PREDATORY LENDING
About the program
PREDATORY HOME LENDING LAW PROJECT
The course in predatory home lending law focuses upon the lending industry and federal and state laws that govern lending. As part of the course, students learn how to evaluate home lending documents for predatory terms, how to counsel borrowers about their rights under federal, state, and local laws that deal with predatory home lending practices, and how to settle disputes and restructure loans using non-litigation techniques. Today predatory lending practices are a major concern to federal, state, and local authorities. They affect persons of all races, but especially affect minority communities and the elderly.
There is a practical component to the course. Law students interview consumers and review the terms of their loans. In doing so, they work closely with representatives of the neighborhood groups in attempting to identify predatory lending practices and solutions that may be available to the borrowers. The purpose of the review project is to educate consumers about their legal rights, obligations, and responsibilities, and about the alternatives available to them. If the consumers need further assistance, the students work with neighborhood counselors in suggesting where the borrowers can go for help, other products that may be available to them, and, in appropriate situations, how they may go about resolving disputes with lenders or brokers using non-litigation techniques.
The students receive three academic credit hours for the course - two hours for the classroom component and one hour for the review component. The course focuses on developing practical skills in (1) reviewing documents, (2) resolving disputes with lenders using non-litigation techniques, (3) counseling clients how to find alternative sources of assistance, and (4) explaining the law and legal concepts to non-lawyers. The classroom component of the course meets twice a week during the first part of the semester.
The class is team-taught by experts in the area under the coordination of Professor Michael P. Seng. Guest lecturers provide the students with a broad experience and perspective.
Students are required to spend approximately four hours each week interviewing borrowers and reviewing loan documents. Most of counseling takes place at the Greater Southwest Development Corporation at 2601 West 63rd Street, at one of the offices of Neighborhood Housing Services, or at the Resurrection Project in Chicago's Pilsen Neighborhood. Students are expected to spend approximately half a day each week on the counseling project - or approximately 40 hours for the semester.
Students are required to arrange to speak before a community group or organization of their choice about predatory home lending law and practices. Students fulfilled this requirement by speaking to church groups, schools and PTAs, personnel in government offices and law firms, and even clients or employees of lenders.
Lectures in the course include:
-- The Problem of Defining and Identifying Predatory Lending Practices
-- The Harm Caused by Predatory Home Lending Practices
-- The Role of Mortgages and the Legal and Historical Background of the
Mortgage Lending Industry
-- How the Financial Markets Operate - The Various Financial Players and Regulators
-- Identifying Predatory Lending Practices by Reviewing Lending Documents and
Identifying the Laws They Violate
-- Truth in Lending and Related Statutes
-- Defending Foreclosure Actions
-- Bankruptcy as a Remedy in Predatory Lending Cases
-- Establishing Good Credit and the Role of the Mortgage Broker
--The Anti-Discrimination Laws and the Use of Civil Actions to Counter Predatory Lending
-- Effectively Counseling a Victim of Predatory Lending
-- The Regulatory Role of the Division of Banks and Real Estate
-- State Anti-Fraud and Deceptive Practices Actions
-- Preemption of State Law by Federal Law
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