142 1 2 3 claim, personal property, or security held by him pur suant to the provisions of this Act; and (2) to collect or compromise all obligations assigned 4 to or held by him and all legal or equitable rights accru ст 5 6 7 8 ing to him pursuant to the provisions of this Act until such time as such obligations may be referred to the Attorney General for suit or collection. (b) The Secretary shall have the power to deal with, 9 complete, rent, renovate, modernize, insure, or sell for cash 10 or credit, in his discretion, any properties conveyed to him 11 under the provisions of this Act. Section 3709 of the Revised 12 Statutes shall not be construed to apply to any contract for 13 hazard insurance, or to any purchase or contract for services 14 or supplies on account of such property if the amount thereof 15 does not exceed $2,500. 16 (c) The power to convey and to execute in the name 17 of the Secretary deeds of conveyance, deeds of release, assign18 ments and satisfactions of mortgages, and any other written 19 instrument relating to real or personal property or any inter20 est therein acquired by the Secretary pursuant to the pro21 visions of this Act, may be exercised by an officer appointed 22 by the Secretary, without the execution of any express dele23 gation of power or power of attorney. The Secretary may 24 delegate such power by order or by power of attorney, in 25 his discretion, to any officer, agent, or employee he may ap 26 point. A conveyance or transfer of title to real or personal 143 1 property or an interest therein to the Secretary, his successors 2 and assigns (without identifying the Secretary therein) shall 3 be deemed a proper conveyance or transfer to the same extent 4 and of like effect as if the Secretary were personally named 5 in such conveyance or transfer. 6 (d) Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to 7 exempt any real property acquired and held by the Secretary 8 under this Act from taxation by any State or political sub9 division thereof, to the same extent, according to its value, as other real property is taxed. 10 11 12 ACQUISITION OF TITLE BY THE SECRETARY SEC. 702. The Secretary is authorized, with respect to 13 any property covered by a mortgage held by him or security 14 for a loan held by him, either (1) to acquire possession and 15 title by voluntary conveyance in extinguishment of loan 16 indebtedness, or (2) to institute proceedings for foreclosure 17 and prosecute such proceedings to conclusion. The Secretary 18 at any sale under foreclosure may, in his discretion for the 19 protection of the appropriate insurance fund, bid any sum 20 up to but not in excess of the total unpaid indebtedness 21 secured by the mortgage or security, plus taxes, insurance, 22 foreclosure costs, fees, and other expenses, and may become 23 the purchaser of the property at such sale. Pending such 24 acquisition by voluntary conveyance or by foreclosure, the 25 Secretary is authorized, with respect to any mortgage or 26 security assigned to him to exercise all the rights of a mort 144 1 2 gagee or lender under such mortgage or security, including the right to sell such mortgage or security, and to take such 3 action and advance such sums as may be necessary to pre 4 5 6 7 8 serve or protect the lien of such mortgage or security. INSURANCE FOR CONNECTION MORTGAGES SOLD OR EXECUTED IN WITH THE SALE OF PROPERTY BY THE SECRETARY SEC. 703. The Secretary is authorized to insure under 9 any section of this Act any mortgage assigned to him in 10 connection with payment under a contract of insurance 11 which he subsequently sells or any mortgage executed in 12 connection with the sale by him of any property acquired 13 under any section of this Act or under any section or title 14 of the National Housing Act. This authority may be exer15 cised without regard to any limitations or requirements con16 tained in this Act upon the eligibility of the mortgage for in17 surance, upon the payment of insurance premiums, or upon 18 the terms and conditions of insurance settlement and the 19 benefits of the insurance to be included in such settlement. 20 EXPENDITURES TO CORRECT OR COMPENSATE FOR STRUC 23 24 to TURAL DEFECTS IN MORTGAGED HOMES AND EX PERIMENTAL PROPERTY SEC. 704. (a) The Secretary is authorized, with respect any property improved by a one- to four-family dwelling 25 approved for mortgage insurance under title IV prior to the 145 1 beginning of construction which he finds to have structural 2 defects, to make expenditures for (1) correcting such de3 fects, (2) paying the claims of the owner of the property 4 arising from such defects, or (3) acquiring title to the 5 property; but such authority of the Secretary shall exist 6 only if the owner has requested assistance from the Sec7 retary not later than four years (or such shorter time as 8 the Secretary may prescribe) after insurance of the 9 mortgage. 10 (b) If the owner of any one- to four-family dwelling 11 which 12 13 14 15 16 (1) is covered by a mortgage insured under section 402 or is located in an older and declining area, and (2) is more than one year old on the date of the issuance of the insurance commitment, 17 makes application to the Secretary not more than one year 18 after the insurance of the mortgage to correct any structural 19 or other serious defect of the dwelling attributable to a failure 20 of the dwelling to meet applicable State laws, or local ordi 21 nances or regulations, relating to the public health or safety, 22 the Secretary shall, with all reasonable promptness, make ex 220 222 23 24 penditures for any of the purposes specified in subsection (a), unless the defect is one that did not exist on the date 146 1 of the issuance of the insurance commitment. The Secretary 2 may require from the seller of any such dwelling an agree3 ment to reimburse him for any payments made pursuant to 4 this subsection with respect to such dwelling. 5 (c) The Secretary is also authorized to expend available 6 funds to correct defects or failures (when he determines it 7 necessary to protect the occupants) with respect to experi8 mental property covered by a mortgage insured under this 9 Act, at any time subsequent to insurance of the mortgage, 10 where he finds that the defects are caused by or related to 11 the advanced technology utilized. 12 (d) The Secretary shall by regulations prescribe the 13 terms and conditions upon which expenditures and payments 14 15 16 17 may be made under the provisions of this section. TRANSITION BETWEEN THE NATIONAL HOUSING ACT AND THE REVISED NATIONAL HOUSING ACT SEC. 302. The provisions of section 101 of this Act shall 18 be effective in whole or in part (and the regulations and 19 guidelines necessary to administer and carry out such pro20 visions shall be issued) at such date or dates as the Secretary 21 of Housing and Urban Development shall prescribe, but in 22 22 no event later than 120 days after the date of the enact 23 ment of this Act; and the Secretary shall establish procedures 24 for the orderly transfer of mortgage insurance operations from |