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<section article="gcl" article_name="Commercial Law" number="12-311" title_number="12" title_name="Credit Regulations" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Consumer Loans -- Credit Provisions">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Fully indexed rate” means the index rate, as defined in the mortgage loan documents, prevailing at the time the mortgage loan is approved by the lender, plus the margin that will apply after the expiration of an introductory interest rate.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <level label="i">
        <text>“Mortgage loan” has the meaning stated in § 11–501 of the Financial Institutions Article.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>“Mortgage loan” does not include a reverse mortgage loan.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>A lender may not take as security for a loan any:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Confession of judgment or power of attorney to him or to a third person to confess judgment or appear for the borrower in a judicial proceeding;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Assignment or order for payment of wages;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Instrument in which blanks are left to be filled after execution; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>Note, promise to pay, or security instrument which does not state:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The principal amount of the loan;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A schedule of payments or a description of the schedule; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>The agreed amount and rate of interest, charges, and fees.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <level label="1">
      <text>A lender may not take any security interest in:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Real property for any loan under $4,000 in value or amount; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Personal property for any loan under $1,400 in value or amount.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Any lien taken in violation of this subsection is void.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>This subsection does not apply to or affect a lien on an interest in real property which results from a judgment obtained by the lender based on a loan otherwise secured or unsecured.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>A lender may not make a mortgage loan without giving due regard to the borrower’s ability to repay the mortgage loan in accordance with its terms, including the fully indexed rate of the mortgage loan, if applicable, and property taxes and homeowner’s insurance whether or not an escrow account is established for the collection and payment of these expenses.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Due regard to a borrower’s ability to repay a mortgage loan must include:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Consideration of the borrower’s debt to income ratio, including existing debts and other obligations; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Verification of the borrower’s gross monthly income and assets by review of third–party written documentation reasonably believed by the lender to be accurate and complete.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Acceptable third–party written documentation includes:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The borrower’s Internal Revenue Service form W–2;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A copy of the borrower’s income tax return;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Payroll receipts;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>The records of a financial institution; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>Other third–party documents that provide reasonably reliable evidence of the borrower’s income or assets.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>This subsection does not apply to a mortgage loan:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Approved for government guaranty by the Federal Housing Administration, the Veterans Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, or the Community Development Administration; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>That refinances an existing mortgage loan if the refinance mortgage loan is:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>Offered under the federal Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Made available by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the Federal National Mortgage Association.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
