EPBR News: President's Newsletter
Dear EPBR Members,
Thank you again for the privilege to serve you as your President for 2010. I welcome each of you to take an active role in your board. As we begin a new decade we look to membership to help us grow and gain strength. Your board needs you to be involved to make it the best it can be. Your ideas, your vision and your input will make it the best value you can imagine. I recommend getting involved in one or more of the many committees that are continually looking for assistance. Being a part of the many events is also a great opportunity to network and build your business contacts.
Education is paramount to our members. REDS continually displays this with monthly lunch meetings. If you haven't been to one, check it out. The content is current with new laws, regulations and technology that constantly changes. Broker council for brokers and managers keep us informed of changes and issues that seem to change on a daily basis.
Once again I am posting the information regarding new RESPA changes previously sent you. Many offices have held meetings and are being prepared to better understand the new documents. I want to make sure everyone is aware of the regulatory changes regarding the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Final Rule, which went into effect on January 1, 2010.
HUD requires that lenders and mortgage brokers provide consumers with a new, standard Good Faith Estimate (GFE) that clearly discloses key loan terms and closing costs. Closing agents are also required to provide borrowers with a new HUD-1 Settlement Statement that clearly compares consumers’ final and estimated costs.
The new RESPA rule became effective in January 2009, but HUD had provided a one-year transition period for the mortgage industry to incorporate these changes.
While the responsibility for the implementation of new GFE and HUD-1 documents primarily impacts the mortgage lenders and settlement services companies who must provide these documents to consumers, RESPA applies to everyone in the real estate profession. Both you and your sales professionals should be well aware of these changes to the documentation that your clients will receive from their lenders and at the closing table. This is especially important for those of you who have affiliated business arrangements such as a joint venture title or mortgage entity.
With this in mind, here are several online resources from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and HUD for you to review.
- NAR’s online RESPA homepage, which includes an archived presentation from Phillip Schulman, Esq., a partner with the law firm of K&L Gates in
- HUD’s online RESPA resource center
- HUD’s new RESPA rule seminar
- New Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1 forms
Although HUD recently announced a 120-day restraint in enforcement for non-FHA originators and other settlement service providers who demonstrate good faith in implementing RESPA’s new rules, the department still expects all loan originators to begin using the new GFE and revised HUD-1 beginning January 1, 2010.
Again, the intent of the new RESPA rule is to clarify disclosures to and reduce closing costs for consumers, so it is in your best interests to familiarize yourselves with the new documents. This letter is not legal advice and is not a compete description of all changes to the rule. EPBR members should seek legal advice from an attorney familiar with RESPA to implement the required changes.
I hope to see each of you at events, committee meetings and at the closing table during 2010. We have some great opportunities that 2010 will afford us.
Rick Boswell
President Eastern Panhandle Board of REALTORS
