Comment period extended to June 12
Posted in RESPA reform By Matt Carter, Wednesday, May 7, 2008.Looks like HUD split the difference, extending comment period for 30 days sted of the 60 industry was looking for...
Rep. Hinojosa says 147 members of Congres co-signed his request to HUD for an extension, and he's not giving up on another:
“I want to thank HUD for accommodating the will of Congress as we collectively work with all stakeholders to make sure the consumer is well served by mortgage disclosures. Granting an additional 30 day comment period will help all interested parties to provide their views on HUD’s proposed changes to borrower disclosure. As we approach the end of the additional 30 day comment period, I will assess if we need to send another letter to HUD requesting another 30 days, making the comment period a total of 120 days. I want to thank HUD’s Deputy Secretary Roy Bernardi for agreeing to extend the comment period, and I commend his staff for all their assistance they have provided me and others over time.”
Add A Comment
You must login or register to post a comment.
Submitted by Diane Cipa on May 7, 2008 - 2:01pm.
The "protect status quo" affiliated network gurus are all trying to whip up the masses to support their agenda and stop RESPA reform.
I have a hard time imagining what kind of reform, if any, they would support and I'd have to guess that only reform which serves their agenda of controlling the point of sale and keeping the consumer in the dark would make them happy.
So, here's a gem.
The RESPA proposals clearly and in precise language say that the burden for compliance with GFE tolerances rests with the mortgage lender.
Fear mongers are telling title crowds that mortgage lenders will make the title producers eat the lender mistakes thereby relieving the mortgage lender of this compliance burden.
Would that not clearly be giving a thing of value to the mortgage lender?
For instance, let's say I have a Choose & Save deal - which means that I am already priced at the lowest allowable rate in PA. Let's say the mortgage lender underquoted the transfer tax.
How could I, the title agent, ever be expected to cover that cost?
Just in case, I would hope that HUD speaks to issues like this in their final rule so NO ONE thinks they can get away with crap like that.
What really fried my brain is that is takes a thief to think like a thief and these establishment type gurus are the ones who led everyone down the ABA JV path in the first place.
They created this hell because they read words and see angles and loopholes rather than the spirit with which the document was drafted.
I'm reading a book called: The Lost German Slave Girl by John Bailey. It's a true story about Sally Miller and her fight for freedom.
I was reading this morning about cotton and how it changed the south and made slavery an economic necessity. Read this and feel its impact on your soul:
"The lower Mississippi Valley became a vast, efficient, cotton-growing machine. Plantation production of cotton with slave labor became so widespread and so profitable that the wealth and culture of the South came to depend on it. Plantations without slaves couldn't compete. An antislave moralist attempting to produce cotton with white labor would go broke. With cotton (and later sugar) commanding the Southern economy, subjected blacks were required in the thousands."
I know you think I'm crazy to compare slavery with the state of the real estate industry today. It's not a wholly fair comparison, however it does demonstrate how the establishment will fight to protect the status quo no matter how wrong it may be.
The forces that are fighting RESPA reform are those forces which dominated and virtually enslaved title agents and appraisers by the thousands. The forces that are fighting RESPA reform have no desire to give a better deal to the consumer. They need the fat layer of revenue sharing to stay hidden in the fog of obscure disclosure.
HUD is onto something good here. They have found the magic button. They have found a way for consumers to be served in absolute transparency so that no predator can hide their tricks.
I applaud HUD for this magnificent effort. For those in this business who are responsible for regulatory compliance and who were too damn lazy to read the reform proposal and comment on time, shame on you.
You don't deserve to survive in this business because you don't give a damn about what's important. If you worked for me, I'd fire your ass.