Discussion of the October 2017 RESPA TILA changes …….

Comments on changes to the 2017 RESPA TILA Rule HERE. 201707_cfpb_Executive-summary-of-2017-TILA-RESPA-rule1

This is a poorly named Rule Change. Compliance is optional from October 2017 to October 2018. Compliance will become mandatory for applications received on or after October 1st 2018. Many are under the impression these changes must be implemented this October. Not so. You can implement changes according to any plan you create before October 2018, but you must have all changes in place October 2018.

Here are the key points and please remember, these are mandatory in October 2018.
1. Choice to use a CD versus an LE when checking tolerances and good faith. This is the creditors choice, not the broker.
2. Servicers will be required to provide consumer disclosures regarding partial payment policy and notice of the closing of an escrow account that was subject to RESPA.
3. You must treat cooperatives as if they were real property and provide the required RESPA TILA disclosures, regardless of how your state classifies cooperatives. Some presently call them personal property and claim they are exempt from these disclosures.
4. Now, Loans to Trusts are subject to all disclosures. Trusts will be treated as if the credit extended to natural (not artificial) persons. This is curious and should be sending a message to those of you who bundle 1 to 4 family units into new LLCs and claim exemption from RESPA-TILA. Small commercial is on the radar for RESPA TILA.
5. There are clarifications regarding construction loans. If there are going to be two phases, you must provide two GFE within three days of receiving the application for the particular phase. If only one transaction, then only one disclosure. There are many clarifications regarding how to allocate costs – see page 5 of the report attached above.
6. Simultaneous closings of a purchase money first and second – allows you to disclose the loans combined. I always recommended this. The law says your client has to understand the big picture. Have you ever seen a client try to add together two sets of GFE or LE or CD?
7. Tolerances now say if overstated, still ok. If understated more than $100, not OK.
8. If you fail to allow a consumer to shop for settlement services, there is ZERO tolerance.
9. Loan Estimate guidance is on pages 7 and 8.
10. Written list of Providers – see page 10 bottom. If you don’t use the special layout for the disclosure, you might lose the safe harbor.
11. SHARING DISCLOSURES – you can do it. Just be sure to correct so that what you send to the seller, for example, is what applies to the seller and NOT the buyer. And vice versa. You can leave the information you want to protect – off the form by providing it as blanks.

Respectfully,

Nelson A. Locke, Esq.
Mortgage Industry Compliance Expert
Attorney and Expert Witness
7800 Preston Road – Suite 118
Plano, TX 75024
Office (800) 656-4584
Cell (305) 951-2785
http://www.lockelaw.us
http://expertlenderservices.com

HMDA, ECOA, Adverse Action Notices, and Broker Shops.

Hi Folks, the two subjects captioned above have been driving us nuts so we dug deeper to determine what the best advice might be. Many of our clients, especially the Brokers, feel they are exempt from both subjects. Turns out, maybe not. If I do the “lawyer thing” and sound a bit vague it’s because it is hard to interpret these masterfully written regulations. We do our best to understand them for you. We look to see where the evidence tips the scale before deciding which approach to recommend. We always take the approach that should keep you out of trouble. Sometime that means more work for you. But it’s far better than an “administrative action” for failure to comply.

Plus, it might make you a better lender or broker because you will have more of your OWN data to evaluate for opportunities or trends.

First, let’s look at HMDA…

View original post 219 more words

2018 HMDA Reporting and Accuracy Testing by the Regulators

The CFPB has released information about accuracy requirements for HMDA reporting starting in 2018.

There is controversy as to whether Brokers must file. See my earlier post regarding the language of the regulation. More than likely, you will have to report.

Under the new guidelines, there are revised thresholds for requiring resubmission, and for assessing if a full review of the sample will be performed based on errors in the initial smaller set of loans.  Assessment of the data will be conducted on an individual data field basis.  The new testing sample sizes and thresholds are available at this blog from Ballard Spahr

The “LAR” is the HMDA Loan Application Register. This is where you will enter your HMDA data. For institutions with fewer than 30 LAR entries, the resubmission threshold is still 3, so the effective resubmission threshold percentage is higher than 10%.  As is the case currently, even if the thresholds are not met an institution can be required to correct one or more data fields and resubmit one or more data fields in its HMDA LAR if examiners have a reasonable basis to believe that errors in the field or fields will likely make analysis of the HMDA data unreliable.

The HMDA LAR and your MCR will eventually be compared for consistency. I have suggested to some clients, that keeping two logs might be a good idea. One for QM/TRID/RESPA residential loans, and one for pure commercial transactions. It may make the job easier for you down the road.

