Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-10 – Prohibitions
Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-10
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Consideration: means any payment or thing of value provided to an owner of a distressed property, including reasonable costs paid to independent third parties necessary to complete the distressed property conveyance or payment of money to satisfy a debt or legal obligation of an owner of the distressed property. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Distressed property: means any residential real property that:
(1) Is in foreclosure or at risk of foreclosure because payment of any loan that is secured by the residential real property is more than sixty days delinquent;
(2) Had a lien or encumbrance charged against it because of nonpayment of any taxes, lease assessments, association fees, or maintenance fees;
(3) Is at risk of having a lien or encumbrance charged against it because the payments of any taxes, lease assessments, association fees, or maintenance fees are more than ninety days delinquent;
(4) Secures a loan for which a notice of default has been given;
(5) Secures a loan that has been accelerated; or
(6) Is the subject of any solicitation, representation, offer, agreement, promise, or contract to perform any mortgage assistance relief service. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Distressed property consultant: means any person who performs or provides, or attempts to perform or provide, or who arranges for others to perform or provide, or who assists others to perform or provide, or who makes any solicitation, representation, or offer to perform or provide, any mortgage assistance relief service. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Distressed property consultant contract: means any agreement or obligation between an owner or agent of an owner of a distressed property and a distressed property consultant. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Distressed property conveyance: means the transfer of any interest in a distressed property effected directly or indirectly by or through a distressed property consultant. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Distressed property conveyance contract: means any agreement or obligation affecting a distressed property conveyance. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Distressed property purchaser: means any person who acquires any interest in a distressed property directly or indirectly through a distressed property conveyance or distressed property conveyance contract. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
- Fully performed: means :
(1) In the case of relief requiring the consent of any lending party, the distressed property consultant or attorney has:
(A) Carried out and provided all of the services the distressed property consultant or attorney contracted to perform or represented would be performed; and
(B) Obtained from the lending party a written offer for mortgage assistance relief that the consumer has accepted by executing the written contract. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Lending party: means the person from whom mortgage assistance relief is sought and includes the residential loan holder or servicer. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Material: means likely to affect a consumer's choice of, or conduct regarding, any mortgage assistance relief service. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Mortgage assistance relief service: means any service, plan, or program that is offered or provided to the consumer in exchange for consideration and is represented, expressly or by implication, to assist or attempt to assist the consumer with any of the following:
(1) Stopping, preventing, or postponing the loss of any residential real property, whether by mortgage or deed or trust foreclosure sale or repossession, or otherwise saving any consumer's residential real property from foreclosure or repossession;
(2) Stopping, preventing, or postponing the charging of any lien or encumbrance against any residential real property or reducing or eliminating any lien or encumbrance charged against any residential real property for the nonpayment of any taxes, lease assessments, association fees, or maintenance fees;
(3) Saving the owner's property from foreclosure or loss of home due to nonpayment of taxes;
(4) Negotiating, obtaining, or arranging any modification of any term of a residential loan, including a reduction in the amount of interest, principal balance, monthly payments, or fees;
(5) Negotiating, obtaining, or arranging any extension of the period of time within which the consumer may:
(A) Cure the default on a residential loan;
(B) Reinstate the residential loan;
(C) Redeem any residential real property; or
(D) Exercise any right to reinstate a residential loan or redeem a residential real property;
(6) Negotiating, obtaining, or arranging, with respect to any residential real property:
(A) A short sale;
(B) A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure; or
(C) Any other disposition of the property other than a sale to a third party who is not the residential loan holder;
(7) Obtaining any forbearance or modification in the timing of payments from any residential loan holder or servicer;
(8) Obtaining any forbearance from any beneficiary or mortgagee, or any relief with respect to a tax sale of any residential real property;
(9) Obtaining any waiver of an acceleration clause or balloon payment contained in any promissory note or other contract secured by a mortgage on any residential real property or contained in the mortgage;
(10) Obtaining any extension of the period within which the owner may reinstate the owner's rights with respect to the owner's property;
(11) Obtaining a loan or advance of funds while the consumer is in foreclosure or at risk of foreclosure due to nonpayment of any obligation related to a residential real property, including but not limited to one or more loans, taxes, lease assessments, association fees, or maintenance fees;
(12) Obtaining a loan or advance of funds during any post-tax sale redemption period;
(13) Considering or deciding whether a consumer should continue making payments on any loan, taxes, lease assessments, association fees, or maintenance fees or any other obligation related to a residential real property;
(14) Exercising any cure of default;
(15) Avoiding or ameliorating the impairment of the property owner's credit resulting from the recording or filing of a notice of default or the conduct of a foreclosure sale or tax sale;
(16) Drafting, preparing, performing, creating, or otherwise obtaining a forensic loan audit, a forensic securitization audit, or any other type of audit, report, summary, affidavit, or declaration involving an opinion, determination, or analysis of whether a lending party has an enforceable mortgage or lien, predicated upon claims that a lending party that is a party to a pooling and service agreement failed to adhere to the terms of that agreement, or that errors occurred after the signing of the mortgage loan, or disputing whether the lending party is the holder of the promissory note, or any argument that the lending party has failed to comply with federal or state mortgage lending laws;
(17) Drafting, preparing, performing, creating, or otherwise obtaining any documentation used or intended to be used to advance any legal theory in defense of a foreclosure or ejectment action, regardless of any disclaimer as to providing legal advice; or
(18) Understanding any legal theory that may be used in defense of a foreclosure or ejectment action, regardless of any disclaimer as to providing legal advice. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, or other group or entity, however organized. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
- property owner: means the owner of any distressed property. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Residential loan: means any loan that is secured by a mortgage against residential real property, regardless of whether the property owner lacks sufficient equity in the property so as to render the loan partially or entirely unsecured. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Residential loan holder: means any person who holds the residential loan that is the subject of the offer to provide mortgage assistance relief services. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Servicer: means the person responsible for:
(1) Receiving any scheduled periodic payments pursuant to the terms of the residential loan that is the subject of the offer to provide mortgage assistance relief services; and
(2) Making the payments of principal and interest and such other payments with respect to the amounts received from the consumer as may be required pursuant to the terms of the mortgage servicing loan documents or servicing contract. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 480E-2
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
“This is an offer of mortgage assistance we obtained from your lender [or servicer]. You may accept or reject the offer. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us. If you accept the offer, you will have to pay us [same amount as disclosed in the distressed property consultant contract] for our services.”
The disclosure required by this paragraph shall be made in a clear and prominent manner, on a separate written page, and preceded by the heading:
“IMPORTANT NOTICE: Before buying this service, consider the following information.”
The heading shall be in boldface type that is two-point type larger than the type size of the required disclosure;
The notice required by this paragraph shall be made in a clear and prominent manner, on a separate written page, and preceded by the heading: “IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM YOUR [name of lender or servicer] ABOUT THIS OFFER.” The heading shall be in boldface type that is two-point type larger than the type size of the required disclosure;