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The Impact of Broker ID Laws
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This past year has been one of the most active in recent history for government involvement in mortgage lending. The collapse of real estate and credit markets worldwide has led to a figurative "alphabet soup" of new and revised regulations and laws-HERA, TILA, RESPA, SAFE and TARP were all passed or revised in 2008.
Adding to the regulatory pressure is the rise of identity questions. "Who Are You?" is no longer as simple as checking a driver's license. Identity theft continues to be one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States, and mortgage originators are being asked to serve as a front-line deterrent to identity theft. This includes both confirming their own identity as well as those of their customers. READ MORE |
| Legal and Compliance Issues You Need to Know |
 Staying on top of law changes and new investor interpretations is critical because they are key elements to a lender's survival in these tough economic times. Increased investor scrutiny is a major issue. Loan quality has replaced origination volume as a primary focus. Repurchase requests due to compliance failures have reached an all-time high as investors look for ways to unload non-performing assets. Heavy attention is now being focused on the APR, "bona fide" discount point exclusions, seller- and lender/broker-paid fees, and more. Even the most innocuous violations now provide an excuse to push toxic assets back on originators, and the cost is staggering. READ MORE |
Home Valuation Code of Conduct
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Lenders must represent and warrant that appraisals conducted in connection with single-family mortgage loans delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, other than government-insured and -guaranteed loans, with application dates on or after May 1, 2009 conform to the Home Valuation Code of Conduct.
There is a related DocuTech "Verification of Receipt of Appraisal" form available by request for those lenders wishing to include a document for the borrower to either verify they have received the appraisal report no less than three days prior to closing, or acknowledge they wish to waive the requirement. READ MORE |
