Massachusetts Law About Mortgage Brokers and Lenders
Massachusetts Laws
- MGL c.255E: Licensing of Certain Mortgage Lenders and Brokers.
- MGL c.266, s.33: Larceny; false pretences relating to contracts, banking transactions or credit
- MGL c.266, s.34: Larceny; inducement to part with property
- MGL c.266, s.35A: False material statements or omissions during or in connection to mortgage lending process
- MGL c.277, s.62C: Jurisdiction over violations of Sec. 35A of chapter 266
Massachusetts Regulations
- 209 CMR 41: Licensing of Mortgage Loan Originators
- 209 CMR 42: Licensing of Mortgage Lenders and Mortgage Brokers
- 209 CMR 54: Mortgage Lender Community Investment.
- 940 CMR 8: Mortgage Brokers and Mortgage Lenders. Defines prohibited unfair and deceptive advertising practices and "expand[s] the scope of previous home improvement loan regulations to apply to all mortgage loans."
Other Web Sources
The American Dream Shattered: The Dream of Homeownership and the Reality of Predatory Lending: A report on comments and hearings and the new consumer protection regulations governing mortgage lenders and brokers, Mass. Attorney General, 2007.
Guidance with Respect to 940 CMR 8.00 et. seq. (as amended), a 12-page explanation from the Attorney General.
Home Mortgage Book: Insider Information Your Banker & Broker Don't Want You to Know, Atlantic Publishing, 2007. Book about mortgage options, how to choose, and how to navigate the process. Requires Library Card for access.
Making Home Affordable, US Treasury Dept. Explains eligibility for federal programs for refinancing and modification of mortgages, including a self-assessment tool.
Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, Conference of State Bank Supervisors. "The Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) is a web-based system that will allow state licensed mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers, and loan officers to apply for, amend, update or renew a license online for all participating state agencies using a single set of uniform applications."
Report of the Mortgage Summit Working Groups: Recommended Solutions to Prevent Foreclosures and to Ensure Massachusetts Consumers Maintain the Dream of Homeownership, April, 2007, Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks. "This report summarizes the recommendations of the Working Groups and is intended to be used ...to help address the rising number of subprime and nontraditional mortgage loans, growing evidence of mortgage fraud, and the subsequent rise in foreclosures in Massachusetts."
Testimony of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley to the US House Financial Services Committee Regarding Mortgage Loan Restructuring, Sept. 17, 2008. According to her press release, "Loan modifications are not being achieved in significant numbers. When compared to the number of Massachusetts foreclosures in process, far too few families are being given an opportunity to restructure their home loans to generate a sustainable mortgage. When so-called loan modifications do occur, they often do not result in a sustainable loan. Virtually no loan modifications resulted in a lower monthly payment. Virtually no loan modifications result in a lower principal balance. At best, loan modifications simply delay, temporarily, the inevitable delinquency and eventual foreclosure."
Print Sources
The Fallout from the Subprime Lending Crisis, Suffolk University Law School Center for Advanced Legal Studies, 2008.
First Focus, the Subprime Crisis: a Thomson West Report: Perspectives and Legal Insights on the Subprime Lending Crisis, Thomson/West, 2008.
Lender Liability, Juris Publ., 2009.
Lender Liability Law and Litigation, Matthew Bender, loose-leaf.
Stop Predatory Lending: a Guide for Legal Advocates, National Consumer Law Center, 2007.