HUD Deluged with Questions on GFE and Transfer Tax

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is getting deluged with many questions from mortgage bankers regarding the new good-faith estimate form, in particular the treatment of the real estate transfer tax, according to a top official at the agency. Speaking at a regional mortgage banking trade show in Atlantic City, HUD's RESPA director Ivy Jackson gave attendees a quick list of questions the agency has received since the new GFE and HUD-1 forms went into effect Jan. 1. After disclosing the list, audience members bombarded Jackson with questions, showing-as one questioner put it-the industry's frustration with HUD over how to implement the new forms. (The questioner admitted, however, that he liked the new forms.) In her formal presentation to the trade show, Jackson said the revised forms are a new concept for the mortgage industry and professionals must learn how to do things differently. The "worksheet" issue was discussed during the audience question-and-answer portion. Jackson said the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act does not prohibit the use of a worksheet, but she warned that it must not look like the new GFE. If it does, HUD will be paying a call on the originator. She also reiterated that the lender is responsible for the GFE in a wholesale transaction, not the mortgage broker.