Government regulations change. The new rules might be better or worse or even both. Changes to RESPA laws simplified HUD 1 entries to make the form easier to read and complete, but in the process removed itemization detail that many real estate clients still want. EasyHUD, one of Easysoft’s suite of law office management software, includes a smart itemization feature that allows real estate professionals to break down entries into categories and show their clients exactly what each fee entails.
Open EasyHUD and click on the tab labeled “HUD Page 2”. If you look in section 800, Items Payable In Connection With Loan, and section 1100, Title Charges, you will see several grey buttons with a blue crosshatch pattern. These are the smart itemization buttons. Entries such as origination fees, insurance premiums or title and settlement charges often consist of multiple expenses. Many clients are interested in only the lump sum amount but some want to see itemization details so they can be sure the values are accurate.
To list individual components of a fee, click on the itemization button next to an entry such as title and settlement charges. This brings up a dialog that allows you to enter each value individually. As you make entries, the software will automatically total the amounts. When you click OK you will see the total has already been entered on the HUD 1. If you update the itemization, the form entry will update as well. You can enter more than 5 entries by clicking on the “Add New” button in the upper left corner.
The itemization will not appear on any HUD forms produced but can be printed for clients. On each itemization form you will see a “Print” button. Click this button to pull up a preview of the itemization report. You can print this form for mailing or faxing, or save the report as a PDF or RTF file that can be emailed to the client.
Not all clients will want itemizations of the HUD-1 form but now you have the option to provide it if desired while still completing the form according to RESPA values.
Contact us for more information on how all of our law office management software products are designed to gives real estate and legal professionals more options for running their practices efficiently and profitably.
