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TITLE 7 BANKING AND FINANCE

6A. Georgia Fair Lending Act, 7-6A-1 through 7-6A-13.

ARTICLE 2 RESIDENTIAL SECOND MORTGAGES

7-6A-4. "Flipping" a home loan; costs and fees.

  1. No creditor may knowingly or intentionally engage in the unfair act or practice of "flipping" a home loan. Flipping a home loan is the consummating of a high-cost home loan to a borrower that refinances an existing home loan that was consummated within the prior five years when the new loan does not provide reasonable, tangible net benefit to the borrower considering all of the circumstances including, but not limited to, the terms of both the new and refinanced loans, the cost of the new loan, and the borrower's circumstances.
  2. The home loan refinancing transaction shall be presumed to be a flipping where a high-cost home loan refinances an existing home loan that was consummated within the prior five years and that is a special mortgage originated, subsidized, or guaranteed by or through a state, tribal, or local government or a nonprofit organization, which either bears a below-market interest rate at the time the loan was originated or has nonstandard payment terms beneficial to the borrower, such as payments that vary with income, are limited to a percentage of income, or where no payments are required under specified conditions and where, as a result of the refinancing, the borrower will lose one or more of the benefits of the special mortgage. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in this chapter, home loan refinancing transactions of first mortgage loans originated by, purchased by, or assigned to the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority shall not be presumed to be a flipping under this subsection.
  3. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in this chapter regarding costs and attorneys' fees, in any action instituted by a borrower who alleges that the defendant violated this Code section, the borrower shall be entitled to costs and attorneys' fees only if the presiding judge, in the judge's discretion, allows reasonable attorneys' fees and costs to the borrower as prevailing party, such fees and costs to be taxed as a part of the court costs and payable by the losing party upon a finding by the presiding judge that the party charged with the violation has willfully engaged in the act or practice and there was unwarranted refusal by such party to fully resolve the matter which constitutes the basis of such action.

(Code 1981, §7-6A-4, enacted by Ga. L. 2002, p. 455, § 1; Ga. L. 2003, p. 1, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 631, § 7.)

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Preemption.

- Debtors' claims that a bank violated O.C.G.A. §§ 7-6A-4 and7-6A-5 were preempted by federal law given an order issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency clearly stating that the provisions of the Georgia Fair Lending Act, O.C.G.A. § 7-6A-1 et seq., affecting national banks' real estate lending were either preempted by federal law or were moot as a result of the preemption. Salvador v. Bank of Am., N.A. (In re Salvador), 456 Bankr. 610 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. 2011).