-- Lenders working with "high-priced" mortgages -- a new category of loan -- have to consider an applicant's ability to repay the loan. Imagine that!

For the purposes of the regulation, a higher-priced mortgage loan is one with an interest rate that is one and a half percentage points above prime rates for first liens, 3.5 above prime rates for junior liens.

-- Lenders can no longer take just a borrower's word that "I got this." Lenders of higher-priced mortgages will be required to verify a loan applicant's income and assets using reliable, third-party documents.

The Fed's rules will also ban several advertising practices that the agency found to be deceptive or misleading.

I love the new advertising rules. They're what borrowers need. They will force lenders to be upfront about so-called "fixed" rates. For example, one rule prohibits any advertisement from indicating that a rate or payment is "fixed" when in fact it can change. Perhaps if this had been required years ago, many borrowers wouldn't have taken out exotic loans with escalating interest rates.

As of Oct. 1, all interest rates or payment amounts have to be prominently placed in close proximity to any low promotional or "teaser" rate or payment.

When it comes to home equity lines of credit, if a large, lump-sum "balloon payment" is due at the end of the loan term, this fact has to be disclosed with equal prominence and in close proximity to any minimum payment information.

While the onus is on lenders to behave and follow the rules, it would be smart of you to read up on the new protections. For more information, read the FDIC's consumer newsletter at fdic.gov/consumernews. Click on the link for "Summer 2009." You can order free paper copies of the newsletter online or call the Federal Citizen Information Center toll-free at 1-888-878-3256. Ask for Department D96.

It's unfortunate for us all that these new regulations come too late to protect the millions of naive or irresponsible borrowers who bought homes they now can barely afford, or have lost to foreclosure or a short sell (that's when you regrettably are forced to sell your home for less than what you owe to the lender just so you can break free of the mortgage).

But let's not dwell on the past. We've got a calendar to fill.