The New Year Brings New Rules for California Real Estate
Posted January 25, 2010
By Sylvia Walker
It’s a new year which means that many new laws went into effect on January 1st.
Here are some of the new regulations that now apply to California real estate:
- Loan officers must register with the state.
- Making inaccurate information during the mortgage application process in now a crime.
- Banks must inform potential borrowers of all their loan products.
- Lenders are not allowed to steer borrowers who qualify for a fixed-rate loan into riskier, higher-priced loans.
- Negative amortization loans are banned in most cases.
- Penalties that are assessed to a borrower when they pay off a loan early are now capped.
- Lenders must give potential customers of a reverse mortgage the following: a list of counseling agencies that deal with reverse mortgages and a list that checks off the potential risks associated with reverse mortgages as well as alternatives to reverse mortgages. Reverse mortgages converts a borrower’s home equity into cash. They are geared to senior citizens. For additional information on reverse mortgages, see the AARP website.
For related information, see Realty World, Arnold CA Blog.
Source: “News laws shield buyers,” The Associated Press as printed in The Orange County Register on January 1, 2010