The act does not apply to the following:

• Extensions of government and government agencies;
• The sale of insurance provided by an insurer;
• The obligation of a home or property owner in a planned community with a maximum of 12 units that is not subject to any development rights or a planned community with an annual fee under $300 or the efforts of an association to collect dues;
• Transactions related to public utilities or common carrier tariffs (if the state or United States regulates the charges for these services), charges for delayed payment or discounts for early payments;
• Licensed pawnbrokers.
• Mortgage lenders and broker licensees are exempt from any provisions that conflict with section of article 17, chapter 31 of the code.

This amendment places a limit on lender default charges.  Aside from reasonable expenses allowed by statute for realizing a security interest, agreements that evidence consumer loans cannot contain charges for consumer default other than the charges in this chapter.  Consumer loans are defined as those:

• Secured by real property
• Originated by a bank or savings and loan association
• Held by a federal home loan bank, the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Government National Mortgage Association, the West Virginia Housing Development Fund
• Insured or guaranteed by the Farmers Home Administration, the Veteran’s Administration or the Department of Housing and Urban Development

The statute allows consumer loans to provide for recovery of publication costs, appraisal fees, title examination, notice made to lienholders and interested parties, certified mailing costs and fees incurred in for a pending trustee’s sale of the real property.  However, these charges may not be collected from a consumer unless the charges are reasonable, were incurred by or behalf of the holder of the consumer loan, were incurred after the last day allowed for cure of the default, the holder of the consumer loan and the consumer have agreed to cancel the trustee’s sale or foreclosure and no appraisal fee has been charged in the past 6 months.
Creditors must be careful when they apply payments that arise from a consumer credit sale or consumer loan.  They must ensure that any payments received during a cure period do not result in a duty to provide a new notice of a right to cure and they must make sure that they do not have a duty to reinstate.
At least once every 12 months, the holder or servicer of a consumer loan that has been assessed with a default charge and not held by any of the entities referenced in the above definition of a “consumer loan” must provide the consumer with an accounting of each default charge including the date and description of the cost.
If a consumer credit sale, consumer lease or consumer loan is unconscionable at the time it was made, the court may decline to enforce it or any part of the agreement deemed unconscionable. However, the parties involved will be given an opportunity to present evidence to the court before it makes its decision.  Also, any violation of the section will be unenforceable.
Note, this section does not apply to delinquency charges.

Mortgage Modification and Refinance Loans
West Virginia modified its Residential Mortgage Lender, Broker and Servicer Act. The changes to this statute are effective on June 10, 2016.
The amendment limits finance charges on subordinate mortgage to 18 percent.  Also, borrowers have the right to repay their debts in whole or part at any point in time and if applicable, should be refunded any unearned finance charges.  Conversely, a late charge can be assessed on any installment made 10 or more days after the due date but only once on any installment during the term of the loan.
If a loan is not made, consumer charges are not permitted except for appraisal fees paid to a third party. Additionally, points and investigative fees may not be repeatedly charged for a refinance of a loan within 24 months unless there is a tangible net benefit to the borrower which is documented in writing and kept in the loan file.
If hazard insurance is required by the lender, it cannot exceed the standard rate approved by the Commissioner for the insurance. The borrower has 30 days from the date of application to provide proof of insurance.
No application fee is permitted, even if a loan is not made.  However, a borrower may reimburse a licensee for any expenses incurred for a purchase money transaction after a mortgage has been approved because of the borrower’s willful failure to close the loan or false or fraudulent representation of a material fact that prevented closing.
The mortgage itself cannot contain a power of attorney to confess judgment, wavier of rights under the article, a requirement that multiple installments must be paid in one installment period (aside from the final installment), assignments of salary, wages, commissions or compensation earned or to be earned, compulsory arbitration that does not satisfy federal law or blanks to be completed after the loan is consummated.  Additionally, a licensee cannot charge a borrower for services that they have agreed to perform unless they register and comply with all required in the code.
A licensee cannot make a mortgage with: an undisclosed fee, a fee for a service that was not provided, a misrepresented charge paid to a third party or duplicate fees/points by acting as both broker and lender.  Furthermore, they cannot offer a mortgage if the licensee has influenced the appraiser or if they know the mortgage will not be repaid in order to obtain title via foreclosure.
A loan cannot contain terms that require the borrower to pay periodic interest or fees to maintain or service the loan that are more than 6 percent of the amount financed as long as the costs are reasonable (this includes any yield spread premium).  This amount drops to 5 percent if no yield spread premium is charged.  The yield spread premium cannot be great than 18 percent of the unpaid principal balance per year.

Moreover, the licensee cannot accelerate a mortgage due to decreased market value of the dwelling that secures the loan.  Also, they cannot offer a mortgage unless monthly payments reduce the principal.  The only exceptions to this requirement are reverse mortgages, home equity loans, open line of credits or specified bridge loans.
If a loan violates this article or waives any borrower benefits in the article, it may be cancelled by a court.  However, if a license unintentionally violates the article but notices the borrower within 30 days of the discovery and refunds any applicable charges, they will be excused.