Any Questions? You can reach us at (800) 656-4584. Thanks.

List of top five violations that result in fines, suspensions, or revocations.

Paying unlicensed mortgage loan originators or their proxies

1. Assistants who are acting as licensed MLOs.
2. Licensed MLOs you sponsor who have you pay their personal, unlicensed LLC or corp.
3. Licensed MLOs you sponsor who have you pay a third party entity in their name.
4. Lead Generators who are unlicensed but gather the type of information necessary to originate a loan – beyond mere contact information or public records.
5. Both the Broker and the MLO are not licensed because they think that as commercial lenders, they are exempt. The problem is the loans they call commercial, are NOT.

Advertising Issues

1. Ignoring SAFE ACT requirements for proper use of NMLS information.
2. Ignoring HUD, VA, and USDA  requirements for government disclaimers.
3. No formal Advertising Book with a log and copies of all advertising
4. The Broker or Lender thinks his business cards and web sites are not advertising so he never audits them for compliance.
5. Not supervising your MLOs. You have rogue MLO with their own web sites and social media. You sponsor him, and you are responsible for everything he does. He can cost you your license. You think its not your duty, and it is.
6. Making NMLS information too hard for a consumer to locate. For example, burying it in the footer, or using 6 point type.
7. CFPB requirement for the use of the word LOAN after the words REVERSE MORTGAGE (UDAAP).

Mortgage Call Reports that are inaccurate.

1. The MCA does not match the Broker’s Loan Journal.
2. The MCA is late or incomplete.

Lack of Evidence of continuity in your Compliance Efforts

1. Failure to update.
2. Failure to miss required annual training.
3. Loan File Audits revealing substantial number of missing documents – no evidence of a complete file.

Making loans on 1-4 family residences without proper disclosures.

1. The loan is masquerading as a commercial loan. The “LLC” scam.
2. The package is missing minimal GFE and Closing Statement Requirements.
3. The Broker fails to do any type of qualifying.

A SPECIAL NOTE about Advertising and Maintenance of Advertising Records: We continue to see small brokers and lenders making mistakes resulting in large fines, suspensions, or revocation. If this happens to you, it can be outside of a regular audit. The different agencies, both state and federal, have staff assigned to watch what happens in print and electronic media form.

You could run an ad, post a flyer, set up a Facebook page, add your name to Linked In ……….. and if you failed to follow DF or the Safe Act requirements, BOOM.

So the first thing I wanted to say is our staff is trained to review client advertising in all forms before it goes live. Just send it via email and wait for our response.

The second thing is to insure you have a proper Advertising Log Book with samples and a dated log.  Do you?

All of this is part of our Compliance Program. It is built into our fee so you are encouraged to take advantage of us.

Any Questions? Call us at (800) 656-4584.

Nelson A. Locke, Esq.

Compliance Services USA

http://www.expertlenderservices.com

 

 

 

Electronic File Storage – things to consider.

I got a call today from a great client of mine who asked about the things to think about when moving to electronic file storage.

Electronic file storage trips about four switches in my mind. I thought this was a really good question, so here is what I recommend.

 

1. Be aware that anytime you convert to file storage that is “off site”, most state regulators require you to advise them in writing of where you are sending the files, and what security precautions you are taking to insure we don’t expose our clients to identity theft or other financial crimes. This means write your regulator BEFORE you move to the cloud. Give them the internet service provider you are using and what security practices the provider has in place, such as firewalls, secure transmission protocols; etc. Then if you are a client of ours, file that letter in Book One behind your records retention policy. Easy to find when the regulator comes knocking.
2. Unless you own the cloud, have your cloud provider return an NDA and Confidentiality Agreement to your company per the guidelines of Gramm Leach Bliley.  You can find a blank NDA in Book One. Keep it in your cloud provider records folder to show you took your records “safeguarding” seriously.
3. If you use a service that offers to pick up your files, scan for you, and then shred, I have two thoughts.  FIRST – Have the file split into two sections, Section A for internal processing notes and comments that might be irrelevant (or harmful) to an audit – and Section B for the actual loan documents stacked top down from closing all the way to inception. SECOND – Have the service provide you with a certificate of safe handling when you allow them to shred your files after they scan them.

Helpful? Give us a call about anything regulatory. We always have time for new clients. Tons of references. Hope to hear from you soon.

Nelson A. Locke, Esq.

Compliance Services USA

(800) 656-4584

http:/www.expertlenderservices.com