governmental or nongovernmental entity under such conditions as will ensure the property's continued preservation and use; except that if, after a reasonable time, the Secretary, in consultation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, determines that there is no feasible and prudent means to convey such property and to ensure its continued preservation and use, then the Secretary may convey the property at the fair market value of its interest in such property to any entity without restriction.
(2) Any funds obtained by the Secretary in connection with the conveyance of any property pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be covered into the historic preservation fund, in addition to the amounts covered into such fund pursuant to section 470h of this title and subsection (i) 2 of this section, and shall remain available in such fund until appropriated by the Congress to carry out the purposes of this subchapter.
The Secretary may assess appropriate and reasonable fees in connection with insuring loans under this section. Any such fees shall be covered into the Historic Preservation Fund, in addition to the amounts covered into such fund pursuant to section 470h of this title and subsection (g) of this section, and shall remain available in such fund until appropriated by the Congress to carry out purposes of this subchapter.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any loan insured under this section shall be treated as non-Federal funds for the purposes of satisfying any requirement of any other provision of law under which Federal funds to be used for any project or activity are conditioned upon the use of non-Federal funds by the recipient for payment of any portion of the costs of such project or activity.
Effective after the fiscal year 1981 there are authorized to be appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to cover payments incurred pursuant to subsection (e) of this section.
No debt obligation which is made or committed to be made, or which is insured or committed to be insured, by the Secretary under this section shall be eligible for purchase by, or commitment to purchase by, or sale or issuance to, the Federal Financing Bank.
(Pub. L. 89–665, title I, §104, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 917; Pub. L. 96–515, title II, §204, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2994.)
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Last modified: October 26, 2015