A licensee may not accept any fee in connection with a mortgage loan, other than an application fee or any credit report fee, property appraisal fee, title examination fee or other bona fide 3rd-party fee actually and reasonably paid or incurred by the licensee on behalf of the borrower, prior to obtaining a written commitment from a qualified lender (setting forth the terms and conditions upon which the lender is willing to make a mortgage loan to the borrower). The amount of fees that may be collected or received by a mortgage loan broker, whether constituting an application fee, a fee payable to a 3rd party, fee payable at the time of written commitment or upon consummation of a mortgage loan or otherwise, shall be subject to such limitations as may be provided by regulation of the Commissioner. A licensee shall be obligated to refund all fees collected by it from a borrower, other than those fees paid by the licensee to a 3rd party, if a written commitment for a mortgage loan from a qualified mortgage lender is not produced within the time specified by the mortgage loan broker and otherwise at the rate, terms and overall costs agreed upon by the borrower or the mortgage loan does not close; provided however, that a licensee shall not be required to refund fees when the failure to obtain a written commitment for a mortgage loan or the failure of a closing thereunder to occur is due to the substantial fault of the borrower. For purposes of this section, substantial fault of the borrower means that the borrower has:

(1) Failed to provide information or documentation required by the lender or mortgage loan broker in a timely manner;

(2) Provided information, in the application or subsequently, which upon verification proves to be significantly inaccurate, causing the need for review or further investigation by the lender or mortgage loan broker;

(3) Failed to produce, no later than the date specified by the lender, all documentation specified in its mortgage loan commitment or closing instructions as being required for closing; or

(4) Failed to be ready, willing or able to close the mortgage loan no later than the date specified by the lender.

The Commissioner, by regulation, may provide further definition of the circumstances constituting substantial fault of a borrower, including, without limitation, reasonable time periods for the provision by a borrower of information or documentation or when information will be considered significantly inaccurate.

68 Del. Laws, c. 326, § 1.