Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4328 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Clardy H.B. No. 4328
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to certain property tax lenders, property tax loans, and
7	7	tax liens.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 32.06, Tax Code, is amended by amending
10	10	Subsections (a-2), (d), (f-1), and (h) to read as follows:
11	11	(a-2) Except as provided by Subsection (a-8), a tax lien may
12	12	be transferred to the person who pays the taxes on behalf of the
13	13	property owner under the authorization described by Subsection
14	14	(a-1) for:
15	15	(1) taxes that are delinquent at the time of payment;
16	16	or
17	17	(2) taxes that are due but not delinquent at the time
18	18	of payment if the property:
19	19	(A) is not subject to a recorded mortgage lien;
20	20	or
21	21	(B) is subject to a recorded mortgage lien
22	22	provided the person who pays the taxes on behalf of the property
23	23	owner under the authorization pays the taxes not earlier than
24	24	January 31st of the year following the year in which the taxes were
25	25	imposed.
26	26	(d) A transferee shall record [a tax lien transferred as
27	27	provided by this section with] the certified statement attesting to
28	28	the transfer of the tax lien as described by Subsection (b) in the
29	29	deed records of each county in which the property encumbered by the
30	30	lien is located. The transferee is not required to record in the
31	31	deed records of a county the sworn document filed under Subsection
32	32	(a-1)(1), but the transferee shall retain a copy of that sworn
33	33	document in its records.
34	34	(f-1) If an obligation secured by a preexisting first lien
35	35	on the property is delinquent for at least 90 consecutive days and
36	36	the obligation has been referred to a collection specialist, the
37	37	mortgage servicer or the holder of the first lien may send a notice
38	38	of the delinquency to the transferee of a tax lien. The mortgage
39	39	servicer or the first lienholder is entitled, within six months
40	40	after the date on which that notice is sent, to obtain a release of
41	41	the transferred tax lien by paying the transferee of the tax lien
42	42	the amount of the unpaid principal, fees, and interest owed under
43	43	the contract between the property owner and the transferee that are
44	44	directly attributable to the property taxes paid by the transferee
45	45	or the transferee's predecessor in interest on the specific real
46	46	property subject to the preexisting first lien. The Finance
47	47	Commission of Texas by rule shall prescribe the form and content of
48	48	the notice under this subsection.
49	49	(h) A mortgage servicer who pays a property tax loan secured
50	50	by a tax lien transferred under this section becomes subrogated to
51	51	all rights in the lien. A tax lien transferee who pays the amount
52	52	owed under an existing property tax loan of another property tax
53	53	lender becomes subrogated to all rights in the tax lien if;
54	54	(1) the existing property tax lender executes an
55	55	assignment of the tax lien; and
56	56	(2) the assignment is recorded in the deed records of
57	57	each county in which the property encumbered by the lien is located.
58	58	SECTION 2. Section 351.0021(a), Finance Code, is amended to
59	59	read as follows:
60	60	(a) The contract between a property tax lender and a
61	61	property owner may require the property owner to pay the following
62	62	costs after closing:
63	63	(1) a reasonable fee for filing the release of a tax
64	64	lien authorized under Section 32.06(b), Tax Code;
65	65	(2) a reasonable fee for a payoff statement authorized
66	66	under Section 32.06(f-3), Tax Code;
67	67	(3) a reasonable fee for providing information
68	68	regarding the current balance owed by the property owner authorized
69	69	under Section 32.06(g), Tax Code;
70	70	(4) reasonable and necessary attorney's fees,
71	71	recording fees, and court costs for actions that are legally
72	72	required to respond to a suit filed under Chapter 33, Tax Code, [or]
73	73	to perform a foreclosure, or in the collection of a delinquent loan,
74	74	including fees required to be paid to an official and fees for an
75	75	attorney ad litem;
76	76	(5) to the extent permitted by the United States
77	77	Bankruptcy Code, attorney's fees and court costs for services
78	78	performed after the property owner files a voluntary bankruptcy
79	79	petition;
80	80	(6) a reasonable fee for title examination and
81	81	preparation of an abstract of title by an attorney, a title company,
82	82	or a property search company authorized to do business in this
83	83	state;
84	84	(7) a processing fee for insufficient funds, as
85	85	authorized under Section 3.506, Business & Commerce Code;
86	86	(8) a fee for collateral protection insurance, as
87	87	authorized under Chapter 307;
88	88	(9) a prepayment penalty, unless the lien transferred
89	89	is on residential property owned and used by the property owner for
90	90	personal, family, or household purposes;
91	91	(10) recording expenses incurred in connection with a
92	92	modification necessary to preserve a borrower's ability to avoid a
93	93	foreclosure proceeding; and
94	94	(11) fees for copies of transaction documents
95	95	requested by the property owner.
96	96	SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 351, Finance Code, is
97	97	amended by adding Section 351.0024 to read as follows:
98	98	Sec. 351.0024. AFFILIATION WITH LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDER. A
99	99	property tax lender may not, and an owner, employee, or agent of a
100	100	property tax lender may not, have an economic or beneficial
101	101	interest in, or receive any form of consideration other than the
102	102	provision of legal services directly or indirectly from, an
103	103	individual or entity that provides legal services to the property
104	104	tax lender relating to loan document production or review, loan
105	105	servicing, loan enforcement, loan foreclosure, or the collection of
106	106	the loan.
107	107	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
108	108	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
109	109	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
110	110	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
111	111	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.