Right of Redemption Guidelines from Fannie Mae.
To download the right of redemption guidelines from Fannie Mae, please click HERE
RESPA
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) was enacted in 1974 to provide consumers with improved disclosures of settlement costs and to reduce the costs of closing by the elimination of referral fees and kickbacks. Through the years, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued regulations and policy statements to provide RESPA guidance to industry and consumers alike.
On November 17, 2008, HUD published a new final rule “To Simplify and Improve the Process of Obtaining Mortgages and Reduce Consumer Settlement Costs.” The rule mandates use of a new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1 which go into effect on January 1, 2010.
To read the RESPA Issues Summary visit the REALTOR.org website.
NAR Position Statement on HR 1728: The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009
H.R. 1728, "the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of
2009", will not be taken up by the Senate any time soon. In fact,
Senate Banking Chairman, Chris Dodd, has indicated this a couple of
times over the last few weeks, with his latest comments appearing in
the May 26th release of Inside Regulatory Strategies. In the article,
an industry executive is quoted as saying that this is "deja vu all
over again", referring to the 2007 anti-predatory lending bill that was
sent to the Senate and died due to inaction. Moreover, Chairman Dodd
indicated that "this issue is not on his 'mustdo list', which includes
credit card reform, financial modernization, and the oversight of
TARP." Senator Dodd goes further and states, "he's not minimizing
predatory lending, but the financial crisis has pretty much collapsed
the subprime market, where the majority of abusive and predatory
practices took place."
When the original language for H.R.
1728 was introduced, REALTORS® faced two significant issues: 1) being
included in the definition of mortgage originator, which would have
required additional licensing and educational requirements, and 2)
having all consumers that finance the sale of their real property
required to be licensed to do so. We worked hard, and successfully
removed the requirement of REALTORS® licensed / registered as mortgage
originators, and to allow seller financers not to have to register, or
get licensed, to sell their own real property once every three years.
Please note that: 1) NAR worked for a full exclusion for seller
financers; however, had to accept the current language as a compromise
or there would have been NO exclusion, and 2) That the language does
not prohibit consumers from financing the sale of more than 1 property
every three years. If the consumer wants to finance more than 1
property every 3 years, they will have to be licensed as a mortgage
originator, and become subject to the rules within H.R. 1728. It was
Congress' contention that this requirement would severely constrain the
possibility of seller-financing as a loop hole for the unscrupulous
businesses that preyed on consumers during the housing bubble.
NAR Response to HVCC
There is
growing concern in the real estate industry over the implementation of
the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) and its effect on the use of
appraisal management companies (AMCs) by lenders. NAR is taking the
following steps to address the concerns:
• NAR is scheduling
meetings with government agencies to raise concerns about
implementation of the HVCC and problems with AMCs. The first meeting
will be held with Director Lockhart at FHFA. He is the conservator over
Fannie and Freddie who entered the consent order with the NY Attorney
General.
• NAR is drafting a letter to FHFA requesting a
moratorium on the HVCC until the end of the year granting time to
address the confusion caused by its implementation.
• NAR is scheduling a meeting with NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
•
NAR is actively working to educate members on the HVCC and AMCs and
clear up some misunderstandings. There is a HVCC Web page on
realtor.org with various resources for members. Visit www.realtor.org.
•
NAR Research is conducting a survey so we have concrete data
information to bring to the regulators and the NY Attorney General’s
office.
• NAR adopted policy supporting the state regulation of AMCs at the Midyear Meetings.
• The Regulatory Issues Forum at the 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in November will focus on appraisal issues.
NAR
is aware of multiple petitions calling for an end to the HVCC. NAR is
not currently running a call for action on the HVCC and is not a party
to any petition on this issue. Regardless of personal views regarding
the Code , NAR suggests its members take careful consideration before
signing any of these petitions as they generally contain inaccurate
information.
*UPDATE*: HR 3126 Passes House Committee with HVCC Amendment
On October 22, 2009, HR 3126, the "Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2009," passed the House Financial Services Committee with an amendment that will ultimately sunset the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). The amendment was offered by Representative Gary Miller (D-CA). During the debate Mr. Miller and Capital Markets Subcommittee Chair, Paul Kanjorski (R-PA), agreed to work on the amendment language before floor consideration to include the appraisal language from HR 1728, the "Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act." The amendment requires the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to promulgate and appraisal independence rule within 60 days of enactment of HR 3126. Upon the effective date of the appraisal independence rule the HVCC will sunset.
NAR has been active in calling for a moratorium to address the unintended consequences of HVCC and its implementation. In June, NAR reiterated calls for a moratorium on HVCC in a letter to New York Attorney General Cuomo and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director James Lockhart. NAR President Charles McMillan followed up the letter in meetings with the New York Attorney General's office, FHFA Director Lockhart, and Fannie Mae. NAR also supported HR 3044, which would impose an 18-month moratorium on HVCC.
Short Sales Information
The long awaited guidelines for Short Sales have been released by the Treasury Department. The Issue Brief below contains a summary of the provisions and links to additional information. Click HERE for more information.
New program offers borrowers foreclosure alternatives. Click HERE to learn more.