Mortgage Brokers on the Ropes: NAMB President Cosenza Urges Action From MembershipMichael SimonNAMB, State Affiliates, HUD, Proposed Rule, RESPA
In late July, a little more than a month after the unveiling of
the National Association of Mortgage Brokers' unprecedented Model
State Statute Initiative, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development published its long-awaited revision to the Real Estate
Settlement Procedures Act, much to the dismay of the Mortgage
Broker community. Officially entitled Simplifying and Improving the
Process of Obtaining Mortgages to Reduce Settlement Costs to
Consumers; Proposed Rule, but simply dubbed the "Proposed Rule" by
the mortgage community, it looks to paint many Mortgage Brokers
into a corner, where they will have no option other than to close
shop.
Therefore, NAMB needs your help. After several weeks of
scrambling and an urgent series of meetings at the Annual
Leadership Development Conference, NAMB President Armand
Cosenza Jr., along with the Board of Directors, have
devised a comprehensive plan of action for fighting the
broker-biased Proposed Rule. He is urging all of NAMB's nearly
15,000 nationwide members to join the association in its fight
against the unpopular and dangerous HUD proposal.
Largely found in the "Members Only" section of the NAMB Web
site, www.namb.org, Mr. Cosenza
outlines the association's strategy into four talking points:
1. This proposal does nothing but widen the gap in the
ability to perform in the industry.
2. This proposal disproportionately increases regulatory burden
onto small business.
3. This proposal is unworkable as written, as it does not reflect
market realities.
4. This proposal limits access to credit for individuals who need
it the most.
The comment deadline is Monday, Oct. 28. The NAMB Web site currently has six
sample letters available for download, along with outlines for
preparing original letters, mailing and e-mail addresses for
governmental, association and HUD officials, and links to the Rule
itself, NAMB comments and economic analyses.
Additionally, the association will be sending periodic letters,
flyers, e-mails and faxes to its members, as this will likely
remain an important issue long after the comment period has ended,
as President Cosenza predicts, "A year from now, we're going to be
here, talking about the same thing. For now, however, we need to
focus on Oct. 28. We have plenty of time to write letters and get
the word to HUD."
NAMB understands that this is the fight of our life. We are
prepared for it, we are on top of it,and we will fight until we
win."
