BILL REQ. #:  H-4651.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/04/04.   

     AN ACT Relating to purchasing manufactured homes; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The department of community, trade, and economic development shall conduct a study within existing funds and make recommendations regarding possible programmatic assistance for Washington's low-income residents trying to purchase manufactured homes and manufactured home sites.
     (2) The program studied should have the following characteristics:
     (a) Require borrowers to: (i) Make a down payment of five percent of the value of the manufactured home, manufactured home lot, or manufactured home and lot; (ii) demonstrate that they have current adequate income to make the payments on the loan and meet their other expenses, including a salary that is at least two and one-half times the value of the expected monthly payment on the manufactured home purchase loan; (iii) have an income level that is at or below fifty percent of the median family income for the county or standard metropolitan statistical area where the home will be sited; (iv) not have declared bankruptcy under the federal bankruptcy code at any time within the past ten years; (v) provide documentation or other proof, as required by the department, that the person has been continuously employed for the three years prior to the loan guarantee request; and (vi) have a suitable site on which to place the manufactured home. The home may be placed on a rental site in a manufactured home park, or on an individual home site owned or leased by the borrowers. The site must meet the established local standards for site suitability and have adequate water supply and sewage disposal facilities;
     (b) Insure lenders providing financing to eligible borrowers for a manufactured home loan against default. The terms of loan guarantee would be established by a contract with the department of community, trade, and economic development prior to the loan being made; and
     (c) The manufactured home loan would be a fixed interest rate loan based upon the best prevailing market rate in the area at the time the loan is being made.
     (3) The study must include, but is not limited to:
     (a) The current market barriers for manufactured home loans to persons with income levels below fifty percent of the median family income level;
     (b) The number of loans per year that could be guaranteed and the average amount of such a loan;
     (c) The number of persons that would be eligible for the loan program; and
     (d) The funding requirements to establish and maintain a loan assistance program.
     (4) The study recommendations must include, but are not limited to:
     (a) Sources of funding;
     (b) Amount of reserve funds required; and
     (c) Program eligibility requirements.
     (5) The study shall be delivered to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2004.