 The following bills have passed and become law in their respective states:
Idaho Amends Notice of Default Requirements: Senate Bill 1431, Effective date July 1st, 2008. This new law in Idaho will require trustees to provide a Notice of Default to all individuals who own an interest in the subject property. Additionally, the new law will require that the Notice of Default be accompanied by a notice that warns borrowers to be careful of persons who offer to “save” their homes from foreclosure.
Click here to read the bill
Idaho Enacts the Uniform Power of Attorney Act: Senate Bill 1335, Effective date July 1st, 2008: This new law in Idaho repealed the laws regulating powers of attorney and enacted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act.
Click here to read the bill
Washington Allows Electronic Recording of Documents: House Bill 2459, Effective date June 11th, 2008: This new law allows documents to be electronically recorded pursuant to the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.
Click here to read the bill
Washington Enacts New Residential Mortgage Lending Laws, Makes Mortgage Fraud a Felony and Amends Notice of Default Requirements: House Bill 2770, Effective June 12, 2008. These new residential mortgage lending laws are applicable to all financial institutions. The term "financial institution" includes state-licensed mortgage lenders and brokers, as well as state-chartered banks and credit unions. Under the new law, financial institutions are prohibited from making a payment-option or hybrid ARM containing a prepayment penalty that will extend beyond the date occurring 60 days prior to the loan's initial reset date.
The law also requires financial institutions to provide a disclosure summary of all material loan terms and prohibits negative amortization on loans subject to the Guidance on Nontraditional Mortgage Product Risks and the Statement on sub prime Mortgage Lending. Licensed mortgage lenders and brokers are additionally prohibited from steering borrowers into loans with less favorable risk grades than the borrowers would otherwise qualify for under the lender's current underwriting guidelines. In addition, the bill makes mortgage fraud a felony and amends Washington's non-judicial foreclosure law to require the inclusion of an additional statement on the notice of default.
Click here to read the bill.
Click here to read the bill report
Utah Adopts Mortgage Fraud Act: SB 134, passed by the Utah legislature. The Mortgage Fraud Act creates a crime of mortgage fraud. This act requires the attorney general to hire a dedicated mortgage fraud prosecutor, a paralegal, and two investigators whose primary responsibilities are investigating and prosecuting mortgage fraud. The act also provides that a violation of the Mortgage Fraud Act results in an automatic revocation of a real estate broker or agent license, of a real estate appraiser license, or of a residential mortgage lender license. This act also inserts the crime of mortgage fraud as an illegal activity under the Pattern of Illegal Activity Act.
Click here to read the bill
(Updates were reprinted with permission from Buckley Kolar, LLP)
Maryland Enacts Foreclosure, Mortgage Fraud Legislation: April 3, 2008. The new law (H.B. 361) seeks to provide protections to distressed homeowners. The bill addresses the regulation of “foreclosure consultants and foreclosure rescue transactions.” The bill also creates additional provisions regarding the sale or transfer of a "residence in default." The other new law in Maryland, H.B. 360 enacts the Mortgage Fraud Protection Act, and criminalizes mortgage fraud.
Ralph Wutscher, Esq., of Roberts Wutscher provided UTA with a quick summary of the new Maryland legislation, from a more detailed summary written by Marjorie Corwin, Esq., of Gordon Feinblatt.
The new Maryland laws among other things provide for:
- Additional information to be included in residential mortgage loan security instruments;
- Foreclosure waiting periods of 90-days after default and 45-days after sending the notice of intent to foreclose;
- Mortgage fraud liability, applicable to lenders, borrowers and others involved in the settlement process; and
- Eliminated and narrowed exemptions from the state "foreclosure rescue" statute for title insurers, title agents, real estate brokers and salespersons, mortgage brokers, mortgage lenders, and mortgage loan owners, other than banks and other insured depository institutions, and their subsidiaries and affiliates.
Click here to read Marjorie Corwin’s summary
Click here to read HB 361
Click here to read HB 360
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