ALTA® to Testify on HUD’s RESPA Proposal

February 20, 2003

Washington, DC– On February 25, the American Land Title Association (ALTA) will testify before the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity of the House Committee on Financial Services. Stanley Friedlander, ALTA President, will testify at the hearing entitled “Simplifying the Home Buying Process: HUD’s Proposal on RESPA Reform.”

Friedlander will highlight why ALTA believes HUD’s proposed changes will have potentially adverse effects on consumers, the mortgage settlement process, and small businesses. And, he will offer a realistic two-package alternative that ALTA believes would achieve HUD’s objectives, while avoiding many of the consumer and competitive problems of the current proposal.

ALTA is also concerned that any reforms along the lines proposed by HUD – or even ALTA’s two-package alternative -- should not be undertaken without appropriate statutory authorization.

ALTA sent comments to HUD last October outlining the title industry’s concerns with its proposed changes to RESPA and introducing the two-package alternative. To read a copy of ALTA’s testimony and learn about the two-package alternative, go to www.alta.org and then see the RESPA Update section on the homepage.

SOURCE: American Land Title Association


Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.