Upon approval of an application from an eligible or approved lender, the Agency will commit to providing a guarantee for a permanent loan or a construction and permanent loan, subject to the availability of funds.

A loan guarantee under this part will be evidenced by a Loan Note Guarantee issued by the Agency. Each lender will execute a Lender's Agreement. If a valid Lender's Agreement already exists, it is not necessary to execute a new Lender's Agreement with each loan guarantee.

(a) Rights and liabilities. A guarantee under this part is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States and is incontestable except for fraud or misrepresentation of which the lender had knowledge at the time the lender acquired the guarantee or assigned the loan, or in which a lender participates or condones. The guarantee will be unenforceable by the lender to the extent any loss is occasioned by a violation of usury laws, negligent servicing or origination by the lender, including a failure to acquire required security, or as a result of a use of loan funds for purposes other than those authorized by the Agency. The acts in the previous sentence constitute grounds for the refusal to make full payment under the guarantee to the lender, and will not be taken until the Agency gives the lender notice of the acts or omissions that it considers to constitute such grounds, specifying the applicable provisions of the Statute, Regulations, Loan Note Guarantee, or Lender's Agreement; the lender has not cured the acts or omissions within 90 calendar days after such notice; and the acts or omissions can reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the credit quality of the guaranteed mortgage or the physical condition of the property securing the guaranteed mortgage. If such acts or omissions cannot be cured within a 90 calendar day period, the 90 calendar day cure period automatically shall be extended so long as curative activities are commenced during the 90 calendar day period. At no time shall the curative period extend more than 270 calendar days from the expiration of the original 90 calendar day cure period. When a guaranteed portion of a loan is sold to a Holder, the Holder shall succeed to all rights of the lender under the Loan Note Guarantee to the extent of the portion purchased. The lender will remain bound to all obligations under the Loan Note Guarantee, Lender's Agreement, and the Agency program regulations.

(b) Liability of the Holder. The Holder shall not be liable for the actions of the lender including, but not limited to, negligence, fraud, abuse, misrepresentation or misuse of funds, and its rights under the guarantee shall be fully enforceable notwithstanding the actions of the lender, unless the Holder has knowledge of fraud, misrepresentation or misuse of funds when it becomes the Holder or condones or participates in such actions.

(c) Types of guarantees. The Agency may provide a lesser guarantee based upon its evaluation of the credit quality of the loan. Penalties incurred as a result of default are not covered by the guarantee. The Agency liability under any guarantee will decrease or increase, in proportion to any increase or decrease in the amount of the unpaid portion of the loan, up to the maximum amount specified in the Loan Note Guarantee. The Agency will not guarantee construction loans only. The Agency offers the following types of guarantees:

(1) Option One. The Agency may guarantee permanent loans subject to the conditions specified in § 3565.303(d). The maximum guarantee for a permanent loan will be 90 percent [unless the Agency establishes a different percent and announces this different percent through a Notice in the Federal Register] of the unpaid principal and interest up to default and accrued interest 90 calendar days from the date the liquidation plan is approved by the Agency, as defined in § 3565.452.

(2) Option Two. The Agency may provide a guarantee which will cover construction loan advances (advances) during construction. The maximum guarantee of construction advances related to a construction and permanent loan will not at any time exceed the lesser of 90 percent [or the percent established by the Agency and announced through a Notice in the Federal Register] of the amount of principal and accrued interest up to default for amounts which exceed the original advance if for eligible uses of loan proceeds or 90 percent of the original principal amount and accrued interest up to default of the loan. The Agency's guarantee will cover losses to the extent aforementioned once all sureties/insurances and/or performance and payment bonds have fully performed their contractual obligations. A construction contingency reserve is required. This guarantee will be enforceable during the construction period but will cease to be enforceable once construction is completed unless and until the requirements for the continuation of the guarantee contained in the Conditional Commitment and this part are completed and approved by the Agency by the date stated in the Conditional Commitment and any Agency approved extension(s). The Agency will provide written confirmation to the lender when all of the requirements for continuation of the guarantee to cover the permanent loan have been satisfied. Any losses sustained while the guarantee is unenforceable (after the end of the construction period and, if applicable, before the continuation of the guarantee) are not covered by the guarantee. For purposes of this guarantee, the construction period will end on the earlier of:

(i) Twenty-four months from the closing of the construction loan, if the certificates of occupancy for all units in the project have not been issued by then, or

(ii) The date of the issuance of the last certificate of occupancy, if the certificates of occupancy for all units in the project are issued on or before 24 months from the closing of the construction loan.

