Mortgage Contract on the way?

January 18th, 2008

Mortgage Contract on the way?

by admin

In a follow-up to our prediction in February 2007 -
http://mortgageblog.com/mortgage-contract/mortgage-contract-coming-soon/

Mortgage Contract in the works?
With the house democrats voting 100% in favor of HR 3915 Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007 - it appears that a national mortgage contract is going to be adopted for consumers that wish to take out a home mortgage.

Recent Reads
Dodd and now the Fed are pushing for the elimination of brokers by taking away how they’re paid while issuing statements that endorse banks as the “new safe haven” for borrowers. According to the Fed this will create confidence in the system. Sounds good, right?

read the rest here

Some of the ideas for the mortgage contract may include:
Attention Borrowers: Know Your Rights!
This may be the largest and most important loan you get during your lifetime. You should be aware
of certain rights before you enter into any loan agreement.
1. You have the RIGHT to shop for the best loan for you and compare the charges of different
mortgage brokers and lenders.
2. You have the RIGHT to be informed about the total cost of your loan including the interest
rate, points and other fees.
3. You have the RIGHT to ask for a Good Faith Estimate of all loan and settlement charges before
you agree to the loan and pay any fees.
4. You have the RIGHT to know what fees are not refundable if you decide to cancel the loan
agreement.
5. You have the RIGHT to ask your mortgage broker to explain exactly what the mortgage broker
will do for you.
6. You have the RIGHT to know how much the mortgage broker is getting paid by you and the
lender for your loan.
7. You have the RIGHT to ask questions about charges and loan terms that you do not understand.
8. You have the RIGHT to a credit decision that is not based on your race, color, religion, national
origin, sex, marital status, age, or whether any income is from public assistance.
9. You have the RIGHT to know the reason if your loan was turned down.
10.You have the RIGHT to ask for the HUD settlement costs booklet ?Buying Your Home.?

If you think this should have been done sooner - well it has and was. 1997 in fact here is a copy of the HUD mortgage contract -
http://www.mortgagecontract.com/mortgage_contract.pdf

Looks like these protections were/are already in place apparently just forgotten, especially #2, #3 and #4.