By JONATHAN D. EPSTEIN
News Staff Reporter
6/22/2006
The Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency was expected today to approve new rules designed to block abusive mortgage lending against the poor, the city’s strategic planning director said Wednesday.
The city development agency will consider adopting an anti-predatory lending policy specifying the maximum interest rate and terms acceptable on loans for homes built with city subsidies. Loans that do not pass muster will not be eligible for thousands of dollars in financial support for builders.
The goal is to protect low-income consumers from being trapped in unaffordable loans, with excessive rates and fees, as well as burdensome terms such as prepayment penalties that prevent refinancing.
