PENDING: This bill would have rolled back predatory mortgage lending protections by raising allowable fees, cutting broker bonds and reducing oversight of mortgage brokers. It did not pass the House or Senate.

PENDING: This bill would have weakened our predatory mortgage lending protections through changes to our mortgage insurance premium regulations. This bill did not pass the House or Senate.

PENDING: This bill would have rolled back SB 1015, a 2010 law that protects NC homeowners and homebuyers from a range of predatory real estate practices. This bill passed the House and will be eligible for consideration in the short 2012 session.

This law requires that foreclosures proceed through the judicial foreclosure process (rather than power of sale) when the homeowner is on active military duty and the mortgage was entered into prior to active duty service.

SB 1216 continues the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project through May 31, 2013 and expands the program to cover all NC home loans not just certain subprime loans. It also modifies the points & fees trigger for determining if a mortgage is high-cost. This law was amended by HB 484 Transfer Emergency Foreclosure Program to HFA (http://rspnsb.li/q3ajFh) effective July 1, 2011.

SB 1015 protects NC homeowners from a range of predatory practices. The law addresses three main issues: foreclosure rescue scams, abusive lease-option contracts, and abusive contract for deed/land installment sales. This law is threatened by HB 654 Homeowner/Homebuyer Protection Act (http://rspnsb.li/nov7MM), a bill that passed the House in 2011 and is eligible for consideration during the 2012 short session.

SB 974, which had the strong support of Attorney General Roy Cooper, includes important new consumer protections in two distinct areas: Greater protections for homeowners during the foreclosure process; and greater protections for consumers against abusive debt buying activities.

This law makes it a violation of the NC Fair Housing Act for local government to refuse to allow housing development because it's "affordable" for families below 80% of average monthly income (AMI).

This law places new requirements on a homeowners association (HOA) prior to and subsequent to the filing of a lien for homeowner's dues, including a requirement that the HOA make "reasonable and diligent" efforts to track down the homeowner before filing a lien on the property. Failure to follow these procedures may raise grounds to challenge the lien and/or the subsequent foreclosure.

This law with the strong support of the NC Commissioner of Banks, rewrote the current NC Mortgage Lending Act (MLA) to conform to standards required under new Federal legislation.

This bill made technical and clarifying changes to anti-predatory lending laws for high-cost and rate-spread mortgages. The law became effective October 1, 2009.

This law significantly increases the amount of equity in their home that a homeowner can protect from creditors. This allows individuals with debt to keep their homes rather than having their home sold to satisfy a judgment.

This law creates a program within the Commissioner of Banks’ office designed to reduce the number of subprime foreclosures in North Carolina. The law requires that homeowners receive at least 45 days’ notice before foreclosure proceedings begin, and gives the Commissioner of Banks (COB) the authority to extend the foreclosure process an additional 30 days to facilitate efforts between servicers and borrower to save the borrower’s home. In 2010, SB 1216 [add hyperlink] continued the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project (SHFPP) through May 31, 2013 and expanded the program to cover all NC home loans not just certain subprime loans. In 2011, the law was amended again by HB 484 [add hyperlink] which transfers the authority of the SHFPP from the NC Commissioner of Banks to the NC Housing Finance Agency. This transfer preserves all the programs and protections and became effective July 1, 2011.

This law does two things. First, it made technical corrections to provisions enacted last year providing new protections for consumers in loan servicing. Second, the law banned subprime yield-spread premiums (YSPs).

This law requires mortgage loan servicers doing business in North Carolina to be licensed and imposes new standards on their loan collection activities, providing more protection for North Carolina homeowners.

HB 1374, Protect Homeowners & Reduce Foreclosures, passed unanimously in both the North Carolina House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Easley on August 16, 2007. This law makes the foreclosure process fairer and helps protect NC homeowners from abusive practices by the companies that collect and process mortgage payments ("loan servicers"). It also addresses two recent NC Supreme Court decisions that made it harder for homeowners to sue for illegal lending practices.

On August 16, 2007, Governor Mike Easley signed into law the NC Predatory Lending Law, House Bill 1817. This law passed with strong support, and was endorsed by major financial organizations across the state as well as the Coalition for Responsible Lending. The law bans abusive lending practices that have contributed to the current subprime mortgage foreclosure crisis. This new law defines subprime loans and provides new protections. It strengthens the 1999 NC Predatory Lending Law by including yield spread premiums (kickbacks to brokers) in the 5% fee trigger for high cost home loans. If a loan is determined to be a high cost home loan, additional protections apply. It also strengthens broker duties and gives the NC Commissioner of Banks new authority.

In August 2001, NC Governor Mike Easley signed into law the NC Mortgage Lending Act, Senate Bill 904. This law passed both houses with strong support and was endorsed by all major financial trade associations. It sets new licensing requirements for mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers and mortgage loan officers.

In 1999, North Carolina became the first state to enact legislation to curb predatory mortgage lending. Over the many years since, the North Carolina law has proven its effectiveness in curtailing predatory lending while preserving a robust subprime lending market.