§ 5-6 — Verification of borrower's ability to repay

(a) No licensee may make, provide, or arrange for a residential mortgage loan without verifying the borrower's reasonable ability to pay the principal and interest on the loan, real estate taxes, homeowner's insurance, assessments, and mortgage insurance premiums, if applicable. For residential mortgage loans in which the interest rate may vary, the reasonable ability to pay the principal and interest on the loan shall be determined based on a fully indexed rate, which rate shall be calculated by using the index rate prevailing at the time of origination of the loan plus the margin that will apply when calculating the adjustable rate under the terms of the loan, assuming a fully amortizing repayment schedule based on the term of the loan. For loans that allow for negative amortization, the principal amount of the loan shall be calculated by including the maximum amount the principal balance may increase due to negative amortization under the terms of the loan. (b) For all residential mortgage loans made by a licensee, the borrower's income and financial resources must be verified by tax returns, payroll receipts, bank records, or other reasonably reliable methods, based upon the circumstances of the proposed loan. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit a licensee's ability to rely on criteria other than the borrower's income and financial resources to establish the borrower's reasonable ability to repay a residential mortgage loan; however, such other criteria must be verified through reasonably reliable methods and documentation. A statement by the borrower to the licensee of the borrower's income and resources is not sufficient to establish the existence of the income or resources when verifying the reasonable ability to pay. Stated income should be accepted only if there are mitigating factors that clearly minimize the need for direct verification of ability to repay.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 95-691, eff. 6-1-08 .)