(1) Each lock-in agreement must be in writing and must contain:

(a) The expiration date of the lock-in, if any;

(b) The interest rate locked in, if any;

(c) The discount points locked in, if any;

(d) The commitment fee locked in, if any;

(e) The lock-in fee, if any; and

(f) A statement advising of the provisions of this part regarding lock-in agreements.

(2) The mortgage lender shall make a good faith effort to process the mortgage loan application and stand ready to fulfill the terms of its commitment before the expiration date of the lock-in agreement or any extension thereof.

(3) Any lock-in agreement received by a mortgage lender by mail or through a mortgage broker must be signed by the mortgage lender in order to become effective. The borrower may rescind any lock-in agreement until a written confirmation of the agreement has been signed by the lender and mailed to the borrower or to the mortgage broker pursuant to its contractual relationship with the borrower. If a borrower elects to so rescind, the mortgage lender shall promptly refund any lock-in fee paid.

(4) Before issuing a mortgage loan rate lock-in agreement, a mortgage lender must have the ability to timely advance funds on all mortgage loans for which rate lock-in agreements have been issued. As used in this section, “ability to timely advance funds” means having sufficient liquid assets or a line of credit necessary to cover all rate lock-in agreements issued with respect to which a lock-in fee is collected.

(a) A mortgage lender that does not comply with this subsection may issue mortgage rate lock-in agreements only if, prior to the issuance, the mortgage lender:

1. Has received a written rate lock-in agreement from a mortgage lender that complies with this subsection; or

2. Has received a written rate lock-in agreement from an institutional investor or an agency of the Federal Government or the state or local government that will be funding, making, or purchasing the mortgage loan.

(b) All rate lock-in fees collected by a mortgage lender who is not in compliance must be deposited into an escrow account in a federally insured financial institution, and such fees may not be removed from such escrow account until:

1. The mortgage loan closes and is funded;

2. The applicant cancels the loan application or the loan application is rejected; or

3. The mortgage lender is required to forward a portion of the lock-in fee to another mortgage lender, institutional investor, or agency that will be funding, making, or purchasing the loan. The mortgage lender may remove only the amount of the lock-in fee actually paid to another mortgage lender, institutional investor, or agency.

(5) For purposes of this section, the term “lock-in fee” means any moneys advanced by the borrower to lock in for a specified period of time a specified interest rate or discount points.

(6) The commission may adopt by rule a form for required lock-in agreement disclosures.

History.—ss. 40, 50, ch. 91-245; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 18, ch. 95-313; s. 543, ch. 2003-261; s. 53, ch. 2009-241.