What is the exam-ready answer?
| Official syllabus topic | Federal Lending Laws: TILA, RESPA, ECOA, and TRID |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Financing |
| Published area weight | 10% of the 100-question national portion |
| Exam portion | National salesperson portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes the weight for the complete content area, not a fixed question count for this lesson. Learn the rule well enough to apply it when PSI changes names, numbers, or parties in a new scenario.
The lesson
These ideas work together. On the exam, the wrong answers usually describe a nearby concept, so learn where each one stops.
TILA and Regulation Z
Covered creditors disclose the cost and terms of consumer credit, including finance charge and annual percentage rate, and follow rules for advertising, rescission where applicable, servicing, and mortgage practices.
RESPA and Regulation X
RESPA addresses real estate settlement services, disclosures, servicing, escrow, and affiliated arrangements. Section 8 prohibits giving or accepting a thing of value for referrals under an agreement or understanding involving covered settlement-service business.
ECOA and Regulation B
Creditors may not discriminate in a credit transaction on prohibited bases such as race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age when capable of contracting, public-assistance income, or good-faith exercise of consumer-credit rights.
TRID and disclosures
For covered transactions, consumers generally receive a Loan Estimate after application and a Closing Disclosure before consummation under timing and tolerance rules. Not every loan is covered.
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. A settlement provider pays a real estate licensee $150 for every buyer referred, with no actual service performed.
Reason it through. The payment is tied to settlement-service referrals rather than compensable work, which is the core RESPA Section 8 concern.
Answer. The arrangement is prohibited when the transaction and services fall within RESPA.
Common exam traps
- Calling APR the note rate
- Assuming every referral payment is lawful marketing
- Applying ECOA only after denial
- Assuming TRID covers every loan
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These questions were written for instruction and mapped to the current outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1A title company pays a Georgia licensee $200 for each buyer the licensee refers to it, and the licensee performs no service for the payment. Which law does this arrangement most directly violate?
- A. Truth in Lending Act
- B. Equal Credit Opportunity Act
- C. Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
- D. Fair Housing Act
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
RESPA Section 8 prohibits giving or taking a thing of value for referring settlement-service business when no actual service is performed. TILA can look relevant because it is also a lending law, but TILA is about disclosing the cost of credit, not referral payments.
Question 2A lender denies a mortgage because the applicant is 67 years old, even though the applicant's income and credit meet the program's standards. Which federal law most directly prohibits this?
- A. Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
- B. Truth in Lending Act
- C. Fair Housing Act
- D. Equal Credit Opportunity Act
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. Equal Credit Opportunity Act
ECOA and Regulation B bar credit discrimination based on age, as long as the applicant can legally contract, along with marital status and other listed grounds. The Fair Housing Act is wrong because age is not one of its protected classes.
Question 3For a covered consumer mortgage, which disclosure does the borrower receive before consummation showing the final loan terms and closing costs?
- A. Loan Estimate
- B. Closing Disclosure
- C. Settlement cost booklet
- D. Good Faith Estimate
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. Closing Disclosure
Under TRID, the Loan Estimate comes after application and the Closing Disclosure gives the final terms and costs before consummation. The Loan Estimate is the wrong choice, but it shows estimated figures early in the process, not the final ones.
Ready to move on?
You are ready for the next lesson when all of these are true.
- Explain Federal Lending Laws: TILA, RESPA, ECOA, and TRID in one clear answer without notes.
- Separate TILA and Regulation Z from RESPA and Regulation X using a fresh example.
- Apply the decision rule to a new fact pattern and name the fact that controls the result.
- State the Georgia-specific point or explain why the national rule applies unchanged.
- Answer every practice question and explain the rule each rejected option misapplies.
- Revisit this topic later in mixed practice without category labels.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Contract formation. The contract formation article is a good mixed review before the next area, walking through offer, acceptance, consideration and the statute of frauds and ending with check-yourself questions.
Return to the Financing hub to see every official branch and the complete lesson sequence for this content area.