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The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall, subject to the provisions of this section, dispose of permanent war housing, other than housing conveyed pursuant to section 1586 of this title, as promptly as practicable and in the public interest.

Preference in the purchase of any dwelling structure designed for occupancy by not more than four families and offered for separate sale shall be granted to occupants and to veterans over other prospective purchasers for such period as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may determine and in the following order:

In the case of any housing project required by this section to be disposed of, which is not offered for separate sale of separate dwelling structures designed for occupancy by not more than four families, such project may be sold as a whole or in such portions as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may determine. On such sales of an entire project or portions thereof consisting of more than one dwelling structure or of an individual dwelling structure designed for occupancy by more than four families, first preference shall be given for such period not less than ninety days nor more than six months from the date of the initial offering of such project or portions thereof as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may determine, to groups of veterans organized on a mutual ownership or cooperative basis (provided that any such group shall accept as a member of its organization, on the same terms, subject to the same conditions, and with the same privileges and responsibilities, required of, and extended to other members of the group any tenant occupying a dwelling unit in such project, portion thereof or building, at any time during such period as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall deem appropriate, starting on the date of the announcement by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development of the availability of such project, portion thereof or building for sale), except that a first preference for said period of not less than ninety days nor more than six months shall be given to any group organized on a mutual or cooperative basis, which, with respect to its proposed purchase of a specific housing project or portions thereof, has, prior to August 1, 1949, been granted an exception by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from the sales preference provisions of Public Regulation 1 of the Housing and Home Finance Agency and has been designated as a preferred purchaser.

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall provide an equitable method of selecting the purchasers to apply when preferred purchasers (or groups of preferred purchasers) in the same preference class or containing members in the same preference class compete with each other.

Any housing disposed of in accordance with this section shall after such disposal be deemed to be housing accommodations the construction of which was completed after June 30, 1947, within the meaning of section 1884 of Appendix to title 50, relating to preference or priority to veterans of World War II or their families.

Sales pursuant to this section shall be upon such terms as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall determine: Provided, That full payment to the Government for the property sold shall be required within a period not exceeding twenty-five years with interest on unpaid balances at not less than 4 per centum per annum, except that in the case of projects initially programmed as mutual housing communities under the defense housing program, the terms of sale shall not require a down payment and shall provide for full payment to the United States over a period of forty-five years with interest on unpaid balances at not more than 3 per centum per annum.

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may dispose of any permanent war housing without regard to the preferences in subsections (b) and (c) of this section when the Secretary determines that