In California the law of mortgages is mainly governed by state statutory and common law. Mortgagees are regulated by federal or state laws or agencies. If you live in California or you intend purchasing a house in the U.S. State of California, you must be aware of the mortgage laws prevalent there.

The California Residential Mortgage Lending Act (CRMLA) was enacted in 1994 and came into effect in 1996. California has its own set of rules and regulations applicable to this state alone. Apart from this the state has to conform to the Federal Truth -in-lending Act and the regulations followed by the federal government institutions. If you want to avail of a mortgage loan in this state, you must first make sure that the banker or lender has a license under the CRMLA. A licensed lender under the law is authorized to provide brokerage services as well. A licensed broker can work to obtain a mortgage for the borrower from another lender as well. This is a unique facility. Thus the brokers in all probability will secure an unbiased loan for you.

The Civil Code Provision of the Real estate Act regulates the issuance of variable interest rates for the purchase of real estate. This means in huge mortgage amounts the certainty of a fixed rate mortgage is ensured.

California protects the rights of the borrowers. The real estate act also charges a real estate broker if one does not disburse the funds according to the contract terms of a mortgage loan or if one intentionally delays the closing to charge more fees. Hoewever,the lender under the CRMLA is exempt from both the above provisions of the Real Estate Act.

The Predatory Lending Act was introduced in Feb 25, 2000 and since then has been revised several times to keep into account the rising lending crimes and technology facilitated frauds.

California makes it a point to arm its borrowers with the power to fight against the predatory lending practices of lenders.

California Foreclosure Law says that, foreclosure can be imposed by the lender or the trustee if you fail to make a payment in the time interval of 15 days to 12 months. The time delay allowed by the individual lenders is up to their discretion but the time period must be within the above mentioned range.

After 90 days the lender officially files a Notice of Trustee sale to sell the property or collateral. If no one bids, the title is conveyed back to the lender and he/she can provide a new loan on the same collateral.