澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网

Who Regulates Home Equity Loans?

There are many rules🔯, and many regulators, fo༒r home equity loans

A couple finishes signing paperwork for a home equity loan

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These types of loans come with risks. Home equity loans require homeowners to put their homes up as collateral in case they default on the loan. And since property is often the single most valuable asset owned by a family, a default on a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:home equity loan can have serious consequences. Because of these risks, home equity ♕loans are regulated by both indivi💜dual states and federal agencies.

In this article, we’ll look at the regulatory environmღent for home♌ equity loans and explain which federal agencies have oversight on which of these loans.

Key Takeaways

  • Many rules affect home equity loans: federal regulations, state laws, and codes of conduct issued by industry organizations. 
  • Which federal agency regulates a specific home equity loan depends on the organization issuing the loan. 
  • Home equity loans can be issued both by banks and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit unions and by several other financial institution types. Each is regulated by a different body.
  • If you think a lender has acted in contravention of the law, a good place to start is by contacting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Either agency may be able to advise you where to make a complaint.

Regulations on Home Equity Loans

A home equity loan provides homeowners with the ability to borrow against the equity they've built up in their homes. The amount that homeowne🌼rs can borrow is equal to the difference between the home's current market value and 💎the outstanding amount on the homeowner's mortgage.

There aဣre essentially ꦦtwo main sources of regulation on home equity loans: individual states and the federal government.

There are a number of federal laws that relate to home equity loans. These include the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Truth in Lending Act (TILA), which details how this type of loan can be sold and provides consumers with some key rights when it comes to working with them.

Another key component of mortgage regulation is the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Real Estate Set🥂tlement Procedure🐻s Act (RESPA). This act was enacted by Congress so that buyers and sellers are given disclosures about the full settlement costs related to home buying.

Then there are laws like the Dod🍸d-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which Congress passed following the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:subprime meltdown that contributed to the 2007–2008 financial crisis.

All 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:U.S. states have home equity loan laws, and these laws are always changing. To keep abreast of these laws, you can reference "Pratt’s State Regulation of 2nd Mortgages & Home Equity Loans," which is updated every year.

In short, there are many rules and regulations that apply to h🔯ome equity loans, and a single ꧟loan may be subject to multiple different regulators.

Important

Mortgage lending discrimination is illegal across the United States. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩ꦬ网:If you think you’ve been discriminated against based on race, religion, sex, marital status, us🅺e of public assistance, national origin, disability, or age, there are steps that you can ♏take. One such step is to file a report with the or the .

Who Regulates Home Equity Loans?

Just as there are many rules and regulations that affect home equity loans, there are also many organizations that can regulate a given loan. This is because home equity loans can be issued by a wide variety of financial institutions; banks and credit unions are the most common, but home equity loans can also be taken out with commercജial or agricultural lenders. Each type of institution has its own regulator that is ultimately responsible for overseeing the loans that it issues. 

Here are the most important of these regulators:

Regulatory Agency Regulated Entity(ies) Telephone/Website
Federal Reserve Consumer Help P.O. Box 1200 Minneapolis, MN 55480 Federally insured state-chartered bank members of the Federal Reserve System (888) 851-1920
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) P.O. Box 4503 Iowa City, IA 52244 Insured depository institutions and credit unions (and their affiliates) with assets greater than $10 billion, and non-depository institutions such as mortgage originators, mortgage brokers and servicers, larger participants of other financial services products, private education loan providers, and payday lenders (855) 411-2372
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Customer Assistance Unit 1301 McKinney St., Suite 3450 Houston, TX 77010 National banks and federally chartered savings banks/associations (800) 613-6743
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Consumer Response Center 1100 Walnut St., Box #11 Kansas City, MO 64106 Federally insured state-chartered banks that are not members of the Federal Reserve System (877) ASK-FDIC or (877) 275-3342
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Consumer Assistance 1775 Duke St. Alexandria, VA 22314-3428 Federally chartered credit unions (800) 755-1030
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Response Center 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20580 Finance companies, retail stores, auto dealers, mortgage companies and other lenders, and credit bureaus (877) FTC-HELP or (877) 382-4357
Farm Credit Administration Office of Congressional and Public Affairs 1501 Farm Credit Drive McLean, VA 22102-5090 Agricultural lenders (703) 883-4056
Small Business Administration (SBA) Consumer Affairs 409 3rd St. SW Washington, DC 20416 Small business lenders (800) U-ASK-SBA or (800) 827-5722

Each of these regulators oversees a different type of lender, and some lenders are co🅰ver🌳ed by multiple federal agencies in addition to state regulators.

Does Regulation Z Apply to Home Equity Loans?

Yes. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Regulation Z is a federal law that was passed in order to protect consumers when borrowing money. The law requires lenders to clearly explain the total cost of borrowing to consumers, prevent lending practices that could be harmful to consumers, and shield consumers from ambiguous lending practices. It applies to mortgages, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), reverse mortgages, credit cards, installment loans, and some student loans.

What Is the Downside of a Home Equity Loan?

The primary downside to a home equity loan is that your home is used as collateral on the new loan. This significan𒈔tly increases the risk of losing your home. If you default on your home equity loan, the bank may cease your home and sell it off to cover its losses 𒐪from your unpaid loan. In addition, home equity loans have higher interest rates than regular mortgages, so your costs will be higher than some standard loans.

Does a Home Equity Loan Hurt Your Credit?

Your credit will be slightly dinged when you apply for a home equity loan as part of the process of the credit check; however, after that, if you make your payments on time and are a responsible borrower, having additional debt and showing you can manage it will improve your credit.

The Bottom Line

There are many rules that affect home equity loans: federal regulations, state laws, and codes of conduct issued by industry organizations. Exactly which federal agency regulates a particular home equity loan depends on which organization issued the loan. Home equity loans can be issued by both banks and credit unions, and by several other financial institution types—and each is regulated by a different body.

Article Sources
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