Policies & Regulations

How is the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Protecting You and Your Future Loans?

• The Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and Truth In Lending (TIL) Statement have been replaced with one document, known as the Loan Estimate (LE)
• The HUD is gone. It is now called a Closing Disclosure Form (CDF, or CD)
• We now call a “settlement” or “closing” the “consummation”.

• For additional terminology and a great overview of the changes, please visit the CFPB website’s Real Estate Overview

What Do the New CFPB Regulations (effective Oct. 3, 2015) Mean to a Home Buyer?

• The CD is a now a collaborative effort between the lender and the attorney’s office. There are a series of “portals”, which are essentially middlemen between lender and attorney, where CD information is uploaded and downloaded as both parties enter the fees involved in a transaction. There are several portals that provide these services, but Closing Insight from REALEC is the biggest player since Wells Fargo and BOA have chosen them to provide that service. In some cases, the lender will ultimately provide the final CD and in some cases the attorney will provide it. Ask your client’s lender whose portal they use and who will be supplying the final CD.
  IMPORTANT: Because the law now requires the final CDF to be delivered to the consumer 3 days prior to consummation/closing, it is imperative that we get all invoices prior to closing subject only to your own limitations to obtain those invoices. Though it is a misnomer that closings will be delayed for small invoices, it is best to get them to us ASAP. The actual rule is that any change that results in a net change to the APR of 1/8% or more will require a 3 day delay and re-disclosure. Thankfully, invoices that you typically provide are not APR related items.
• Communication is always key. By far the best way to do that is by email. It is most efficient, and leaves a paper trail of all correspondence for all parties, which is encouraged by all facets of the industry including our malpractice carriers. That said, phone calls have their place and we will always do our best to answer phones or return calls as soon as possible.
• The buyer and seller will have two separate CDF’s, and neither party should be privy to the information contained on each other’s disclosure. That is precisely the purpose of the new format. Please be sensitive to that and never share information from your clients CDF with the other “side” of the transaction.

• Any correspondence containing Non-Public Personal Information (NPPI) must be sent encrypted. Therefore, one of the biggest changes between realtors/attorneys will be that you will see an increase in the amount of encrypted emails you get from us. We use Microsoft essentials 365. Our IT professional is Rob Clive at PCMedevac. If you ever have a technical issue with our firm, please let me know or you can call him directly at 919-369-7800.
• Our website will allow you to upload and download documents online through a secure server so that NPPI is not an issue when submitting the required forms for your closing.
• Our office now has an alarm to further guard our clients data.

• Beyond our standard malpractice insurance, we also have Fidelity Bond insurance, a crime policy, and cyber insurance to protect all parties involved in the transaction.

• Part of the new law requires that nobody other than employees can be in a room that contain files or computers with client information on the screen. Therefore we have installed a half door between our reception area and the back offices. Above that door are 2 doorbells, one for pre-closing (Mark) and one for post-closing (Frances). When you arrive for your appointment, please ring the top bell to let us know you are here.
• All file cabinets are locked outside of business hours and the required “clean desk policy” has been implemented. Know that our client’s information is protected at all times, day and night.