“Tornado victims wait on signature for low-interest loans (KTRE Lufkin and Nacogdoches)” plus 1 more

Tornado victims wait on signature for low-interest loans (KTRE Lufkin and Nacogdoches)

Posted: 29 Dec 2009 05:01 PM PST

By Holley Nees - bio | email

LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) – The City of Lufkin will qualify for the small business administration loans. All that's needed is the Governor's signature.

Homeowners and businesses affected by the tornadoes will qualify for low-interest loans. If the governor approves the program, the City of Lufkin will open an office in city hall to handle applications.

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New California laws protect borrowers, consumers (Washington Post)

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 12:27 PM PST

Statutes requiring individual loan officers to register with the state, making it a crime to give inaccurate information during the mortgage-application process and ensuring that banks inform potential borrowers of all their loan products are among hundreds of California laws that take effect Friday.

Other new laws will ban restaurants from cooking with trans fats, honor gay rights activist Harvey Milk with a day of recognition, make it easier for celebrities to sue the media for invasion of privacy, ban the practice of cutting cow tails and establish a commission to promote blueberries.

The most high-profile legislation in a year dominated by budget cuts was a package of bills that seeks to change how the state uses water and manages the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the estuary that funnels fresh water from north to south.

Part of that package is an $11.1 billion water bond that will appear on the November ballot. Lawmakers filled the bond with special-interest earmarks to win passage, a potential weak point as they try to persuade voters to pass it.

The mortgage bills crack down on what critics say was irresponsible subprime lending that left California among the states hardest hit by the meltdown in the housing market. That has led to higher unemployment and lower tax revenue, adding to budget crises for local and state governments.

"It was certainly in response to what we're seeing across the state with the increase in foreclosures and the economic downturn," said Dustin Hobbs, spokesman at the California Mortgage Bankers Association. "I think lawmakers were trying to make sure we didn't see it in future years."

A law by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, will prohibit lenders from steering borrowers who qualify for fixed-rate loans into riskier higher-priced loans.

Mortgage brokers and banks will be required to notify clients about all the loans they offer. Loans that get larger the longer a borrower holds them - known as negative amortization loans - will be banned in most cases. Caps also will be placed on the penalties loan providers levy when mortgage holders pay off their loans early.

A law by Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, will make it a crime for mortgage brokers to deliberately misrepresent or omit information to get loans for borrowers. Potential penalties include up to a year in prison.

"If all states had stronger mortgage laws seven years ago, I think this whole crisis could have been mitigated," Lieu said. "Part of the reason it's so important for this kind of reform law is there is a huge knowledge imbalance between what banks know and what you the consumer knows."

Lawmakers also boosted protections for Californians who already own a home. A law by Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, seeks to protect the growing number of senior citizens pursuing reverse mortgages. It will require lenders to give customers a list of independent counseling agencies and a checklist about the risks and alternatives to reverse mortgages, a special type of home loan that converts a portion of a home's equity into cash.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.