Fiduciary duty and Mortgage Brokers in California.
As of Jan. 1, 2010, a mortgage broker will be deemed a fiduciary with a duty to place the borrower’s economic interest above his or her own. The Office of Real Estate Appraisers (OREA) will have regulatory oversight of appraisal management companies and will implement a registration system for appraisal management companies, including fingerprinting and background checks for persons with operational authority, as defined. The new law also clarifies what conduct constitutes improperly influencing the appraisal process by anyone with an interest in a real estate transaction.
Other significant laws also are in place. For detailed information, please visit www.leginfo.ca.gov on car.org.
This is from the CAR legal update informing Realtors of changes in the law that may affect us.
I did not realize that Mortgage Brokers did not have a fiduciary duty to their clients! The first document a Realtor signs with his/her client is an Agency Relationship Disclosure which puts into writing the fiduciary obligation to put the client’s interest ahead of our own economic interests. No wonder some of these unscrupulous brokers were pushing option ARM loans on their clients………..
