PUBLIC LAW 105-276—OCT. 21, 1998 112 STAT. 2665 SEC. 599F. SPECIAL MORTGAGE INSURANCE ASSISTANCE. (a) IN GENERAL. —Section 237 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715Z-2) is amended— (1) in subsection (b), by inserting "not more than 26 percent of the total principal obligation (including such initial service charges, and such appraisal, inspection, and other fees as the Secretary shall approve) of before "any mortgage"; (2) in paragraph (c)(2) by striking "$18,000:" and all that follows through the end of the paragraph and inserting " $70,000;"; (3) in paragraph (c)(3)— (A) by inserting ", prior to and during the 12 months immediately following the purchase of the property, from a community development financial institution under section 103(5) of the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994" after "budget, debt management, and related counseling"; and (B) by striking "and" at the end; (4) in paragraph (c)(4)— (A) by striking "25" and inserting "36"; and (B) by striking the period and inserting "; and"; (5) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: "(5) require the mortgagor to be subject, if necessary, to a default mitigation effort undertaken by an intermediary community development financial institution under section 103(5) of the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994, that is acting as a sponsor and passthrough of insurance under section 203 and is approved by the Secretary; "(6) involve a total principal obligation (including such initial service charges, and such appraisal, inspection, and other fees as the Secretary shall approve) that is not more than 90 percent of the value of the property for which the mortgage is provided; and "(7) involve a total principal obligation (including such initial service charges, and such appraisal, inspection, and other fees as the Secretary shall approve) in which the mortgagor has equity (as defined by the Secretary) of not less than 10 percent and such equity shall be subordinate to the interest of the Secretary in the mortgaged property."; (6) in subsection (d), by striking "and (2)" and inserting "(2) to families living in empowerment zones and enterprise communities (as those terms are defined in section 1393(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1393(b)) who are eligible for homeownership assistance, and (3)"; (7) in subsection (e), by striking "public or private organizations" and inserting "community development financial institutions under section 103(5) of the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994"; (8) in subsection (f), by striking "all mortgages" and inserting "the portions of mortgages"; (9) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (j); and (10) by inserting after subsection (f), the following new subsections: "(g) Mortgages insured under this section shall be subject to an insurance premium fee of not more than 1.25 percent of the
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