UPDATE: Predatory Lending Legislation

By: Susan Dioury and Christine Berger

As you know through our previous communications, the Legislature has been actively working on legislation to increase mortgage lending and related industry standards. The Minnesota Association of REALTORS® (MNAR) continues to support the establishment of lending standards in order to crack down on fraudulent lending activity. However, we also understand that any proposed legislation must be carefully drafted so that appropriate standards can be implemented without significant unintended adverse effects on an already struggling housing economy.

There are 11 primary bills that are currently moving through the legislative process regulating the mortgage industry. The MNAR has been intimately involved in individual discussions, meetings and hearings with the bill's legislative authors, other key Legislators, representatives from the Attorney General's office, the Minnesota Association of Mortgage Brokers ("Mortgage Brokers"), the Mortgage Bankers Association of Minnesota ("Mortgage Bankers"), legal aid and others throughout the session. We have expressed our concerns with some of the initial and amended provisions in the bills as they have moved through the legislative process.

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Regulators discuss Mortgage Lending Fraud

A quick list of "do's and don'ts"

Mortgage lending fraud activities and some of the resulting foreclosures are putting a damper on the real estate market and federal regulators are increasing their scrutiny of those in the industry. To help REALTORS® Get a better understanding of the issues, MNAR hosted a full day event addressing the issue of mortgage fraud and real estate sales. One segment of the program included 3 federal agencies who gave an overview of the law, common problems and then answered questions from the audience.

In attendance were Joe Dixon, Assistant United States Attorney, Special Agent in Charge of Criminal Investigations Francine Evans and Special Agent Criminal Investigations Andrew Gibart of the Department of Treasury, IRS division, and David Moldal, Special Agent from the FBI. The four provided the 300 Minnesota REALTORS® in attendance with a definitive outline for recognizing mortgage fraud activities. Below is a recap of those comments:

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Nominating Committee Recommends Candidates for Leadership positions

The Nominating Committee of the MN Association of REALTORS® met on Friday, April 13, 2006. The purpose of the meeting was to interview applicants for the positions of Treasurer and President-Elect. After a thorough review of each candidate's application and qualifications, an in-depth interview was conducted. The Nominating Committee has recommended the following names to the Board of Directors for election:

In addition to the slate of Officers recommended by the Nominating Committee, additional candidates may be placed in nomination by petition. Article 5, Section 2 of the MNAR Bylaws stipulate that such a petition must signed by a minimum of at least three members of the Association and received at the MNAR office on or before May 9, 2007. No member may be nominated for office unless that member has served on the Board of Directors or on an Association committee for at least one year during the previous three years.

The election of Officers will take place at the MNAR Board of Directors meeting on Friday, June 8, 2007. The location of the meeting is the Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove.

Any questions concerning the nominating or petition process should be directed to Linda Modlinski at lmodlinski@mnrealtor.com.