Definitions. | |
Contract Requirements. | |
Right of Cancellation. | |
Violations. | |
Waiver. | |
Enforcement and Penalties. | |
Mortgage Modification Consultant's Liability for Statements or Acts of a Representative. | |
Severability. | |
(a) "Contract" means any agreement, or any term thereof, between a Mortgage Modification Consultant and an Owner for any Service as defined in subsection (g).
(b) "Mortgage Modification Consultant" means any Person who makes any solicitation, representation, or offer to any Owner to perform for compensation or who, for compensation, performs any service that the Person in any manner represents will in any manner do any of the following:
(1) Contact or negotiate with any beneficiary or mortgagee for the purposes of modifying the interest rate, principal balance, or terms of any loan prior to the recording of a Notice of Default.
(2) Prevent the recording of a Notice of Default.
(3) Obtain any forbearance from any beneficiary or mortgagee prior to the recording of a Notice of Default.
(4) Obtain any waiver of an acceleration clause contained in any promissory note or contract secured by a deed of trust or mortgage on a residence in foreclosure or contained that deed of trust or mortgage prior to the recording of a Notice of Default.
(5) Assist an Owner to obtain a loan or advance of funds to cure a mortgage default where the property is not the subject of a recorded Notice of Default.
(6) Avoid or ameliorate the impairment of the Owner's credit resulting from the threatened recording of a Notice of Default.
(7) Save an Owner's residence from a threatened foreclosure prior to the recording of a Notice of Default.
Mortgage Modification Consultant does not include any Person identified as exempt from the definition of "Foreclosure consultant" by Section 2945.1(b) of the California Civil Code.
(c) "Notice of Default" means a notice that is recorded pursuant to California Civil Code Section 2924.
(d) "Owner" means the record title owner of residential real property located in the City and County of San Francisco.
(e) "Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, or other entity, however organized, but does not include the City and County of San Francisco.
(f) "Residence" means residential real property consisting of one or more dwelling units, one of which the Owner occupies as his or her principal place of residence, encumbered by a loan secured by a deed of trust the terms of which the Owner wishes to modify in order to reduce or fix the payments thereon, but is not the subject of a recorded Notice of Default.
(g) "Service" means and includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Debt, budget, or financial counseling of any type.
(2) Receiving money for the purpose of distributing it to creditors in payment or partial payment of any obligation secured by a lien on a Residence but prior to the recording of a Notice of Default on the Residence.
(3) Contacting creditors on behalf of an Owner of a Residence prior to the recording of a Notice of Default on the Residence.
(4) Arranging or attempting to arrange for an extension of the period within which the Owner of a Residence may cure his or her default prior to the recording o a Notice of Default.
(5) Advising the filing of any document or assisting in any manner in the preparation of any document for filing with any bankruptcy court on behalf of an Owner of a Residence.
(6) Giving any advice, explanation, assistance, or instruction to an Owner of a Residence relating to the cure of an existing or threatened default in, or in an obligation secured by a lien on the Owner's Residence, or the postponement or avoidance of the recording of a Notice of Default for the Owner's Residence.
(Added by 203-09, File No. 090889, App. 8/28/2009)
(a) Every Contract shall be in writing and shall fully disclose the exact nature of the Mortgage Modification Consultant's services and the total amount and terms of compensation.
(b) Every Contract shall contain on the first page, in a type size no smaller than that generally used in the body of the Contract, (1) the name, mailing address, email address, and facsimile number of the Mortgage Modification Consultant to which notice of cancellation is to be mailed, and (2) the date the Owner signed the Contract.
(c) Every Contract shall be dated and signed by the Owner, and shall contain next to the space reserved for the Owner's signature, in not less than 14-point bold type, the following statement:
NOTICE REQUIRED BY THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
You, the owner, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to midnight of the fourteenth calendar day after you sign this contract. Cancellation occurs when you give written notice of cancellation to the other party to this contract at the party's address identified in this contract, or by facsimile or email at the number or address identified in this contract.
It is not necessary to pay a third party to arrange for a loan modification from your mortgage lender or servicer. You may call your lender directly to ask for a change in your loan terms. Nonprofit housing counseling agencies also offer borrower assistance free of charge. A list of nonprofit housing counseling agencies approved by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is available by calling 888-995-HOPE (4673) or by visiting www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hccprof14.cfm
(d) Foreign Languages. If Services are offered or negotiated primarily in one of the foreign languages set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 1632 of the California Civil Code, the Mortgage Modification Consultant shall provide the Owner, before the Owner signs the Contract, with a translated copy of the completed Contract in the language in which the Contract was negotiated. If English is the language principally used by the Mortgage Modification Consultant to describe the Services or to negotiate the Contract, the Mortgage Modification Consultant shall notify the Owner orally and in writing before the Owner signs the Contract that the Owner has the right to ask for a completed copy of the Contract in a language described in Civil Code Section 1632.
(e) Notice of Cancellation. The Contract shall be accompanied by a completed form in duplicate, titled "Notice of Cancellation," which shall be attached to the Contract, shall be easily detachable, and shall contain in not less than 14-point bold type the following statement written in the same language that was used in the Contract: "NOTICE OF CANCELLATION."
(f) The Mortgage Modification Consultant shall provide the Owner with a copy of the Contract and the attached Notice of Cancellation. An Owner's use of the Notice of Cancellation is optional. This section is in no way intended to limit the application of Section 2702.
(Added by 203-09, File No. 090889, App. 8/28/2009)
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