The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) has announced that it does not expect to finalize three pending rulemakings under Regulation Z, which implements the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA), prior to the transfer of authority for such rulemakings to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The proposed rules were published as part of the Board’s comprehensive review of its mortgage lending regulations under TILA. In response to the three proposals, the Board received more than 5,000 comments expressing divergent views on many substantive and technical issues.
The first phase of the review consisted of two proposals issued in August 2009, which would have reformed the consumer disclosures under TILA for closed-end mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit (Docket Nos. R-1366 and R-1367). The third proposal was issued in September 2010 (Docket No. R-1390). Among other things, the September 2010 proposal included changes to the disclosures consumers receive to explain their right to rescind certain loans and would have clarified the responsibilities of the creditor if a consumer exercises this rescission right. The September 2010 proposal also included changes to the disclosures for reverse mortgages, proposed new disclosures for loan modifications, restrictions on certain advertising practices and sales practices for reverse mortgages, and changes to the disclosure obligations of loan servicers.
General rule-making authority for TILA is scheduled to transfer to the CFPB in July 2011. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act also requires that the CFPB issue a proposal within 18 months after the designated transfer date to combine, in a single form, the mortgage disclosures required by TILA and the disclosures required by the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). In light of that mandate, and the upcoming transfer date, the Board has carefully evaluated whether there would be public benefit in proceeding with the rulemakings initiated with the Board’s August 2009 and September 2010 proposals at this time. Because the Board’s 2009 and 2010 TILA proposals would substantially revise the disclosures for mortgage transactions, any new disclosures adopted by the Board would be subject to the CFPB’s further revision in carrying out its mandate to combine the TILA and RESPA disclosures. In addition, a combined TILA-RESPA disclosure rule could well be proposed by the CFPB before any new disclosure requirements issued by the Board could be fully implemented.
For these reasons, the FRB has determined that proceeding with the 2009 and 2010 proposals would not be in the public interest. Although there are specific provisions of these Board proposals that would not be affected by the CFPB’s development of joint TILA-RESPA disclosures, adopting those portions of the Board’s proposals in a piecemeal fashion would be of limited benefit, and the issuance of multiple rules with different implementation periods would create compliance difficulties. Accordingly, the Board does not expect to finalize the August 2009 and September 2010 proposals prior to the July 2011 date for transfer of rulemaking authority to the CFPB.
For more information, visit www.federalreserve.gov.
Posted via email from Title Insurance The National Association of Land Title Agents (NAILTA) is accepting registrations for its annual conference to be held from Sunday April 10th to Tuesday April 12th at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. Among the scheduled speakers are University of Utah Law Professor Christopher L. Peterson, a prominent critic of MERS who has conducted extensive legal research on MERS and testified before Congress on the foreclosure crisis and the problems posed by MERS in foreclosure. The keynote speaker will be Richard Gordon, a Maryland lawyer who is heavily involved in active RESPA Section 8 class action litigation and has taken on numerous alleged sham affiliated business arrangements. Also scheduled to speak is Brett Woodburn, Associate Counsel for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, who will be speaking on the business outlook for title insurance and real estate from the perspective of outside settlement providers. NAILTA President Charles W. Proctor III will give a “state of the independent title agent” address during opening remarks. Two continuing education classes are scheduled to take place during the event. A three hour mortgage fraud seminar featuring members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, independent title agents, and regional title underwriters will be held (CE credit for this seminar is pending approval in the states of NJ, NY, PA, OH, IN, MD, and VA). Also there will be a one hour ethics seminar sponsored by General Title Insurance Company concerning the ethics of title insurance and title insurance agents (CE credit is pending approval in the states of NJ, PA, OH, IN and MD). The conference is scheduled to include several breakout sessions, including “The Personality of Selling” led by Dave Dwyer, New Jersey Title Insurance Company; “Regional Title Insurance Underwriters Q&A Session” with the New Jersey Title Insurance Company, General Title Insurance Company, Security Title & Guarantee of Baltimore, and several more; and “Making a Profitable Title Agency” led by Harvey Pollack, Land Title Services, Inc., Wauwatosa, WI. Special events are scheduled to include an opening reception on Sunday, April 10, 2011 at the Pisces