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Throughout the United States, decades of poor lending practices have recently contributed to the cause of the highest government bailouts in history. In an effort to prevent this disaster from repeating, the federal government passed laws that restrict certain lending practices.

Officially, the new laws are designed to protect individual consumers from unfair and abusive lending practices. They are also in place to ensure that the mortgage borrower has access to necessary information in order to fully understand the costs and terms of a loan. Here are the ten most important things you need to know about the new mortgage laws regulating this turbulent field of borrowing and lending:

1. Mortgage lenders and brokers are prohibited from encouraging or threatening appraisers to misrepresent the value of a home.

2. Payments must be credited on the date they are received and must inform the borrower of any late-payment fees.

3. For those applicants considered a subprime credit risk, a lender is not permitted to raise the price of the loan without regard to the borrower's ability to repay the loan from any income or assets apart the home's value.

4. All income and assets used to qualify for loan approval must be verified.

5. Wage earners without sufficient income are required to borrow within their means. This leaves low income families unable to borrow nearly as much money as before for a home, if any at all.

6. There are also new rules that require a minimum waiting period of seven days between disclosure and closing. Disclosures must be resent if the APR changes, and no fees can be charged prior to the client receiving the loan disclosure documents.

7. Deceptive or misleading advertising regarding payments or teaser rates is prohibited.

8. All loan officers at financial institutions and mortgage brokers will be required to register with the government and disclose information about their background and disciplinary history.

9. The background information of your lender will be in a database available to consumers.

10. State governments are obligated to set licensing and minimum educational requirements for loan originators.

If you want to know more about the new licensing and educational requirements for lending in Texas, then check out the Texas Institute of Real Estate (TIRE). They have one of the best commercial real estate education programs in the state. TIRE has all the latest information about licensing in Texas. With the constant changes in the mortgage industry, ongoing, up-to-date education is of upmost importance. The Texas Institute of Real Estate offers three convenient ways to get a commercial real estate education: live, online, or by correspondence. So, no matter what learning method works best for you, they've got you covered.

Not just a licensing school, TIRE is home to the 3 Step Success System which teaches professional business, marketing and investing education to people of all experience levels in real estate. TIRE also provides MCE and Salesperson Annual Education renewal courses as well as the education required for real estate brokers. You can register for a course online or call the Texas Institute of Real Estate toll free at (800) 487-1757.