The 2015 NC General Assembly adjourned yesterday, months after we first expected them to wrap-up their session. They will reconvene for the short session on April 25, 2016. Because of your calls and letters, three very dangerous bills did not pass: Senate Bill 681, which would have legalized 80 to 125% loans, never even got a committee hearing, House Bill...
Payday and car title loans are small-dollar, high-cost products that thrive on keeping consumers in a cycle of debt. With lenders doing essentially no underwriting, consumers find it easy to obtain these loans, often marketed as a solution to financial emergency. However, the unaffordability of the loan and the lenders extreme leverage over the borrowers – either through direct access...
The topic of student loan debt is increasingly gaining public attention. Too often, assumptions about debt are made that hide the real contours of the problem. For example, simply citing aggregated student loan debt loads at a state or national level suggests that every student loan borrower is the same– with identical financial backgrounds, borrowing to attend similar institutions, and...
View a letter from North Carolina organizations to Director Richard Cordray of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau calling for a strong payday rule. North Carolina has a unique story to tell about payday lending. North Carolina was the first state to: Roll back a once legal payday industry Litigate the rent-a-bank model Force a bank to drop its bank payday...
Debt buyers, specialized debt-collection companies, purchase defaulted consumer debt from creditors such as credit card companies for pennies on the dollar. Debt buyers then attempt to collect the debt, often by suing borrowers in court. Unfortunately, because debts are typically sold to debt buyers without fully verifying the accuracy of the borrower's identity, amount of the debt, or status of...
The 2015 NC General Assembly adjourned yesterday, months after we first expected them to wrap-up their session. They will reconvene for the short session on April 25, 2016. Because of your calls and letters, three very dangerous bills did not pass: Senate Bill 681, which would have legalized 80 to 125% loans, never even got a committee hearing, House Bill...
SB 1400 requires that foreclosures must proceed through the judicial foreclosure process (rather than power of sale) when the homeowner is on active military duty and the mortgage was entered into prior to active duty service. The bill is meant to complement the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). SCRA already required that a hearing be held before a judge to...
Full Session Law This legislation, effective October 1, 2010, provides basic protections for North Carolinians against foreclosure "rescue" scams, and abuses related to option-to-purchase and contract-for-deed contracts. Violations of this law constitute an unfair trade practice and the injured party may sue to recover damages, obtain declaratory or equitable relief, or rescind the transaction, in addition to any other remedy...
Full Session Law This legislation has two major components: (1) it extends the reach of the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project, and (2) it modifies the points and fees trigger for determining that a mortgage is high-cost. Extending the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project (SHFPP) Since 2008, the SHFPP has helped over 4,200 homeowners with subprime loans avoid foreclosure in...
Full Session Law This act, which became effective October 1, 2009, increased the amount of home equity protected against creditors. This "homestead exemption" was raised from $18,500 to $35,000 per individual. Since the exempted amount is per individual, $70,000 is protected for a married couple. For homeowners aged 65 or older who previously owned the home with their deceased spouse...