New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 12 - TRADE, COMMERCE AND BANKING
Chapter 15 - FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS - GENERAL
Part 6 - HOME LOAN PROTECTION ACT - REASONABLE DUE DILIGENCE STANDARD FOR DETERMINING HIGH-COST HOME LOANS
Section 12.15.6.8 - REASONABLE DUE DILIGENCE
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. Section 58-21A-11 of the act provides that a person who purchases or is otherwise assigned a high-cost home loan is not subject to an action for certain claims and defenses if the person can demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that a reasonable person exercising reasonable due diligence could not determine that the mortgage in question was a high-cost home loan. Due diligence means that degree of review that reasonably may be expected from a purchaser or assignee given the circumstances surrounding the transaction or the conditions existing at the time the review is exercised, including, consideration of the purchaser's or assignee's involvement with, or the proximity in time to the loan' origination.
B. In each case what constitutes reasonable due diligence by a person who purchases or is otherwise assigned a high-cost home loan is dependent on the totality of the facts and circumstances surrounding that person's loan review, policies and practices. The purpose of this rule is to make clear that in the vast majority of cases, reasonable due diligence does not require a loan-by-loan individualized review. Because the vast majority of home loans purchased or assigned in New Mexico are transacted in secondary markets through large loan pools or mortgage backed securities, the due diligence conducted need only be reasonable, not perfect.
C. Purchasers and assignees should have in effect and utilize reasonable compliance policies and conduct quality control review of appropriate loan documentation, whether by sampling methods or otherwise, to identify and avoid the purchase or acceptance of high-cost home loans.