The California Homeowner Bill of Rights became law on January 1, 2013. It was created “to ensure fair lending and borrowing practices for California homeowners,” and is the byproduct of a “Mortgage Fraud Strike Force” created in May 2011 to investigate and prosecute misconduct at all stages of the mortgage process.

All those in the California commercial real estate industry must be conversant with the law’s key provisions. They include:

Restriction on dual-track foreclosure: Mortgage servicers are restricted from advancing the foreclosure process if the homeowner is working on securing a loan modification. When a homeowner completes an application for a loan modification, the foreclosure process is essentially paused until the complete application has been fully reviewed...