Maine Consumer Protection and Disclosure Requirements
Maine Consumer Credit Code overlay
Maine's consumer protection rules sit on top of federal disclosure law. Title 9-A, Article 8 (Mortgage Lending) regulates high-cost home loans and is enforced by the BCCP. Maine's APR and points-and-fees triggers can capture loans that are not federal high-cost mortgages, so each loan must be tested against both regimes.
High-cost loan restrictions
- Limits on balloon payments on covered loans
- Restrictions on prepayment penalties
- No lending without regard to the borrower's ability to repay
- Limits on financing points and fees and on rate increases after default
- Required disclosures before closing
Worked example
A borrower refinances a first lien. The APR exceeds the Treasury yield for a comparable loan by more than the Maine trigger, so the loan is a Maine high-cost home loan even though it falls below federal thresholds. A multi-year prepayment penalty is therefore not allowable, and the MLO must restructure the loan or correct the disclosure before closing.
Traps
Testing only against federal high-cost rules; assuming a state disclosure form is optional; forgetting that broker fees count toward points and fees; treating a signed acknowledgment as proof the borrower understood the terms.