This article reports recent case law involving settlement service providers accused of violating RESPA laws that prohibit the unlawful practice of paying kickbacks to real estate brokers for client referrals.

‘Short-Refi Program’ application numbers are rising as lenders sign up to participate, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) reported last week. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received 387 applications and endorsed 89 cases as of March 11, 2011, close to double the volume from the previous week. The FHA commissioner also confirmed 23 [...]

Lenders are hesitant to issue loan pre-approvals as a result of stricter Good Faith Estimate (GFE) regulations issued in January 2010 by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A pre-approval provides lenders and buyers with an accurate assessment of the maximum amount a buyer can borrow. A formal loan application is usually submitted [...]

During this period of prolonged artificially low interest rates, 80% of loan applications submitted nationwide are for a refinance. This financial adjustment may be a prudent decision for the well-informed homeowner who has an equity in his property, but the majority of Americans are relying on the risky calculations of financial advisers looking to profit [...]

A digest of recent court cases affecting real estate.

Within three days after a homebuyer’s loan application is first submitted to a mortgage lender, the lender must prepare and hand the homebuyer an accurate Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of closing costs. The GFE is required by the federal Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act (RESPA) and supplemented by the Department of Real estate (DRE) [...]

Within three days after a homebuyer’s loan application is first submitted to a mortgage lender, the lender must prepare and hand the homebuyer an accurate Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of closing costs. The estimates are required by the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act (RESPA). The excess profits generated for lenders during the recent mortgage [...]

Effective immediately, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has implemented yet another program to market foreclosed homes, this one called the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). NSP will sell Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) foreclosed homes under the FHA’s First Look Sales Method, which grants first option and financing to purchase HUD foreclosed homes to [...]

FHA Reform Act Passed On Thursday, June 10, the United States House of Representatives passed the Fair Housing Administration (FHA) Reform Act. Upon further(almost certain) approval by the Senate, the FHA will be permitted to modify its method of administering mortgage insurance premiums (MIPs) on new mortgages. The FHA will then shift much of the [...]

Additional fees charged by real estate agents separate from their basic contingency fee were the subject of a recent letter to industry lawyers from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HUD letter reiterated its long-held stance that the federal government does not cap the fee a broker may charge his client. [...]