NAMB Drive Spurs 40,000 Letters

So far, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers' letter-writing campaign to the Department of Housing and Urban Development has resulted in over 40,000 comment letters, according to Neill Fendly, the NAMB's past president and current legislative chair.Speaking at the Southeastern Mortgage Brokers Conference in New Orleans, Mr. Fendly said such a response will be "hard for [HUD Secretary Mel Martinez] to ignore." (HUD's proposal to reform the mortgage application and settlement process would, among other things, require brokers to disclose their total compensation in the good-faith estimate.) Mr. Fendly also noted that the results of the recent elections were favorable to the NAMB. He added that mortgage brokers should establish ties with the new members of Congress and educate them. His own speculation is that HUD will issue a revised rule, and "that is when the real fight will begin." Current NAMB president Armand Cosenza called on the mortgage broker community to step up and not to be apathetic, specifically making a request for money to help fund lobbying activities. One of the NAMB's plans is to create an education campaign around the topic "I am a mortgage." The NAMB can be found on the Web at http://www.namb.org.