Sec. 523. General powers
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/bill/115/hr/6746/ih/section-523·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
To further the purposes of this subtitle, in accordance with chapter 91 of title 31 of the United States Code (relating to government corporations), the FHA— may adopt, amend, and repeal by-laws, and other written administrative guidance; may adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal, which shall be judicially noted; may insure, and make commitments to insure mortgages, to the extent authorized under this title, and enhance and make commitments to otherwise enhance credit, and in providing such insurance may reinsure, advance, incur liabilities, pool loans, and risk share; shall provide, among other mortgage insurance products, for the availability of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage; may acquire, hold, use, improve, deal in, or dispose of, by any means, any interests in any real property or any personal property; may execute contracts, and make other agreements in its own name, with any agency, public or private entity, or other person, and carry out any lawful requirement of such contracts, grants, or other agreements; may take any actions, including the restructuring of debt, that the FHA determines are necessary to manage any portfolio (including the portfolio of the FHA and the Rural Housing Service) of property, assets, and obligations; may— create and supply, alone or in cooperation with public or private entities or persons, any product or service consistent with its corporate purposes; and assess fees and charges for such products, information, and services in amounts, as determined by the FHA, that— do not exceed their value in the market; permit the FHA to recover its fully allocated long-term costs; and permit the FHA to maintain the level of capital determined by the FHA to be necessary and sufficient to carry out the public purposes of the FHA and as required under subtitle C; may create distinct insurance funds or other devices to segregate or permit limitations on liability for business activities or accounts; may qualify any person or entity to engage in business with the FHA and may enforce and impose penalties for the breach of any duties, obligations, and other commitments made by such persons or entities; shall take actions necessary to administer its business in a nondiscriminatory manner; may use the services or obtain the goods of any Federal agency, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Rural Housing Service of the Department of Agriculture, under working or cooperation agreements or contracts with such agencies and make or receive payment for the cost of such activities; shall have the power, in its corporate name, to sue and be sued, and to complain and defend, in any court of competent jurisdiction, State or Federal, but no attachment, garnishment, injunction, or other similar process, mesne or final, shall be issued against the property of the FHA or against the FHA with respect to its property, and the FHA shall not be liable for interest prior to judgment, for punitive or exemplary damages, for penalties, or for claims based upon unjust enrichment, quasi-contract, or contracts implied-in-law, nor shall the FHA be subject to trial by jury; notwithstanding any other provision of law— shall be an agency of the United States Government and the officers and employees of the FHA shall be officers and employees of the United States Government for purposes of part IV of title 28, United States Code; shall have all civil actions to which the FHA is a party deemed to arise under the laws of the United States; and may, at any time before trial and without bond or security, remove any civil or criminal action or proceeding in a State court to which the FHA is a party to the United States district court for the District of Columbia or to the United States district court with jurisdiction over the place where the civil action or proceeding is pending, by following any procedure for removal of actions in effect at the time of such removal; may— accept and use voluntary and uncompensated services and accept, hold, administer, and use gifts and bequests of property, both real and personal, for the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the FHA, and hold gifts and bequests of money and the proceeds from sales of other property received as gifts or bequests in a separate account, and such amounts shall be disbursed as provided by the FHA; except that property accepted pursuant to this paragraph, and the proceeds thereof, shall be used as nearly as possible in accordance with the terms of the gift or bequest and, for the purpose of Federal income, estate, and gift taxes, property accepted under this paragraph shall be considered as a gift or bequest to or for the use of the United States; shall have any transaction in which it participates be exempt from the terms of any State or other law or prohibition against payment of usurious interest; may act as a fiduciary in connection with any of its undertakings; may foreclose any single family mortgages held by the FHA pursuant to the same procedures and authority applicable to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Single Family Mortgage Foreclosure Act of 1994; may foreclose any multifamily housing mortgages held by the FHA pursuant to the same procedures and authority applicable to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Multifamily Mortgage Foreclosure Act of 1981; may foreclose mortgages pursuant to the same procedures and authority applicable to the Secretary of Agriculture under the Housing Act of 1949; shall have the priority of the United States with respect to the payment of debts out of bankrupt, insolvent, and decedents’ estates; may invest in the development of acquisition of systems, technology, or other capital resources, to enhance its ability to carry out the purposes of this title; and shall have and exercise all powers necessary or appropriate to effect any of the purposes of this title and title II.