Public Act 097-0891 Summary

• Increases residential mortgage licensee application and investigation fees from $2,043 to $2,700 annually.

• Prohibits mortgage loan originators from charging advance payments to borrowers for loan modification services.

• Requires mortgage loan originators engaged in loan modification activities to report those activities to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation with no additional fees or qualifications beyond standard licensing requirements.

• Authorizes the Department to use the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry as a channeling agent for background checks and information requests from federal agencies and other sources.

• Adds violations of Article 3 of the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act as grounds for disciplinary action against residential mortgage licensees, with enhanced fines up to $75,000 for fraud-related offenses.