Bill > H1110

This bill aims to protect first-time home loan borrowers by establishing strict requirements for subprime loans with variable or adjustable interest rates. Specifically, the legislation mandates that before a mortgagee can offer a subprime loan with a variable or adjustable rate for a 1 to 4 family residential property, the borrower must: (1) affirmatively opt in writing for the loan, and (2) receive certification from a counselor from an approved third-party nonprofit organization that they have been counseled on the loan's advisability. Approved counseling organizations include those recognized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, state housing financing agencies, the Massachusetts Homeownership Collaborative, or the mortgagee's regulatory agency. If a mortgagee violates these requirements, the variable or adjustable rate terms become unenforceable, and the lender can only collect interest at the lesser of the original or current adjusted rate. The bill also exempts Qualified Mortgages meeting specific federal regulatory specifications from these requirements as of January 1, 2022, and tasks the commissioner of banks with maintaining a list of approved counseling programs and issuing guidelines to implement the law.

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1110