SENATE BILL No. 1067

 

 

January 30, 2008, Introduced by Senators HUNTER, CLARKE and BRATER and referred to the Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 2002 PA 660, entitled

 

"Consumer mortgage protection act,"

 

by amending section 4 (MCL 445.1634).

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 4. (1) A person offering to make or making a mortgage

 

loan shall not do either of the following:

 

     (a) Charge a fee for a product or service if the product or

 

service is not actually provided to the customer.

 

     (b) Misrepresent the amount charged by or paid to a third

 

party for a product or service.

 

     (c) Engage in flipping a home loan. As used in this

 

subdivision, "flipping" means making a home loan to a borrower that

 

refinances an existing home loan when the new loan does not have

 


reasonable, tangible net benefit to the borrower considering all of

 

the circumstances, including, but not limited to, the terms of both

 

the new and refinanced loans, the cost of the new loan, and the

 

borrower's circumstances.

 

     (2) A lender in making a mortgage loan shall not finance as

 

part of the loan single premium coverage for any credit life,

 

credit disability, or credit unemployment.

 

     (3) A person, appraiser, or real estate agent shall not make,

 

directly or indirectly, any false, deceptive, or misleading

 

statement or representation in connection with a mortgage loan

 

including, but not limited to, the borrower's ability to qualify

 

for a mortgage loan or the value of the dwelling that will secure

 

repayment of the mortgage loan.

 

     (4) A lender shall not insert or change information on an

 

application for a mortgage loan if the lender knows that the

 

information is false and misleading and intended to deceive a third

 

party that the borrower is qualified for the loan when in fact the

 

third party would not approve the loan without the insertion or

 

change.

 

     (5) A statement or representation is deceptive or misleading

 

if it has the capacity to deceive or mislead a borrower or

 

potential borrower. The commissioner shall consider any of the

 

following factors in deciding whether a statement or

 

misrepresentation representation is deceptive or misleading:

 

     (a) The overall impression that the statement or

 

representation reasonably creates.

 

     (b) The particular type of audience to which the statement is

 


directed.

 

     (c) Whether it may be reasonably comprehended by the segment

 

of the public to which the statement is directed.

 

     (6) A lender shall not condition the payment of an appraisal

 

upon a predetermined value or the closing of the mortgage loan

 

which is the basis of the appraisal.

 

     (7) A person shall not directly or indirectly compensate,

 

coerce, or intimidate an appraiser for the purpose of influencing

 

the independent judgment of the appraiser with respect to the value

 

of the dwelling offered as security for repayment of the mortgage

 

loan.

 

     (8) A mortgage loan note shall not contain blanks regarding

 

payments, interest rates, maturity date, or amount borrowed to be

 

filled in after the note is signed by the borrower.