Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Family Transfers topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bill would exempt lender actions from two‑year family‑transfer restriction
Summary
House Bill 520 would carve exceptions into the two‑year nonconveyance rule for family transfers so lenders can accept family‑transfer parcels as collateral and foreclose when necessary; banking groups and the Association of Counties supported the bill as a technical fix to SB158 consequences.
Representative Larry Brewster presented House Bill 520 to address an unintended consequence of a prior law (Senate Bill 158) that imposed a two‑year nonconveyance period on family‑transfer parcels. Brewster said the bill exempts foreclosure sales and enables lenders to take a family‑transfer parcel as collateral and foreclose if necessary, restoring conventional lending practices for lots intended for home construction.
Sam Sill of the Montana Bankers Association explained that without the exception banks are reluctant to make loans using family‑transfer parcels as collateral because they cannot foreclose during the two‑year period; the bill would allow lenders to extend financing and facilitate homebuilding. Karen Alley of the Montana Association of Counties said the statutory change fixes an unintended barrier to financing created by SB158 and supports the bill.
Committee members asked about the origin of the two‑year holding period and whether lenders had sought local variances; witnesses said the two‑year period was standardized in SB158 to address variable county practices and that lenders had not frequently pursued variance procedures. The hearing closed with no opponents recorded and the sponsor indicating he would leave floor carriage to committee discretion.
