Our federal government is so huge that sometimes different branches operate under conflicting rules and the public is caught in the middle. As an example the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the 2010 RESPA Final Rule give different requirements for home loan information.
VA Loan Fee Caps
VA loan regulations set a number of requirements on lenders funding home loans for veterans. Among those requirements are caps on the fees that can be charged for the loan. The lender is limited to an origination fee of no more than 1% of the loan amount, as well as certain other reasonable and customary fees. Lenders that charge more than these caps are subject to penalties that range from being removed from the VA loan program to criminal charges.
HUD Program Changes
The 2010 RESPA Final Rule changed the HUD closing statement in a number of ways intended to make the home purchase and sale process easier to understand for consumers, and to make it harder for unscrupulous lenders and brokers to take advantage of their clients. Unfortunately these changes made it harder for lenders to observe the VA loan requirements. Specifically, fees are no longer itemized to the extent they were before, so it is difficult for lenders and brokers to verify that the fees do not exceed VA loan caps.
Help From Easy HUD
Brokers need software that satisfies compliance with both VA and HUD regulations, as well as any other state or federal agencies that might have their own rules. Easy HUD settlement statement software has been designed to allow brokers to both lump fees together to prepare a RESPA-compliant HUD 1, and to itemize charges so they can see that they are observing VA caps. In fact we specifically have a “Print VA Itemization” button so you can generate a report already tailored to VA loan regulations.
Any company that develops real estate or law practice management software has to stay on top of the changing web of regulations. If the rules change, our software has to change with it. This is why we keep ourselves educated on changing real estate laws for Easy HUD, as well as state-specific divorce laws for our suite of family law applications. Easysoft software evolves as the law does.
Contact us for more information on how Easysoft products not only help you run your real estate practice more efficiently, but also help you stay in compliance with state and federal laws.
