The new RESPA Rules are underway and real estate professionals are discovering that many questions they have fall into a gray area. Because real estate closings are done differently from region to region in order to comply with individual state laws, there isn’t always one hard and fast rule that works for all while preparing HUD settlement statements.

You’ll find presentation material everywhere, providing advice on settlement statement preparation. Since the announcement of RESPA reform, Easy Soft has been at the forefront of training for real estate professionals. ... More »

HUD’s stated objective (well, at least one of the most important ones) with the new RESPA Rule is to bring about much needed transparency in the real estate closing process. While the GFE-HUD comparison sheet requirement certainly has pressed lenders and settlement services providers to quote their fee much more accurately, there is still an element of opacity.

As part of the new rules, lenders and settlement service providers are no longer allowed to itemize “administrative fees.” The rule applies to all settlement service providers, whether they are on the lender provided list or not. Now, in the normal course of business, consumers would want to see an itemized list of charges, especially because the HUD Settlement Statement does not allow for itemization. If the goal is transparency, then breakdown of lender’s origination cost, title fee, closing fee, etc. must be visible. ... More »