Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Tennessee

Your rights related to your mortgage are governed by the contract you signed with the mortgage company when you obtained the loan. Often the loan is an "adjustable rate loan" which provides that the rate can be adjusted most often upward at specific intervals, usual 1, 2 or 3 years.

The second way that you might see something like this is where you are in default upon your obligations on the Note. Most contracts provide that in the event of default the bank can begin applying a "default rate" of interest which is often the highest allowable by law. That rate in Tennessee could be as high as 24% per annum.

So you've really got to look at your note and other papers you originally signed in order to see if the bank has the right to increase the rate as you suggest.