Section 7-6A-5. Limitations of high-cost home loans

   High-cost home loans shall be subject to the following limitations and prohibited practices:

   (1) No prepayment fees or penalties shall be provided for in the loan documents for a high-cost home loan or charged the borrower after the last day of the twenty-fourth month following the loan closing or which exceed in the aggregate:

      (A) In the first 12 months after the loan closing, more than 2 percent of the loan amount prepaid; or

      (B) In the second 12 months after the loan closing, more than 1 percent of the amount prepaid;

   (2) A high-cost home loan shall not contain a scheduled payment that is more than twice as large as the average of earlier scheduled payments. This provision does not apply when the payment schedule is adjusted to the seasonal or irregular income of the borrower;

   (3) A high-cost home loan shall not include payment terms under which the outstanding principal balance will increase at any time over the course of the loan because the regular periodic payments do not cover the full amount of interest due;

   (4) A high-cost home loan shall not contain a provision that increases the interest rate after default. This provision does not apply to interest rate changes in a variable rate loan otherwise consistent with the provisions of the loan documents, provided that the change in the interest rate is not triggered by the event of default or the acceleration of the indebtedness;

   (5) A high-cost home loan shall not include terms under which more than two periodic payments required under the loan are consolidated and paid in advance from the loan proceeds provided to the borrower;

   (6) Without regard to whether a borrower is acting individually or on behalf of others similarly situated, any provision of a high-cost home loan agreement that allows a party to require a borrower to assert any claim or defense in a forum that is less convenient, more costly, or more dilatory for the resolution of a dispute than a judicial forum established in this state where the borrower may otherwise properly bring the claim or defense or limits in any way any claim or defense the borrower may have is unconscionable and void;

   (7) A creditor shall not make a high-cost home loan without first receiving certification from a counselor with a third-party nonprofit organization approved by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority that the borrower has received counseling on the advisability of the loan transaction. No creditor, servicer, or its institution shall be required to contribute to the funding of any nonprofit organization that provides counseling required pursuant to this paragraph;

   (8) A creditor shall not make a high-cost home loan unless a reasonable creditor would believe at the time the loan is consummated that the borrower residing in the home will be able to make the scheduled payments associated with the loan based upon a consideration of his or her current and expected income, current obligations, employment status, and other financial resources, other than the borrower's equity in the collateral that secures repayment of the loan. There is a rebuttable presumption that the borrower residing in the home is able to make the scheduled payments to repay the obligation if, at the time the loan is consummated, said borrower's total monthly debts, including amounts under the loan, do not exceed 50 percent of said borrower's monthly gross income as verified by tax returns, payroll receipts, and other third-party income verification;

   (9) A creditor or servicer shall not pay a contractor under a home improvement contract from the proceeds of a high-cost home loan unless:

      (A) The creditor or servicer is presented with an affidavit of the contractor that the work has been completed, which affidavit meets the requirements of Code Section 44-14-361.2; and

      (B) The proceeds are disbursed in an instrument payable to the borrower or jointly to the borrower and the contractor or, at the election of the borrower, through a third-party escrow agent in accordance with terms established in a written agreement signed by the borrower, the drafter of the instrument, and the contractor prior to the disbursement;

   (10) A creditor or servicer shall not charge a borrower any fees or other charges to modify, renew, extend, or amend a high-cost home loan or to defer any payment due under the terms of a high-cost home loan;

   (11) A creditor who makes a high-cost home loan and who has the legal right to foreclose shall provide notice of the intent to foreclose to the borrower in writing by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address of the borrower last known to the creditor. Such notice shall be sent to the borrower at least 14 days prior to the publication of the legal advertisement required by Code Section 44-14-162;

   (12) If a creditor or servicer asserts that grounds for acceleration of a high-cost home loan exist and requires the payment in full of all sums secured by the security instrument, the borrower or anyone authorized to act on the borrower's behalf shall have the right at any time, up to the time title is transferred by means of foreclosure by judicial proceeding and sale or otherwise, to cure the default and reinstate the high-cost home loan by tendering the total amount of principal, interest, late fees, and escrow deposits in arrears, not including any acceleration. Cure of default as provided in this paragraph shall reinstate the borrower to the same position as if the default had not occurred and shall nullify as of the date of the cure any acceleration of any obligation under the security instrument or note arising from the default;

   (13) (A) To cure a default under this Code section, a borrower shall not be required to pay any charge, fee, or penalty attributable to the exercise of the right to cure a default as provided for in this Code section, other than the fees specifically allowed by this Code section. The borrower shall not be liable for any attorneys' fees relating to the borrower's default that are incurred by the creditor or servicer prior to or during the 30 day period set forth in this paragraph, nor for any such fees in excess of $100.00 that are incurred by the creditor or servicer after the expiration of the 30 day period but prior to the time the creditor or servicer files a foreclosure action or takes other action to seize or transfer ownership of the home. After the creditor or servicer files a foreclosure action or takes other action to seize or transfer ownership of the home, the borrower shall only be liable for attorneys' fees that are reasonable and actually incurred by the creditor or servicer based on a reasonable hourly rate and a reasonable number of hours plus any other reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by the creditor or servicer.

      (B) If a default is cured prior to the initiation of any action to foreclose or to seize or transfer a home, the creditor or servicer shall not institute the foreclosure proceeding or other action for that default. If a default is cured after the initiation of any action to foreclose, the creditor or servicer shall take such steps as are necessary to terminate the foreclosure proceeding or other action.

      (C) Before any action is filed to foreclose upon the home or other action is taken to seize or transfer ownership of a home, a notice of the right to cure the default must be delivered to the borrower informing the borrower of the following:

         (i) The nature of the default claimed on the high-cost home loan and of the borrower's right to cure the default by paying the sum of money required to cure the default. If the amount necessary to cure the default will change during the 30 day period after the effective date of the notice due to the application of a daily interest rate or the addition of late fees as allowed by this chapter, the notice shall give sufficient information to enable the borrower to calculate the amount at any point during the 30 day period;

         (ii) The date by which the borrower shall cure the default to avoid acceleration and initiation of foreclosure or other action to seize the home which date shall not be less than 30 days after the date the notice is effective and the name and address and phone number of a person to whom the payment or tender shall be made;

         (iii) That, if the borrower does not cure the default by the date specified, the creditor or servicer may take steps to terminate the borrower's ownership in the property by commencing a foreclosure proceeding or other action to seize the home; and

         (iv) The name and address of the creditor or servicer and the telephone number of a representative of the creditor or servicer whom the borrower may contact if the borrower disagrees with the creditor's or servicer's assertion that a default has occurred or the correctness of the creditor's or servicer's calculation of the amount required to cure the default;

   (14) A high-cost home loan shall not contain nor shall a creditor or servicer enforce a provision that permits a creditor or servicer, in its sole discretion, to accelerate the indebtedness. This paragraph does not prohibit acceleration of the loan in good faith due to the borrower's failure to abide by the material terms of the loan; and

   (15) All high-cost home loan documents that create a debt or pledge property as collateral shall contain the following notice on the first page in a conspicuous manner: "Notice: This is a mortgage subject to special rules under the 'Georgia Fair Lending Act.' Purchasers or assignees of this mortgage may be liable for all claims and defenses by the borrower with respect to the mortgage."

Code 1981, § 7-6A-5, enacted by Ga. L. 2002, p. 455, § 1; Ga. L. 2003, p. 1, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 631, § 7.