The Patriot Act and mortgages.

After 9/11, the Patriot Act was passed into law to protect America against terrorism. This act has affected how many industries conduct business since the Act was passed.

If you are not a US citizen, the Patriot Act does not prevent you from purchasing a home in the United States. It simply requires financial instuitions to verify your identity before completing the transaction.

The customer identification requirements involve three key activities: identity verification, record keeping, and consulting and cross-checking lists of terrorists issued by the federal government.

To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens a mortgage loan account.

What this means to you: when you open a mortgage loan account, you may will be asked for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver's license or other identifying documents