Zero Downpayment Act of 2004 - Amends the National Housing Act to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to insure first-time homeowner zero-downpayment mortgages for one-family residences, including one- to three-unit dwellings, condominiums, cooperatives, and manufactured housing.
Limits the principal obligation on an insured mortgage to not more than 100 percent of the property's appraised value plus any initial service charges, appraisal, inspection, and other related fees.
Requires: (1) independent mortgagor counseling prior to applying for a loan, including specific counseling regarding real estate property management for mortgagors purchasing dwellings with two to three units; and (2) the mortgagee to provide the mortgagor with an option for notice of foreclosure prevention counseling, which shall become effective 60 days after delinquency.
Requires: (1) the Secretary to monitor and make adjustments (mortgage premiums and availability and underwriting standards) to such program; (2) mortgagor credit evaluation by the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard or other standardized credit scoring system; (3) additional underwriting standards for borrowers purchasing two- to three-unit dwellings; and (4) written mortgagee disclosure to the mortgagor of incremental costs.
Limits the program to not more than ten percent of the aggregate number of FHA mortgages and loans insured in the preceding fiscal year. Suspends the program if claim rates exceed a certain FHA single-family claim rate.
Requires a Government Accountability Office (GAO) program report within two years of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter.
Sunsets the program after September 30, 2009.