Six years after the housing meltdown exposed fissures in the system, new mortgage rules that will take effect Friday stand to remodel the market, the Washington Post reported today. The reforms written by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau aim to protect Americans in the process of buying a home and if they run into trouble paying their mortgages. Lenders will have to verify borrowers’ income, assets and debt before signing them up for home loans. The CFPB has created a category of home loans that offer lenders broad legal protections against borrower lawsuits, provided they adhere to certain criteria. These “qualified mortgages” limit upfront fees and bar risky features such as no-interest periods that can leave homeowners stuck with unsustainable loans. The loans are available to consumers who have a debt burden that is no more than 43 percent of income.
