HUD Will Show Hand on RESPA in Spring

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is continuing its work on reforming the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and expects to share its views with the industry this spring, a department official has told MortgageWire."We get closer each day to getting a proposal out," said HUD Assistant Secretary Brian Montgomery in an exclusive interview. However, he stressed that HUD is being "slow and deliberate" and could not say whether a proposal will come in six, eight, or even 15 weeks. "We know the industry wants some clarity," he said. "We certainly know consumers are anxious for something that gives them a certainty of costs." Industry groups are urging HUD to focus its attention on improving the good-faith estimate disclosure so that consumers can tell at closing if settlement costs have been bumped up. Lender groups are divided over proposals that would allow "volume discounts" or require funders to guarantee their costs. (For the complete story, see the Feb. 20 issue of National Mortgage News.)