Home Loans: Understand Your Rights

Federal laws protect every potential homebuyer against discrimination. Before you compare home loans, learn your rights as a borrower.

What They Cannot Do

When you apply for a home loan, federal law prohibits lenders from discriminating against you on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, marital status, sex, age, disability, receipt of public assistance funds, family status (having children under the age of 18), or exercising your rights granted by other consumer protection legislation. Lenders cannot take any of the aforementioned factors into account when considering your application. For example, a lender cannot deter you from applying for a home loan because of your race. They have to offer all applicants with similar loan requests the same credit terms. Knowing what the lender can and cannot do will help you make sure you are treated fairly when you compare home loans.

What the Lender Should Do

Now that you know what the lender cannot do when you compare home loans, we'll explain what they should do when you apply:

• Willingly provide you with an application and other information you require on how to apply for a loan.
• Willingly talk about the different mortgage loans they offer and help you determine if you qualify for them. For more details, check out our types of loans page.
• Diligently make a decision without excessive delay once you've provided the information the lender asked for and once the lender receives all the requisite paperwork.
• Not take into consideration the racial or ethnic makeup of the area where the home you want to buy is located.