Mortgage Finance and Regulation Practicum
This is a 2 credit skills-based class on mortgage finance and regulation. Students will: 1) learn the substantive law in mortgage lending; and 2) analyze actual cases under the substantive laws and conduct forensic loan document reviews.
The course will cover substantive consumer protection laws such as the Federal Truth in Lending Act, Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, assignee liability, remedies, fraud and unfair and deceptive practices statutes. Students will also be introduced to current legal issues relating to legislative, regulatory and litigation developments in the area of mortgage finance.
With a substantive background in place, students will be given actual cases in which they will analyze the mortgage loan documents for violations of the consumer protection laws. Students will also engage in credit math analysis, sleuthing through the loan documents, checking the numbers, and searching for errors. An error can result in the rescission of the mortgage under the Truth in Lending Act.
Students will complete a research project or paper developed around mortgage foreclosures, subprime lending, federal and state responses to the foreclosure crisis, loan modification scams, foreclosure rescue scams, etc.