Equal access, full disclosure and objective evaluation

The California Association of Mortgage Professionals supports consumers’ right to be treated fairly and honestly, and to be given equal access, full disclosure, and be subject to an objective evaluation of their creditworthiness.

Ethical mortgage  professionals utilize recognized standards including work history, creditworthiness, down payment capacity and debt-to-income ratios to evaluate and process loan applications. They strive to provide consumers with a variety of options based on each consumer’s individual financial situation and long-term goals. Professional loan originators explain all relevant loan information and give consumers the time necessary to make informed and considered decisions regarding their home financing choices. By contrast, predatory lending practices are based on fraud, deception, coercion and greed. The Association unconditionally denounces predatory lending practices.

PREDATORY LENDING is intentionally placing consumers in mortgage loans with significantly worse terms and higher costs than loans offered to similarly qualified consumers, by the majority of mortgage professionals or lenders in the region, for the primary purpose of enriching the loan originator and with little or no regard to the costs to the consumer.

• Fraud: Forged loan documents, falsified tax returns or other documents, overstating income or assets to qualify borrowers for loans they cannot afford, inflated appraisals.
• Discrimination: Charging higher rates and fees, with less favorable terms, to borrowers based on their race, national origin, age, marital status or neighborhood, than would be charged according to traditional factors such as employment history, credit record, and sufficient income to make required mortgage payments.
• Misrepresentation: The costs or loan terms at closing are not as advertised, or as presented at the time of application, and which are not properly disclosed prior to closing as mandated by law.
• Bait and Switch: Qualified borrowers are steered away from affordable options for the express purpose of increasing fee income to the unethical loan originator.
• Non-Disclosure: Key costs, fees, and terms are not disclosed, or inaccurately or only partially disclosed in violation of law and State and Federal lending regulations.

• Never sign a blank document.
• Read all documents carefully and ask questions. Do not be hurried into signing anything you do not clearly understand. Stop the entire transaction if you feel you are not getting clear answers.
• Be wary of telephone, mail or e-mail solicitations, especially promises that seem "too good to be true."  Experience shows they probably are.
• Do not be pressured into applying for more money than you can reasonably be expected to pay back according to the terms of your loan.
• Get copies of all loan documents, especially anything you have signed.
• Whenever possible, seek recommendations from friends, associates, and other trusted advisors, to assist in selecting a broker or lender.