Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 230 - Department of Business Regulation › Chapter 40 - Banking › Subchapter 10 - Lending › Part 4 - Mortgage Foreclosure Disclosure › Section 230-RICR-40-10-4.4 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. As used in §§
										4.5  through  4.7   of
				  this Part the following terms have the following meanings:
1. "Certificate authorizing foreclosure"
				  means the form provided in a bulletin issued by the Department for that
				  purpose, providing that the Mortgagee has complied with the mediation
				  requirement of R.I. Gen. Laws §
											34-27-3.2.
2. "Days" means calendar days.
3. "Default" means the failure of the
				  mortgagor to make a timely payment of an amount due under the terms of the
				  mortgage contract, which failure has not been subsequently cured.
4. "Delinquency" means delinquency as defined
				  in terms of the underlying note.
5.
				  "Department" means the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, Division
				  of Banking.
6. "Eligible workout
				  agreement" means an agreement between a Mortgagor and Mortgagee (including but
				  not limited to a temporary or permanent loan modification, a short sale, or a
				  deed-in-lieu of foreclosure) which would result in a net financial benefit to
				  the Mortgagor as compared to the terms of the original Mortgage, or is
				  otherwise in the best interests of the Mortgagor.
7. "Headquartered in Rhode Island" means an
				  entity whose national or international corporate office or main administrative
				  office or center of operations is located in Rhode Island (whether or not such
				  functions are in located in one location or in separate locations within Rhode
				  Island) and is the office from which decision-making functions are performed
				  and orders issued (including decisions and orders regarding mortgage servicing
				  and foreclosure).
8. "HUD" means
				  the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and any successor
				  to such department.
9. "Individual
				  consumer mortgagor" means a natural person who is a Mortgagor owing or indebted
				  pursuant to a loan secured by Residential Real Estate as defined herein. R.I.
				  Gen. Laws §
											34-27-3.1 applies to all
				  Individual Consumer Mortgagors regardless of whether loan proceeds are used for
				  business or personal purposes.
10.
				  "Locally-based mortgagee" means a Rhode Island-based Mortgagee with
				  Headquarters in Rhode Island or with a physical office or offices exclusively
				  in Rhode Island from which it carries out full-service mortgage operations
				  including acceptance and processing of mortgage payments and the provision of
				  local customer service and loss mitigation and where Rhode Island staff have
				  the authority to approve loan restructuring and other loss mitigation
				  strategies.
11. "Mediation
				  conference" means a conference involving the mortgagee and mortgagor,
				  coordinated and facilitated by a mediation coordinator whose purpose is to
				  determine whether an alternative to foreclosure is economically feasible to
				  both the mortgagee and the mortgagor, and if it is determined that an
				  alternative to foreclosure is economically feasible, to facilitate a loan
				  workout or other solution in an effort to avoid foreclosure.
12. "Mediation coordinator" means a person
				  employed by a Rhode Island based HUD approved counseling agency designated to
				  serve as the unbiased, impartial, and independent coordinator and facilitator
				  of the mediation conference, with no authority to impose a solution or
				  otherwise act as a consumer advocate, provided that such person possesses the
				  experience and qualifications established in §
											4.6   of this Part. R.I.
				  Housing shall be deemed qualified to perform Mediation Coordination functions
				  in the State of Rhode Island for purposes of compliance with R.I. Gen. Laws
				  §
											34-27-3.2.
13. "Mortgage" means an individual consumer
				  first-lien mortgage (that was originated as first-lien) on any owner occupied,
				  one to four (4) unit residential property which serves as the mortgagor's
				  primary residence.
14. "Mortgagee"
				  means is the holder of a mortgage (e.g. the lender, mortgage-creditor, or
				  mortgage-holder) or its agent or employee including a mortgage servicer acting
				  on behalf of a mortgagee.
15.
				  "Mortgagor" means the person that has signed a mortgage in order to secure a
				  debt or other duty, or the heir or devisee of such person provided that:
a. The heir or devisee occupies the property
				  as his or her primary residence; and
b. The heir or devisee has record title to
				  the property or a representative of the estate of the mortgagor has been
				  appointed by a body having jurisdiction over the estate with authority to
				  participate in a mediation conference.
16. "Notice of mediation conference" means
				  Form 34-27-3.2 provided in a bulletin issued by the Department for that
				  purpose. (in English, Portuguese, and Spanish) or a form substantially similar
				  to Form 34-27-3.2 sent to the Mortgagor of the property at issue in the
				  foreclosure proceeding when a Mortgage is not more than one-hundred twenty
				  (120) days delinquent or, if applicable, within sixty (60) days after the date
				  upon which the loan is released from the protection of the automatic stay in a
				  bankruptcy proceeding, or any similar injunctive order issued by a state or
				  federal court or if applicable, within sixty (60) days after the date upon
				  which the loan is released from protections of the Servicemembers Civil Relief
				  Act, 50 U.S.C. §
												501 et seq., or R.I. Gen. Laws §
											34-27-4(d).
17. "Reasonable time" means 14 calendar days
				  unless extended for good cause by the Mediation Coordinator
18. "Residential real estate" means real
				  property located in Rhode Island having between one (1) and four (4) dwelling
				  units of which at least one is occupied by the Mortgagor. An individual
				  owner-occupied residential condominium unit is included within this
				  definition.