Rooftop, 15th floor (overlooking Baltimore Harbor) with live music from 7 PM until 10 PM; a free lunch at the Harborview Room of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Monday, April 11, 2011; and a VIP Tour of Oriole Park at Camden Yards at 2:30 PM on Monday, April, 11, 2011. Attendees can begin checking in after 2 PM on Sunday, April 10th. The conference opens with the reception at 7 PM later that day, and scheduled activities run from 8 AM to 4 PM Monday and 8 AM to 12:30 PM Tuesday. Registration for the event is scheduled to continue until April 3rd. The registration fee for the event is $225, discounted to $175 for registrations received before February 14th. An additional fee of $50 applies to the continuing education classes. For more information, visit the NAILTA website or view the current agenda, view other event details, and register here. For additional information on the venue, visit the website of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Baltimore. Posted via email from Title Insurance Existing-home sales rose sharply in December, when sales increased for the fifth time in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 12.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in December from an upwardly revised 4.70 million in November, but remain 2.9 percent below the 5.44 million pace in December 2009. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said sales are on an uptrend. “December was a good finish to 2010, when sales fluctuate more than normal. The pattern over the past six months is clearly showing a recovery,” he said. “The December pace is near the volume we’re expecting for 2011, so the market is getting much closer to an adequate, sustainable level. The recovery will likely continue as job growth gains momentum and rising rents encourage more renters into ownership while exceptional affordability conditions remain.” The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $168,800 in December, which is 1.0 percent below December 2009. Distressed homes rose to a 36 percent market share in December from 33 percent in November, and 32 percent in December 2009. “The modest rise in distressed sales, which typically are discounted 10 to 15 percent relative to traditional homes, dampened the median price in December, but the flat price trend continues,” Yun explained. Total housing inventory at the end of December fell 4.2 percent to 3.56 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.1-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 9.5-month supply in November. NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I., said buyers are responding to very good affordability conditions despite tight mortgage credit. “Historically low mortgage interest rates, stable home prices, and pent-up demand are drawing home buyers into the market,” Phipps said. “Recent home buyers have been successful with very low default rates, given the outstanding performance for loans originated in 2009 and 2010.” According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.71 percent in December from 4.30 percent in November; the rate was 4.93 percent in December 2009. A parallel NAR practitioner survey shows first-time buyers purchased 33 percent of homes in December, up from 32 percent in November, but are below a 43 percent share in December 2009. Investors accounted for 20 percent of transactions in December, up from 19 percent in November and 15 percent in December 2009; the balance of sales were to repeat buyers. All-cash sales were at 29 percent in December, compared with 31 percent in November, but up from 22 percent a year ago. “All-cash sales have been consistently high at about 30 percent of the market over the past six months,” Yun said. Single-family home sales jumped 11.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.64 million in December from 4.15 million in November, but are 2.5 percent below the 4.76 million level in December 2009. The median existing single-family home price was $169,300 in December, down 0.2 percent from a year ago. Existing condominium and co-op sales surged 16.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 640,000 in December from 550,000 in November, but remain 5.2 percent below the 675,000-unit pace one year ago. The median existing condo price was $165,000 in December, which is 7.4 percent below December 2009. Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 13.0 percent to an annual pace of 870,000 in December but are 5.4 percent below December 2009. The median price in the Northeast was $237,300, which is 1.4 percent below a year ago. Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 11.0 percent in December to a level of 1.11 million but are 4.3 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $139,700, up 3.3 percent from December 2009. In the South, existing-home sales increased 10.1 percent to an annual pace of 1.97 million in December but are 2.5 percent below December 2009. The median price in the South was $148,400, unchanged from a year ago. Existing-home sales in the West surged 16.7 percent to an annual level of 1.33 million in December but remain 1.5 percent below December 2009. The median price in the West was $204,000, down 5.6 percent from a year ago. Posted via email from Title Insurance
Continuing Ed for Title Agents
Registration Open for NAILTA National Conference in April
Continuing Ed for Title Agents
NAR: Existing Home Sales Up Sharply Last Month
Continuing Ed for Title Agents
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