An equity loan may not be closed before the 12th day after the lender provides the owner with the consumer disclosure on a separate instrument.
(1) If a lender mails the consumer disclosure to the owner, the lender shall allow a reasonable period of time for delivery. A period of three calendar days, not including Sundays and federal legal public holidays, constitutes a rebuttable presumption for sufficient mailing and delivery.
(2) The lender may provide the consumer disclosure electronically in accordance with state and federal law governing electronic signatures and delivery of electronic documents. The UETA and the E-Sign Act include requirements for electronic signatures and delivery.
(3) Certain provisions of the consumer disclosure do not contain the exact identical language concerning requirements of the equity loan that have been used to create the substantive requirements of the loan. The consumer notice is only a summary of the owner's rights, which are governed by the substantive terms of the constitution. The substantive requirements prevail regarding a lender's responsibilities in an equity loan transaction. A lender may supplement the consumer disclosure to clarify any discrepancies or inconsistencies.
(4) A lender may rely on an established system of verifiable procedures to evidence compliance with this section.
(5) A lender whose discussions with the borrower are conducted primarily in Spanish for a closed-end loan may rely on the translation of the consumer notice developed under the requirements of Texas Finance Code, §341.502. Such notice shall be made available to the public through publication on the Finance Commission's webpage.
(6) If the owner has executed a power of attorney described by §153.15(2) of this title (relating to Location of Closing: Section 50(a)(6)(N)), then the lender may provide the consumer disclosure to the attorney-in-fact instead of providing it to the owner.
Source Note: The provisions of this §153.51 adopted to be effective January 8, 2004, 29 TexReg 84; amended to be effective November 13, 2008, 33 TexReg 9074; amended to be effective January 1, 2015, 39 TexReg 10407; amended to be effective January 6, 2022, 46 TexReg 9240