(3) Option Three. The Agency may provide a single, continuous guarantee for construction and permanent loans. Only projects that have low loan-to-cost ratios, which will be defined by the Agency in a Notice published periodically in the Federal Register, are eligible for this type of guarantee. A construction contingency reserve is required. The Agency may require that a lease-up reserve, in an amount established by the Agency and announced through a Notice in the Federal Register, be set-aside prior to closing the construction loan. This lease-up reserve is an additional amount, over and above the required initial operating and maintenance contribution. The maximum guarantee of construction advances will not at any time exceed the lesser of 90 percent [or the percent established by the Agency and announced through a Notice in the Federal Register] of the amount of principal and interest up to default advanced for eligible uses of loan proceeds or 90 percent of the original principal amount and interest up to default.

(d) Maximum loss payment. The maximum loss payment to a lender or holder is as follows:

(1) To any holder, 100 percent of any loss sustained by the holder on the guaranteed portion of the loan and on interest due on such portion.

(2) To the lender, the lesser of:

(i) Any loss sustained by the lender on the guaranteed portion, including principal and up to 90 days of accrued interest as evidenced by the notes or assumption agreements and secured advances for protection and preservation of collateral made with the Agency's authorization; or

(ii) The guaranteed principal advanced to or assumed by the borrower and any interest and accrued interest up to 90 days due thereon.

(e) Funding of reserves. For each Option under paragraph (c) of this section, the lender must require an operating and maintenance reserve and provide the Agency adequate evidence of the funding of all required reserves.

(1) For Option 1 under paragraph (c) of this section, the funding schedule for the lease-up reserve and the operating and maintenance reserve must be included in the Agency-approved construction budget and be fully funded before the issuance of the permanent guarantee.

(2) For Option 2 under paragraph (c) of this section, the funding schedule for the lease-up reserve and the operating and maintenance reserve must be included in the Agency-approved construction budget and be fully funded before the issuance of the permanent guarantee.

(3) For Option 3 under paragraph (c) of this section, the operating and maintenance reserve must be fully funded before the issuance of the guarantee. The lease-up reserve must be funded 30 days before the first Certificate of Occupancy is anticipated.

As a condition of receiving a loan guarantee, the Agency will charge the following guarantee fees to the lender. Changes to the initial and annual guarantee fees will be established by the Agency and will be published in a notice in the Federal Register.

(a) Initial guarantee fee. The Agency will establish and charge an initial guarantee fee of up to one percent of the guarantee amount. For purposes of calculating this fee, the guarantee amount is the product of the percentage of the guarantee times the initial principal amount of the guaranteed loan.

(b) Annual guarantee fee. An annual guarantee fee will be charged, as established by the Agency, each year or portion of a year that the guarantee is in effect. This fee is due no later than February 28, of each calendar year.

(c) Surcharge for guarantees on construction advances. The Agency may, at its sole discretion, charge an additional fee on the portion of the loan advanced during construction. If applicable, this fee will be charged in advance at the start of construction.

A lender must receive the Agency's approval prior to any sale or transfer of the loan guarantee.

Loans involving multiple lenders are eligible for a guarantee when one of the lenders is an approved lender and agrees to act as the lead lender with responsibility for the loan under the loan guarantee agreement.

A guarantee agreement will terminate when one of the following actions occurs: (In accordance with subpart H of this part, use restrictions on the property will remain if the following actions take place prior to the term of the loan and RHS determines the restrictions apply.)

(a) Voluntary termination. A lender and borrower voluntarily request the termination of the loan guarantee.

(b) Agency withdrawal of guarantee. The Agency withdraws the loan guarantee in the event of fraud, misrepresentation, abuse, negligence, or failure to meet the program requirements.

(c) Mortgage pay-off. The loan is paid.

(d) Settlement of claim. Final settlement of the claim.

To protect its interest or further the objectives of the program, the Agency may, at its sole discretion, modify, extend, or reinstate a loan guarantee. In making this decision the Agency will consider potential losses under the program, impact on the tenants and the public reaction that may be received regarding the action. Further, the Agency may authorize a guarantee on a new loan that is originated as a part of a workout agreement.

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