West Virginia Code § 31-17-1

Definitions and general provisions
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As used in this article:
(a) "Additional charges" means every type of charge arising out of the making or acceptance
of a primary or subordinate mortgage loan, except finance charges, including, but not
limited to, official fees and taxes, reasonable closing costs and certain documentary charges
and insurance premiums and other charges, which definition is to be read in conjunction
with and permitted by §46A-3-109 of this code;
(b) "Amount financed" means the total of the following items to tuhe extent that payment is
deferred:
(1) The cash price of the goods, services or interest in land, less the amount of any down
payment, whether made in cash or in property traded ain;
(2) The amount actually paid, or to be paid, by the lseller pursuant to an agreement with the
buyer to discharge a security interest in, or a lien on, property traded in; and
(3) If not included in the cash price:
(A) Any applicable sales, use, privilege, excise or documentary stamp taxes;
(B) Amounts actually paid, or teo be paid, by the seller for registration, certificate of title or
license fees; and
(C) Additional charges permitted by this article;
(c) "Applicant" means a person who has applied for a lender or broker license;
(d) "Broker" means any person acting in the regular course of business who, for a fee or
comWmission or other consideration, negotiates or arranges, or who offers to negotiate or
arrange, or originates or assigns a primary or subordinate mortgage loan between a lender
and a borrower. A person is considered to be acting in the regular course of business if he or
she negotiates or arranges, or offers to negotiate or arrange, or originates, processes, or
assigns any primary or subordinate mortgage loans in any one calendar year; or if he or she
seeks to charge a borrower, or receive from a borrower, money or other valuable
consideration in any primary or subordinate mortgage transaction before completing
performance of all broker services that he or she has agreed to perform for the borrower;
(e) "Brokerage fee" means the fee or commission or other consideration charged by a broker
or loan originator for the services described in subdivision (d) of this section;
(f) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of this state;
(g) "Control" means:
(1)(A) The power to vote, directly or indirectly, at least 25 percent of voting shares or voting
interests of a licensee or person in control of a licensee;
(B) The power to elect or appoint a majority of key individuals or executive officers,
managers, directors, trustees, or other persons exercising managerial authority of a person
in control of a licensee; or
(C) The power to exercise, directly or indirectly, a controlling influence over the
management or policies of a licensee or person in control of a licensee.
(2) Rebuttable presumption of control: u
(A) A person is presumed to exercise a controlling influence when the person holds the
power to vote, directly or indirectly, at least 10 percent of outstanding voting shares or
voting interests of a licensee or person in control of a laicensee.
(B) A person presumed to exercise a controlling inflluence as defined in this section can rebut
the presumption of control if the person is a passive investor.
(3) For the purposes of determining the percentage of a person controlled by any other
person, the person's interest shall be aggregated with the interest of any other immediate
family member, including the person's spouse, parents, children, siblings, mothers-in-law,
fathers-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and any other
person who shares such person's home.
(h) "Finance charge" means the sum of all interest and similar charges payable directly or
indirectly by the debtor imposed or collected by the lender incident to the extension of credit
as coextensive with t he definition of "loan finance charge" set forth in section one hundred
two, article onVe, chapter forty-six-a of this code;
(i) "Key individual" means any individual ultimately responsible for establishing or directing
policies and procedures of the licensee, such as an executive officer, manager, director, or
trustee.
(j) "Lender" means any person who makes, or offers to make, or accepts or offers to accept,
or purchases, or services any primary or subordinate mortgage loan in the regular course of
business. A person is considered to be acting in the regular course of business if he or she
makes or accepts, or offers to make or accept, any primary or subordinate mortgage loans in
any one calendar year.
"Lender" does not include any person who does not currently have, and has never held, a
residential mortgage lender license in this, or in any other state, and who makes no more
than three primary or subordinate mortgage loans in any calendar year to purchasers of any
dwelling owned by that person: Provided, That the person is required to report within 30
days of the date of the loan, any such mortgage loan to the Division of Financial Institutions,
on a form available from the division upon request. Failure to timely report as required by
this subsection may result in imposition by the commissioner of a civil administrative penalty
of up to $250;
(k) "Licensee" means any person duly licensed by the commissioner under the provisions of
this article or §31-17A-1 et seq. of this code as a lender, broker, or mortgage loan originator;
(l) "Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry" means a mortgage licensing
system developed and maintained by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the
American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators for the licensing and registration
of licensed mortgage brokers and lenders licensed under this article and mortgage loan
originators licensed under§31-17A-1 et seq. of this code; u
(m) "Person" means an individual, partnership, association, trust, corporation, or any other
legal entity, or any combination thereof;
(n) "Primary mortgage loan" means any loan primarily for personal, family, or household use
that is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust or othelr equivalent consensual security interest,
on a dwelling as defined in Section 103(w) of sthe Truth in Lending Act or residential real
estate upon which is constructed, or intended to be constructed, a dwelling;
(o) "Servicing" or "servicing a residential mortgage loan" means through any medium or
mode of communication, the collection or remittance for, or the right or obligation to collect
or remit for another lender, note owner or noteholder, payments of principal, interest,
including sales finance charges in a consumer credit sale, and escrow items as insurance
and taxes for property subject to a residential mortgage loan; and
(p) "Subordinate mortgage loan" means any loan primarily for personal, family, or
household use that is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other equivalent consensual
security interVest on a dwelling as defined in Section 103(w) of the Truth in Lending Act or
residential real estate upon which is constructed, or intended to be constructed, a dwelling
and is subject to the lien of one or more prior recorded mortgages or deeds of trust.
(q) "Tangible net worth" means the aggregate assets of a licensee excluding all intangible
assets, less liabilities, as determined in accordance with United States generally accepted
accounting principles.

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