ALTA Praises HUD Decision to Offer Latitude With RESPA Enforcement

November 13, 2009

The American Land Title Association complimented the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s decision on Nov. 13 to exercise restraint in enforcing the new regulatory requirements under the RESPA rule for the first four months of 2010.

“We are at the front lines of implementation, the critical consumer interface, and will carry ultimate burden for making the new settlement statement a success in the marketplace,” said Kurt Pfotenhauer, ALTA’s chief executive officer. “We will continue to work with HUD to seek clarity regarding some of the rules and welcome HUD’s extension of the same restraint in enforcing the rules to settlement agents regarding tolerance cure payments to borrowers.”

On Jan. 1, 2010, HUD will require that lenders and mortgage brokers provide consumers with a standard Good Faith Estimate (GFE) that discloses key loan terms and closing costs. Closing agents will be required to provide borrowers a new HUD-1 Settlement Statement that compares consumers' final and estimated costs. The new RESPA rule became effective on January 16, 2009, but provided a one-year transition period for the mortgage industry to incorporate these changes.


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