Politicians from both parties teamed up in Ohio in May to enact a predatory lending law that is arguably tougher than North Carolina’s, which went into effect in 1999. The law requires brokers and lenders to work in “good faith” for homebuyers, and gives the state the power to press criminal charges against violators. The law bans numerous practices common among unscrupulous lenders, including unreasonable contract terms, taking advantage of an illiterate person and failing to weigh whether a borrower can afford a mortgage. A series of articles in 2005 about predatory lending in a Columbus, Ohio, newspaper put the issue at the top of lawmakers’ agenda. (NLIHC, Winston-Salem Journal, 6/20)
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