Due to the importance of HUD's efforts to reform the regulatory provisions of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and the extensive concerns from members of Congress, consumer groups and the business community, HUD Acting Secretary Jackson on Monday announced that HUD has withdrawn the proposed rule from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Originally the OMB was to make a decision this month but last week extended it for another 30 days. C.A.R., as well as NAR, were among the groups opposing the proposal. Jackson indicated, without stating a timeline, that he will resubmit another proposal after proper "vetting" with all interested groups.
HUD submitted its RESPA proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget for its review in December 2003, nearly a year and a half after the department first proposed it. But HUD kept secret what exactly it sent to OMB, so no one knew whether it was the same as the original proposal or incorporated changes. The original proposal netted an unprecedented 45,000 comments during the public comment portion in 2002. Many of those came from within the real estate industry in opposition to the changes.
The original proposal would have changed the disclosure requirements for mortgage broker fees, including the controversial yield spread premiums; simplifed the good faith estimate form; and permitted the sale of guaranteed-price bundled packages of mortgages and mortgage-related services.
Posted by gandlwoods at March 29, 2004 09:46 AM