2009 may be remembered as the year the economy turned around when its all said and done, but in my world I think it will be known as the year the mortgage industry was inundated with new regulations. It's been a full time job to keep up with the programs coming out as part of the housing recovery act, but on top of the lenders underwriting changes and new programs being announced there have been a number of new regulations to the mortgage industry to keep track with.
The first big change that took place this year was the Home Value Code of Conduct (HVCC) which applies to how appraisals are managed during the loan process to keep the loan originator and the appraiser apart to remove any concern of undue pressure on an appraiser. The idea is certainly a good one, but as it is with many things the unintended consequences are that buyers are paying more and the work being done is of a lower quality. The other down side is that lenders wont accept other lenders appraisals so as a broker if one bank declines a file after the appraisal is done the buyer would need to pay for a 2nd appraisal with a new lender even if the appraisal wasn't the reason the file was declined....add $500 to your long list of closing costs.
The newest changes that will roll out in a few days is set up to be a safeguard for buyers to make sure their loan officer isn't changing fees on their loan at the end of the loan process without being notified. As a broker myself who prides himself on being upfront with my costs I don't see this as being a big issue, but it could cause a delay in closing due to the waiting periods that are part of the new law. The good thing here is that buyers will know what they are going to pay for a loan several days in advance of them having to sign the loan documents so its a good thing.
I posted some basics on the new rules to my links.
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