Mortgage Lending

Home ownership has been the primary means for most American families to build and pass on inter-generational wealth. However, government-sanctioned racial discrimination in housing and mortgage finance markets robbed many families of this opportunity, and today’s racial homeownership gap is barely changed from the levels of more than 50 years ago. Closing the homeownership gap is essential to closing the racial wealth gap.  Additionally, predatory mortgage lending practices drained trillions in wealth from families, especially Black, Latino, low wealth and low-income Americans. CRL successfully advocated for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which has made the mortgage market far safer for consumers. CRL is building on this progress by working to ensure that all credit-worthy borrowers have access to fair, affordable, and sustainable mortgages. And that policy makers and market participants develop solutions that are appropriate to respond to the scale of this housing crisis. 

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HB 806 Notice of Lien for Assessments of Homeowners Associations

Full Session Law As in the past, a homeowners association may impose liens on properties if the owners have balances that are at least 30 days overdue to the association. However, this law, effective October 1, 2009, adds the requirement that they first notify the homeowner. The homeowners association must make reasonable and diligent efforts to ensure that its records...

Secure and Fair Enforcement (S.A.F.E.) Mortgage Licensing Act (HB 1523)

Full Session Law This law rewrote the NC Mortgage Lending Act to conform with new federal legislation. Though the bulk of the law remains the same, some new protections were added, including: An increase in the bond required for mortgage brokers, to between $75,000 to $250,000 depending on the broker's activity. Previously the bond requirement was a flat $50,000 An...

Consumer Economic Protection Act of 2009 (SB 974)

Full Session Law This law, which went into effect October 1, 2009, strengthened consumer protections in the areas of foreclosure and debt buying activities. Foreclosure Protections Under this law, the clerk of the court may delay foreclosure hearings for owner-occupied residences by up to 60 days, if the clerk finds good cause to believe the additional time has a reasonable...

Increase Statutory Homestead Exemption (HB 1058)

Full Session Law This act, which became effective October 1, 2009, increased the amount of home equity protected against creditors. This "homestead exemption" was raised from $18,500 to $35,000 per individual. Since the exempted amount is per individual, $70,000 is protected for a married couple. For homeowners aged 65 or older who previously owned the home with their deceased spouse...

Research Comment: On “Liar’s Loan? Effects of Origination Channel and Information Falsification on Mortgage Delinquency”

By Debbie Gruenstein Bocian and Keith S. Ernst A working paper recently released by the Columbia Business School, "Liar's Loan? Effects of Origination Channel and Information Falsification on Mortgage Delinquency" [1] reported three main findings: (1) mortgages originated through brokers are more likely to become delinquent than similar mortgages made through retail channels; (2) mortgages with low levels of income...

SB 810 Non-Discrimination Against Affordable Housing Developments

Full Session Law This legislation makes it unlawful for a local government to discriminate against affordable housing in its land use or permitting decisions, whether through action or inaction. Either the intent or effect of discriminating against housing developments with units for those with less than 80% of the area median income is a violation of the law. However, it...

At A Glance: Top Policies for Addressing the Foreclosure Crisis

Solutions exist. Here's a quick reference to CRL's top four policies for stopping the foreclosure epidemic: 1. Establish an independent agency dedicated to protecting consumers against bad lending practices 2. Make voluntary foreclosure prevention programs more effective and reach all those who qualify 3. Allow qualified homeowners to restructure mortgages under court supervision 4. Prevent predatory and reckless lending in...

HB 1523 S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act

HB 1523, 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. Though the bulk of the Act stays the same, some new protections were added, including: Increases the bond required for mortgage brokers from $50,000 for all brokers to a sliding scale...

Current Trends in Foreclosure and What More Can Be Done To Prevent Them

Testimony of Keith S. Ernst, Center for Responsible Lending Before the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress In testimony before the Joint Economic Committee, Director of Research Keith Ernst testified that foreclosures continue to soar and the mortgage market continues to suffer. He also presented testimony showing that risky loans, not risky borrowers, lie at the heart of the...
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