$53.$ Not all bad news will make mortgage rates go down. Despite the recent chaotic

military disaster in Afghanistan, where the U$.$S$.$ left behind $$85$ billion in valuable

military hardware, why didn$$t mortgage rates go down with that terrible news?

A$.$ Only economic indicator statistics can move mortgage interest rates.

B$.$ Only actions taken by the Federal Reserve can impact mortgage interest rates.

C$.$ The plain truth is that Afghanistan is not important to the U$.$S$.$ economy and this

is why mortgage interest rates were not affected by the disaster that took place

there.

D$.$ International bad news never has an effect on U$.$S$.$ mortgage interest rates.

$54.$ Why should a loan officer or Realtor ask their client whether or not they have a Will

and Family Trust set up$?$

A$.$ This is simply good practice by a real estate professional. Congress can suddenly

change the tax rates and general rules on estate taxes. Since homes are valuable

assets, the clients should get proper financial counseling to set up a Will & Trust

to protect themselves and their family against these estate $($death$)$ taxes.

B$.$ Because it is a required question on the $1003$ mortgage application form.

C$.$ Asking about this is now required by the Safe Mortgage Act.

D$.$ This is a common practice in the real estate industry because the licensed real

estate worker can potentially collect a referral fee from a lawyer or CPA.

$55.$ California home developers are often sued by environmental groups when they

try to buy farm land to build new homes. What law do the environmentalists often

cite in order to stop new home development projects like these?

A$.$ The SAFE Mortgage Act

B$.$ The Williamson Act

C$.$ RESPA

D$.$ The Community Reinvestment Act $($CRA$)$ of $1995$

$56.$ Suppose there is a potential mortgage client who collects welfare, has bad credit,

and no savings. If they came in to apply for a mortgage loan, then can the bank loan

officer can instantly tell them not to apply because they won$$t qualify?

A$.$ This is a perfectly acceptable practice in the real estate industry.

B$.$ This loan officer has just violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

C$.$ This loan officer has just violated the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act

D$.$ The smartest way to handle this situation is to stop the application process and

tell the potential borrower to find a co$-$signer with better income, credit, and

savings.