Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1400-B – Registration; requirements
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
1. Registration. A person may not directly or indirectly engage in or carry on, or purport to engage in or carry on, the business of, or act in the capacity of, a settlement agency in this State without first registering with the administrator in accordance with this chapter. The registration must be in a manner and form prescribed by the administrator. The administrator may require registration through the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry as defined in Title 9?A, section 13?102, subsection 8. The administrator is authorized to participate in the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry.
In all cases, whether registration is through the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry or otherwise, the administrator may establish, by rule, requirements for registration, including but not limited to:
A. Background checks for:
(1) Criminal history through fingerprint or other databases;
(2) Civil or administrative records;
(3) Credit history; or
(4) Any other information determined necessary by the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry; [PL 2021, c. 245, Pt. D, §7 (NEW).]
B. The payment of fees to apply for or renew registrations, except that the fee for an initial application may not exceed $300 and for a renewal may not exceed $300. If registration is through the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry, an applicant must also pay a nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry processing fee in an amount to be determined by the administrators of the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry. Renewal applications received after the due date are subject to an additional fee of $100; [PL 2021, c. 245, Pt. D, §7 (NEW).]
C. The setting or resetting as necessary of renewal or reporting dates; and [PL 2021, c. 245, Pt. D, §7 (NEW).]
D. Other requirements for application for, amendment of or revocation of a registration or any other such activities as the administrator considers necessary. [PL 2021, c. 245, Pt. D, §7 (NEW).]
All funds received by the administrator under this chapter are appropriated for the use of the administrator, and any balance of the funds does not lapse but must be carried forward to be expended for the same purposes in the following fiscal year.
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2?A.
[PL 2021, c. 245, Pt. D, §7 (AMD).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1400-B
- Administrator: means the Superintendent of Consumer Credit Protection within the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1400-A
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
- Financial institution: means a bank, credit union, savings and loan association, savings bank, trust company or other similar depository or nondepository financial institution, including an institution whose accounts are insured by the full faith and credit of the United States, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund or other similar or successor programs as well as an affiliate or subsidiary of such financial institution. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1400-A
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Real estate: includes lands and all tenements and hereditaments connected therewith, and all rights thereto and interests therein. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
- Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act: Federal law that, among other things, requires lenders to provide "good faith" estimates of settlement costs and make other disclosures regarding the mortgage loan. RESPA also limits the amount of funds held in escrow for real estate taxes and insurance. Source: OCC
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Settlement: means the receipt of loan funds, loan documents or other documents or funds to carry out the contractual terms of a residential real estate transaction. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1400-A
- Settlement agency: includes an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership or other entity conducting the settlement and disbursement of settlement proceeds. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1400-A
- Settlement agent: means a person engaged in the business of settlements on behalf of a settlement agency. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1400-A
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
- United States: includes territories and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
- Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
2. Exemptions. This chapter does not apply to:
A. A person licensed to practice law in this State while engaged in the performance of the person’s professional duties, except an attorney or law firm actively engaging in a separate business as a settlement agency; [PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
B. Individual settlement agents, working on behalf of a settlement agency registered or exempt under this section; [PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
C. A real estate company, broker or salesperson licensed by and subject to the jurisdiction of this State while performing acts in the course of or incidental to sales or purchases of real or personal property handled or negotiated by the real estate company, broker or salesperson; [PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
D. A receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, executor, administrator, guardian or other person acting under the supervision or order of a court of this State or of a federal court; [PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
E. A person licensed in this State as a certified public accountant while engaged in the performance of the person’s professional duties who is not actively engaged in a separate business as a settlement agency; [PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
F. A financial institution; [PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
G. A regulated lender subject to the licensing requirements of Title 9?A to the extent the lender is not engaged in a separate business as a settlement agency; [PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
H. Any federal or state agency and its political subdivisions; and [PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
I. A loan broker subject to the requirements of Title 9?A, Article 10 to the extent the loan broker is not engaged in a separate business as a settlement agency. [PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
[PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
3. Renewal. On or before April 30th of each year, a settlement agency registered under this chapter shall pay an annual renewal fee as determined pursuant to subsection 1 and shall file with the administrator a renewal form containing such information as the administrator may require.
[PL 2021, c. 245, Pt. D, §8 (AMD).]
4. Place of business; name. A settlement agency registered under this chapter shall maintain a home office as its principal location for the transaction of settlement business. The administrator may issue additional branch registrations to the same settlement agency upon compliance with all the provisions of this chapter governing the issuance of a single settlement agency registration. For purposes of this subsection, the conducting of a settlement by mail or at a remote location for the convenience of the parties by a settlement agent based out of the settlement agency’s registered principal office or registered branch office is not considered the transaction of settlement business at a place of business other than the registered location of the settlement agency.
[PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
5. Examinations and investigations. Upon any complaint alleging a violation of law, including the Funded Settlement Act, the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, 12 United States Code § 2601 et seq. or the Maine Consumer Credit Code, the administrator may examine or investigate the books, records and accounts of a settlement agency.
[PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
6. Enforcement. The administrator may undertake any action authorized pursuant to Title 9?A, Article 6 to ensure compliance with this chapter. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to affect the ability of a settlement company to assert the attorney-client privilege. With respect to a settlement company that is owned or operated by an attorney licensed in this State, the administrator shall notify the Board of Overseers of the Bar of any enforcement action taken by the administrator pursuant to this chapter.
[PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2009, c. 61, §2 (NEW). PL 2021, c. 245, Pt. D, §§7, 8 (AMD).