§ 23-53-102 - Legislative intent. - Arkansas Statutes

23-53-102. Legislative intent.

(a) The General Assembly finds that:

(1) Abusive mortgage lending has become an increasing problem in this state, exacerbating the loss of equity in homes and causing the number of foreclosures to increase in recent years;

(2) One of the most common forms of abusive lending is the making of loans that are equity-based, rather than income-based;

(3) The financing of points and fees in the loans provides immediate income to the originator and encourages lenders to repeatedly refinance home loans;

(4) The lender's ability to sell loans reduces the incentive to ensure that the homeowner can afford the payments of the loan;

(5) As long as there is sufficient equity in the home, an abusive lender benefits even if the borrower is unable to make the payments and is forced to refinance;

(6) The financing of high points and fees causes the loss of precious equity in each refinancing and often leads to foreclosure;

(7) Abusive lending has threatened the viability of many communities and caused decreases in homeownership;

(8) While the marketplace appears to operate effectively for conventional mortgages, too many homeowners find themselves victims of overreaching lenders who provide loans with unnecessarily high costs and terms that are unnecessary to secure repayment of the loan; and

(9) As competition and self-regulation have not eliminated the abusive terms from home-secured loans, the consumer protection provisions of this chapter are necessary to encourage lending at reasonable rates with reasonable terms.

(b) This chapter shall be liberally construed:

(1) To effectuate its purpose of protecting the homes and the equity of individual borrowers; and

(2) As a consumer protection statute for all purposes.