FirstAm Offers Purchase-Money Bundle

Responding to expected RESPA reform and the growing demand for one-fee mortgages, First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., has announced the introduction of what it calls the mortgage industry's first "consolidated bundle of products and services to complete home purchase transactions."The company said the Purchase Money Bundle will feature a single fixed price and will integrate all the origination and settlement services required by mortgage lenders to originate mortgages in purchase transactions, including: credit reporting, flood zone determination, property valuation, title insurance, and closing services. A version of the Purchase Money Bundle minus title services will also be available to title agents wishing to offer a bundle of real estate information products. First American says its purchase-money package is the first in the industry, but there are lenders that are offering bundled services programs, the most well known being ABN Amro Mortgage Group, Ann Arbor, Mich., and its OneFee program. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has called for the packaging of settlement services in its proposal to reform the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. First American can be found online at http://www.firstam.com.