In the previous post, we established the consumer’s right to rescind a loan under TILA. This second part of the series details how a consumer’s right to rescind can be extended beyond the normal three days.

According to the TILA, your lender must have informed you of several crucial details.

You must have been given proper notice of your three-day right to rescind your loan. This provision is meant to give you time to go over the details of the loan, and to give you a chance to change your mind about risking your home as a security interest. The document must specify the following:

a) The retention or acquisition of a security interest in your principal dwelling;
b) Your right to rescind the transaction;
c) How to exercise your right to rescind, using a form that designates the address of the creditor’s place of business;
d) The effects of rescission, and;
e) The date the rescission period expires.

Another thing your creditor should have disclosed is an accurate computation of the following:

a.    The annual percentage rate (APR), which is the effective interest rate you will be paying on the loan;
b.    All finance charges, meaning any fees paid directly or indirectly to the lender;
c.    The Amount Financed, which is the mortgage amount you applied for;
d.    The Total of Payments;
e.    The Payment Schedule, and;
f.    Other disclosures and limitations.

All of these charges must be accurate to a certain degree of tolerance, which is $35. This means that if you paid $10,040 dollars when you should have only paid $10,000 as stipulated in the contract, your creditor has violated the agreement and can be held liable.

To summarize, you must have been made explicitly aware of your right to rescind and of all the fees you have agreed to pay for. Failure to properly disclose ANY of these extends your right to rescind your loan to up to three years since the signing.

Defending foreclosure effectively means that you need to know all of the laws, and use all the defenses, at your disposal.  One of the tools to use may be the Truth-In-Lending Act (also known as TILA).

Enacted in 1968, this law is meant to protect consumers from inaccurate or unfair credit billing, by stipulating full disclosure of all key terms and conditions of credit by their lenders. Violations of TILA can mean severe penalties for the creditor, but more importantly, you can use it to keep your home through a special provision known as the right to rescission.

When one rescinds a loan, it will be as if the loan never happened.  You will be entitled to a return of the interest and fees you have paid to the lender to date.

Take note, however, that this right applies only to a non-purchase money security interest on your primary residence. This means TILA applies only to transactions on your primary home - whether it’s a regular house, a trailer, or a boathouse.

This right to rescind normally lasts for three business days, starting from the day you signed the agreement. However, this time period can be extended to three years under special conditions:

1.    You are not properly notified of your right to rescind your agreement.
2.    Your lender fails to properly disclose all credit terms of the transaction, as according to the TILA.

If either case happens, you may be able to rescind your loan in order to halt an impending foreclosure.