I want to begin by saying that I support all channels of loan origination if they are operated with integrity and are ethically compliant. To say our industry has gone through change is a severe understatement. While these changes have made a quick impact on how we operate, it’s not over yet. More changes are coming, and in the next several days, we will have an idea on how the final draft of this new bill will impact our business on all channels as financial reform will happen in one way or another. Is that bad? Depends on who you ask …Read more

eLynx, a portfolio company of American Capital, has announced that it has released its new eHUD service, a component of the Electronic Closing Network (eCN), that makes it easy for lenders and closing agents to comply with Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) regulations governing Good Faith Estimates (GFE) and the HUD-1.Read more

New York-based attorney Susan Chana Lask has filed a federal class action complaint on behalf of tens of thousands of New York State homeowners who lost their homes to an alleged foreclosure fraud orchestrated for years by a New York “foreclosure mill” attorney and major mortgage companies. The case is filed in the US District Court, Eastern District of New York, entitled “Connie Campbell against Steven Baum, MERSCORP Inc., et al.”, Case #10CV3800.Read more

QuestSoft, a provider of mortgage compliance software, has completed RegulatorConnect Certification for compliance with the electronic residential mortgage examinations initiative. In 2008, the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) introduced the multi-state exam program to simplify the auditing of state regulated lenders closing loans in multiple states.Read more

The American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Real Property, Trust & Real Estate Law has appointed James L. Gosdin and Bruce Hawley of Stewart Title Guaranty Company (STG) to leadership chair positions for the 2010-2011 bar year. Gosdin, senior vice president, chief underwriting counsel and chief reinsurance counsel for STG, was appointed as chair of the Title Insurance and Surveys Committee of the Commercial Real Estate Transactions Group.Read more

Del Mar DataTrac Inc. (DMD), a provider of end-to-end mortgage lending automation solutions, and CCMC Inc., a technology interface provider, have released the DMDBridge, a connectivity tool that automatically moves loan data from a lender's third-party origination system to the DataTrac mortgage banking system of record. The first DMDBridge was created for companies with loan officers working in Encompass 360 that rely on DataTrac as their centralized mortgage lending platform.Read more

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) has announced that it has updated its uniform set of instructions to help facilitate the handling of new settlement documents that became mandatory Jan. 1, 2010 due to changes to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The Uniform Supplemental HUD-1/1A Instructions are now available in an editable PDF file format and facilitates the transfer of information from lenders to settlement agents in order to create an accurate, compliant HUD-1/1A.Read more

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has published a notice seeking public comment on how it might strengthen and clarify the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)’s prohibition against the “required use” of affiliated settlement service providers. HUD’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is requesting comments from the public that might inform any possible future revision or clarification of this prohibited practice.Read more

Branch development is a bit like Indy Car racing—lots of fun and full of twists, turns and challenges. Like Danica Patrick, Michael Andretti or Al Unser Jr., successfully navigating the competitive course and building a viable network of branches requires strong planning, laser-like precision and nerves of steel.Read more

In July 2008, the Federal Reserve Board approved a final rule, which amends Regulation Z (the Truth-in-Lending Act) and was adopted under the Homeownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA). The new rule addressed and defined “higher-priced mortgage loans” (HPML), a new category of mortgage loans, while also providing additional protection to consumers.¹ Most requirements of the rule were to be implemented on Oct. 1, 2009.
Four key protections were provided to consumers:Read more