Here's an interesting referral fee chart posted by a commercial loan broker that came my way via a Google alert. Writing on his ActiveRain blog, Charles Hennebeul of American Cash Solutions Inc. more...
With the June 12 deadline for comments looming, ALTA is reminding members to get their two cents in. Only 1,500 comments have been filed so far -- compared to 40,000 in 2002 -- and the group says "We need to have a much better response if we hope to affect the final rule."
HUD's touting a study that suggests complex loans (with features like yield-spread premiums, discount points and seller contributions to closing costs) carry higher costs, saying it justifies the simplified disclosures proposed under RESPA.
Study found some interesting variations in price according to education, race, region that suggest "lenders and mortgage brokers make their most favorable offers to borrowers that they consider knowledgeable about competing alternatives." more...
Here they are:
May 19, 2008
Regulations Division
Office of General Counsel
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 Seventh St., SW., Room 10276
Washington, D.C. 20410-0001
Re: Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA):
Proposed Rule to Simplify and Improve the Process of Obtaining Mortgages and Reduce Consumer Settlement Costs, 08-01015 [FR-5180-P-01; RIN2502-AI61]
To Our Friends at HUD: more...
Looking at who signed the Hinojosa/Biggert letter, it's interesting to see the breakdown of 84 Democrats to 64 Republicans (and also that the total number of signatures -- 148-- falls short of the 226 gathered in 2004).
I suppose Republicans are a little reluctant to go against what is, after all, a Bush administration initiative. But then again, that was the case in 2004, as well. more...
It was probably no surprise to most members of this group that trade associations representing realtors, lenders, title insurers and builders would want to push the timeline for RESPA reform back by 60 days -- or perhaps into oblivion (see previous discussion). more...
It's official -- industry groups are asking HUD to double the public comment period to 120 days. Representatives Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas, and Judy Biggert, R-Ill., who led the charge in 2004, are circulating a "dear colleague" letter to build support for extending the public comment period. See Inman Blog.
Here's the text of the Hinojosa/Biggert letter:
Dear Colleague: more...
Be interested to hear the group's thoughts on whether RESPA reform will spawn Web sites that allow consumers (and real estate and mortgage pros) to shop for settlement services.
See today's story on Fairclosingcosts.com's plan to launch next month.
Under the proposed GFE rule, a loan originator may relieve themselves of the burden of third party fee quote accuracy by NOT giving the consumer the name of providers. The loan originator can suggest that the consumer shop for those services themselves. In this case, the loan originator must still provide a quote for these third party services, however, there is no tolerance burden for accuracy. more...
Why are you writing your comments in this forum? The forum for submitting comments to HUD is Regulations.gov . HUD does not read comments in this forum. Submit your comments to HUD at: (Click here) .
This topic was originally submitted as a comment by Kathy Glor on April 2, 2008 - 1:15pm.
Greetings to all, more...
Note: this topic was originally submitted as a comment on another post by Diane Cipa on April 2, 2008 - 7:17am.
I have a question for real estate agents.
The GFE has no place for buyer paid commissions, brokerage/administrative fees, etc.
I know these fees are disclosed to the consumer in buyer agency agreements, but how do you suggest we get them into a GFE summary so the buyer is reasonably prepared for cash to close?
Even before HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced his departure (see Inman News story), K&L Gates attorneys Phillip Schulman and Holly Spencer were expressing their doubts that HUD will be able to see the latest RESPA rule changes through. more...
HUD wants to introduce tolerance standards that would lock in some of the estimated charges presented to borrowers before they reach the closing table, such as loan origination fees. Increases of more than 10 percent would be prohibited on other charges, including settlement services like title insurance when borrowers use services that are selected or identified for them to use (see page 3 of the proposed Good Faith Estimate). more...
To reduce the record-keeping burden for settlement services providers, HUD would allow average cost pricing for services like credit reports and courier services. more...
HUD proposes to allow loan originators and third-party settlement service providers to negotiate volume-based discounts, as long as savings are passed on to borrowers.
Sue Johnson, executive director of the Real Estate Services Providers Council Inc. (RESPRO) — a trade group representing affiliated businesses — says HUD would also ban companies from offering incentives for purchases of affiliated services, unless they are offered as part of a package of services, and the overall price for the package is less than if the services were purchased individually. more...
