WASHINGTON -- Over the next two years, consumers may feel like an over-scheduled soccer mom when trying to keep track of the effective dates of new rules and regulations written to provide them greater protections.

There are restrictions on credit card issuers, most of which become law next February. Starting next month, prohibitions on certain mortgage lending practices, as well as new disclosure requirements, will be in place.

I want to focus on the mortgage lending rules. It will no longer be enough to just inform consumers of their rights with dense written disclosure statements.

"Truth in lending is a great concept but these new provisions are proactive," said Glenn Gimble, a senior policy analyst for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. "In some cases, borrowers don't have to worry about whether they are protected because the lender can't do certain things."

The rules feature bans by the Federal Reserve Board against a variety of standard and, in many cases, predatory industry practices involving loans made on or after Oct. 1, 2009. Among other things, the rules, which cover home mortgages, prohibit hyped appraisals, abusive fees and deceptive advertising. Subprime borrowers -- those with less than stellar credit histories -- are getting new protections.

Here are some of the new rules:

-- Mortgage lenders and brokers are banned from coercing or encouraging a real estate appraiser to misrepresent the value of a home.

You wouldn't think we needed this rule. But then we wouldn't be in the mortgage mess we're in if we didn't. So here we are mandating that buyers be given an accurate appraisal so they don't end up borrowing more money than the home is worth.

Some specific examples of actions that will no longer be tolerated include prohibiting lenders from implying that current or future retention of an appraiser's services depends on the amount at which the appraiser values a consumer's principal dwelling. ''We want the appraisal to truly reflect the value of the loan,'' Gimble said.

Lenders also can't tell an appraiser a minimum home value needed to approve a loan. However, lenders can ask an appraiser to consider additional information to come up with a fair appraisal.

-- Loan servicers -- the companies that collect mortgage payments -- will be prohibited from failing to credit someone's loan payment on the date it is received. Servicers also can't snatch a late-payment fee from a borrower's monthly loan payment without first giving advance notice, providing borrowers a chance to make sure they are making a full loan payment to avoid being hit with a dizzying array of fees.

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