§ 42. Permitted charges

(a) Except for interest as herein and hereinafter provided, a lender shall make no charges against a borrower for the use or forbearance of money other than:

(1) the reasonable cost of credit investigation and appraisal fees;

(2) the reasonable cost of title evidence, including abstracts, legal opinions, or title insurance;

(3) the reasonable cost of protection against insurable hazards;

(4) the reasonable cost of creditor life or disability insurance, or of a debt protection agreement as set forth in 8 V.S.A. § 10405, if agreed to by the borrower;

(5) the filing and recording fees, and other official fees, including fees required by Federal Housing Agencies, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and the Federal National Mortgage Corporation;

(6) the reasonable value of services rendered in connection with the making of any loan of $4,000.00 or less or any loan or loan commitment of any amount or manner of payment to finance an income producing business or activity subject to such rules as the Commissioner of Financial Regulation adopts;

(7) the reasonable cost of private mortgage guaranty insurance subject to such limitation as the Commissioner of Financial Regulation has approved; and

(8) the reasonable fees associated with a credit card, agreed upon by the lender and borrower, including late charges and over-limit charges.

(b) A borrower may procure an opinion and abstract of title from an attorney of his or her choice acceptable to the lender, or hazard insurance in a company or in companies of his or her choice acceptable to the lender, and in such cases the lender's acceptance shall not be unreasonably withheld. (Added 1967, No. 377 (Adj. Sess.), eff. March 26, 1968; amended 1969, No. 66, § 2, eff. April 17, 1969; 1973, No. 222 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. April 3, 1974; 1975, No. 216 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. March 27, 1976; 1979, No. 173 (Adj. Sess.), § 13, eff. April 30, 1980; 1985, No. 36, § 3; 1989, No. 225 (Adj. Sess.), § 25; 1995, No. 9, § 2; 1995, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), § 38; 2005, No. 70, § 3; 2011, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 2, 2012.)