• Good news for people shopping for a mortgage - and for current homeowners facing foreclosure because they can no longer afford their home loan: New mortgage regulations drafted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently took effect and they provide a slew of new rights and protections for consumers.
• One of the cornerstones of the new mortgage rules is that lenders now are required to evaluate whether borrowers can afford to repay a mortgage over the long term - that is, after the initial teaser rate has expired. Otherwise, the loan won't be considered what's now referred to as a "qualified mortgage."
• Qualified mortgages are designed to help protect consumers from the kinds of risky loans that brought the housing market to its knees back in 2008. But obtaining that designation is also important to lenders because it will help protect them from lawsuits by borrowers who later prove unable to pay off their loans.
• Under the new ability-to-pay rules, lenders now must assess - and document - multiple components of the borrower's financial state before offering a mortgage, in

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