§ 23-39-513 — Prohibited activities

In addition to the other activities that are prohibited under this subchapter, it is unlawful for any person other than a person described in § 23-39-502(9)(B)(vi) in the course of any mortgage loan transaction or activity: (1) To misrepresent or conceal any material fact or make any false promise likely to influence, persuade, or induce an applicant for a mortgage loan or a borrower to take a mortgage loan or to pursue a course of misrepresentation through agents or otherwise; (2) To improperly refuse to issue a satisfaction or release of a mortgage; (3) To fail to account for or to deliver to any person any funds, documents, or other thing of value obtained in connection with a mortgage loan, including money provided by a borrower for a real estate appraisal or a credit report, that the mortgage banker, mortgage broker, mortgage servicer, loan officer, or transitional loan officer is not entitled to retain; (4) To pay, receive, or collect, in whole or in part, any commission, fee, or other compensation for brokering a mortgage loan in violation of this subchapter, including a mortgage loan brokered or solicited by any unlicensed person other than an exempt person; (5) To advertise mortgage loans, including rates, margins, discounts, points, fees, commissions, or other material information without disclosing the lengths of the loans, whether the interest rates are fixed or adjustable, and any other material limitations on the loans; (6) To fail to disburse funds in accordance with a written commitment or agreement to make or service a mortgage loan; (7) In connection with the advertisement, solicitation, brokering, making, servicing, purchase, or sale of any mortgage loan, to engage in any transaction, practice, or course of business that: (A) Is not in good faith or fair dealing; (B) Is misleading or deceptive; or (C) Constitutes a fraud upon any person; (8) (A) To broker or make a residential mortgage loan that contains a penalty for prepayment if the prepayment is made after the expiration of the thirty-six-month period immediately following the date on which the loan was made. (B) A penalty for prepayment under subdivision (8)(A) of this section made within the thirty-six-month period shall not exceed any of the following amounts: (i) Three percent (3%) of the principal loan amount remaining on the date of prepayment if the prepayment is made within the first twelve-month period immediately following the date the loan was made; (ii) Two percent (2%) of the principal loan amount remaining on the date of prepayment if the prepayment is made within the second twelve-month period immediately following the date the loan was made; or (iii) One percent (1%) of the principal loan amount remaining on the date of prepayment if the prepayment is made within the third twelve-month period immediately following the date the loan was made; (9) (A) To influence or attempt to influence through coercion, extortion, or bribery the development, reporting, result, or review of a real estate appraisal sought in connection with a mortgage loan. (B) This subdivision (9) does not prohibit a mortgage broker or mortgage banker from asking the appraiser to do one (1) or more of the following: (i) Consider additional appropriate property information; (ii) Provide further detail, substantiation, or explanation for the appraiser's value conclusion; or (iii) Correct errors in the appraisal report; (10) To broker or make a refinancing of a residential mortgage loan when the refinancing charges additional points and fees, within a twelve-month period after the original loan agreement was signed, unless the refinancing results in a reasonable, tangible net benefit to the borrower, considering all of the circumstances surrounding the refinancing; (11) To broker, make, or service a mortgage loan in violation of any federal law or any law of this state; (12) To engage in practices that are dishonest or unethical in the mortgage industry; (13) To unreasonably fail to deliver or provide information or documents promptly to the commissioner upon written request or to knowingly withhold, abstract, remove, mutilate, destroy, or secrete any books, records, computer records, or other information; (14) To unreasonably fail to supervise the branches, loan officers, transitional loan officers, and employees of the mortgage broker, mortgage banker, or mortgage servicer; (15) To fail to make payments in a timely manner from an escrow account held for the borrower to pay insurance, taxes, and other charges concerning the mortgage property without good cause, and the failure to pay results in late penalties or other negative activity; (16) To place hazard, homeowners, or flood insurance on a mortgaged property: (A) Without providing prior written notice to the borrower; (B) If the mortgage servicer knows or has reason to know that adequate insurance coverage already exists; or (C) In an amount that unreasonably exceeds the value of the insurable improvements or the last-known coverage amount or policy limits of insurance; or (17) (A) To fail to refund to the borrower unearned premiums paid by or charged to a borrower for hazard, homeowners, or flood insurance placed by a mortgage banker or mortgage servicer if reasonable proof is available or provided that the borrower had or obtained coverage in effect resulting in the unnecessary placement of forced insurance. (B) The borrower shall receive a refund of excess premium funds taken from the borrower when reasonable proof is provided within twelve (12) months of the forced placement.

Legislative History

Amended by Act 2019, No. 200,§ 23, eff. 7/24/2019. Amended by Act 2019, No. 200,§ 22, eff. 7/24/2019. Amended by Act 2013, No. 1167,§ 5, eff. 8/16/2013. Acts 2003, No. 554, § 1; 2003 (2nd Ex. Sess.), No. 26, § 2; 2005, No. 1679, § 3; 2007, No. 748, § 8; 2009, No. 164, § 11; 2009, No. 731, § 25; 2011, No. 720, § 1; 2011, No. 894, §§ 13 - 15.