The California Senate Banking and Finance and the Assembly Business, Professions and Economic Development committees have scheduled a joint informational hearing on hard money lending for January 18, 2012. According to the proposed agenda, legislators will hear from consumers and investors, representatives from the Departments of Real Estate and Corporations, and from the industry.

A “hard money” loan is what you get when money is hard to come by. The term itself does not have a precise legal definition and can cover a wide variety of different types of loans, lenders and borrowers. Consequently, regulation of hard money lenders may fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Real Estate or the Department of Corporations.