new gfe: National Media Claims Lenders Skirting New RESPA Good Faith Estimate Through Loan "Worksheets" And "Fee Estimates"
- 01/21/10 11:35 PM
(As a lender/buyer closing attorney--file this under "Don't Shoot The Messenger! And Blame HUD, Not Me!") The Los Angeles Times and other media outlets are claiming that lenders' use of loan cost worksheets and estimates are a "sidestep" of the new RESPA mandated Good Faith Estimate which went into effect on January 1. HUD officials say they plan to conduct a review of the growing use of “worksheets” and “fee estimate” forms by mortgage lenders providing quotes to home buyers and refinancers. The new closing cost rules under the Real Estate Settlement Practices Act (RESPA) significantly changed the manner in which … (155 comments)
On January 1, 2010, the new Real Estate Settlement Practices Act (RESPA) rules went into effect. The new RESPA rules significantly change the way lenders must disclose settlement services, in particular closing attorneys’ fees, and title insurance. Generally, under the new rules, loan costs are divided into one of three “buckets”: (1) those that cannot change from initial Good Faith Estimate (GFE) disclosure (2) those subject to a 10% tolerance–that is, those which cannot increase by more than 10% from the GFE to the closing, and (3) those that can change, … (7 comments)
New, sweeping changes regulating how lenders, closing attorneys and title companies disclose loan and closing costs are set to go into effect January 1, 2010. The new regulations are part of a long awaited reform to the 30 year old Real Estate Settlement Practices Act known as RESPA aimed at providing greater transparency and fostering better consumer choice in loan and closing costs. The changes are so significant that HUD recently took … (3 comments)
(As a lender/buyer closing attorney--file this under "Don't Shoot The Messenger! And Blame HUD, Not Me!")
;)
;)
