Pickel: Guaranteed Packaging Likely

The president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers says that, based on the comments he has heard, guaranteed mortgage packaging would be available to anyone under the Department of Housing and Urban Development's forthcoming RESPA reform proposal.Speaking at the New Jersey League of Mortgage Lenders Conference in Atlantic City, A.W. Pickel said packaging "is going to be like the Wild West" if it is part of HUD Secretary Mel Martinez's proposal to reform the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act. By making packaging available to anyone, "it will open up a huge can of worms," he said. The NAMB still opposes the inclusion of a guaranteed mortgage package in RESPA reform. Lenders can change the terms at the last minute -- based on allowable reasons such as a change in the credit score or an appraisal that came in low -- and the customer would have no idea what makes up the package, he said. Citing communications with HUD staff (including Frank Jimenez, Mr. Martinez's chief of staff), Mr. Pickel discounted reports that the department will announce a rule at the upcoming Mortgage Bankers Association of America convention.