Bills would curb predatory lenders

Two bills making their way through the legislature that’d crack down on predatory lenders. Representative Steve Kettering of Lake View, who’s a banker, says there have been abuses of contract real estate sales.One of the bills establishes state regulations for the sale of property on contract, for example, requiring disclosure of all sorts of things potential buyers need to know.Any company that sells more than four properties by contract in a year would fall under the new regulations. It wouldn’t apply to individuals who sell their own home. Another bill requires all banks and mortgage companies to be licensed in Iowa. Some out-of-state financial institutions aren’t licensed now, and are selling trouble-laden property to unsuspecting Iowans. He says they could sell a home and not disclose everything that’s wrong with the house.The bills cleared two separate committees in the House yesterday and will next be debated by the full House.