With the real-estate market in a “deathly” state, it may take years for some city neighborhoods and suburbs to recover. What protection do borrowers have against a future wave of mortgage fraud?
In the August issue of New Homes, columnist Don DeBat explains the steps that state and county governments have taken to protect home buyers from predatory home-loan schemes.
Under the Anti-Predatory Lending Database pilot program, borrowers applying for a mortgage on one- to four-unit, owner-occupied, residential property in Cook County will be assisted in understanding the terms and conditions of their loan.
“Every mortgage recorded on or after July 1, 2008, in Cook County must have either a Certificate of Mortgage Compliance or a Certificate of Mortgage Exemption attached to it,” said attorney Arden K. Miner, senior manager of underwriting and escrow for Attorney’s Title Guaranty Fund. “The mortgage will not be recordable without the certificate.”
The purpose of the program is to reduce predatory lending practices by assisting the borrower in understanding the terms and conditions of the loan for which he or she has applied. The law, which does not apply to loans on property outside of Cook County, does not prohibit any type of loan, such as adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs.
Read all of Don’s column here, or pick up the August issue of New Homes at one of these locations next month.