Attorney's Note

Under the N.C. Gen. Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class 1 misdemeanorup to 120 days
For details, see § 15A-1340.23

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 66-108

  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • 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.
  • property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. Source: OCC
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.

(a) Every loan broker must obtain a surety bond issued by a surety company authorized to do business in this State, or establish a trust account with a licensed and insured bank or savings institution located in the State of North Carolina.  The amount of the bond or trust account shall be ten thousand dollars ($10,000).  The bond or trust account shall be in favor of the State of North Carolina.  Any person damaged by the loan broker’s breach of contract or of any obligation arising therefrom, or by any violation of this Article, may bring an action against the bond or trust account to recover damages suffered.  The aggregate liability of the surety or trustee shall be only for actual damages and in no event shall exceed the amount of the bond or trust account.

(b) Failure to comply with subsection (a) shall be a Class 1 misdemeanor.

(c) No loan broker shall collect any advance fee or other valuable consideration from a borrower prior to the closing of the loan.  This prohibition shall not preclude the loan broker from collecting reasonable and necessary fees payable to third parties for appraisal, property survey, title examination, and credit reports. (1979, c. 705, s. 1; 1993, c. 339, s. 3, c. 539, s. 522; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)