AB 1160 requires California lenders which "negotiate" an agreement for a loan or extension of credit secured by residential real property in certain foreign languages to provide a translation of the mortgage loan contract. What constitutes negotiation? If a branch staff member or call center representative answers general questions regarding terms and rates in Spanish and the customer later submits a loan application, have negotiations occurred? Or does negotiation only occur when the member sits down to sign the agreement and receive the disclosures? Thanks for your help!!

The phrase "negotiate the terms of a loan" is unfortunately not defined, so it's up to each shop to determine how much risk they want to take. Or put another way, how do you draw a clear bright line so your staff know whether they've crossed over into "negotiation"?

In a previous life, we determined that providing general info about loan products, terms and pricing was OK, not "negotiating." Also, a loan officer could describe the loan application process, what documentation might be required, etc. But if you moved over into discussing the customer's specific situation or needs, how much he or she wanted to borrow, or if you proceeded to take an application, you were definitely "negotiating" -- which all had to be done in English.

From my perspective, I would say "sitting down to sign the loan agreement and receive disclosures" is way over the line into negotiating. Remember, the foreign language disclosure one is supposed to provide it a GFE, which comes pretty early in the process.

Good luck.

Can you limit which branches you will negotiate in non-English? Say you have 10 branches but you anticipate only having to practice this at one location?