Client Share: Know Before You Owe

In 2010, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created under the Dodd-Frank Act. The purpose was to create a 21st century agency that helps consumer finance markets work by making rules more effective, by consistently and fairly enforcing those rules, and by empowering consumers to take more control over their economic lives.

When financing a home, CFPB’s goal is to ensure home buyers are engaged, prepared and knowledgeable so they are more likely to achieve successful, sustained homeownership.

To empower home-buying consumers with the information they need to make informed mortgage choices, the CFPB has implemented of the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule, which is often referred to as “TRID.”

Buying a home is one of the largest purchase most people make and mortgages can be complex and confusing.  The goal is of TRID is primarily to accomplish two things:

  1. Simplify and consolidate some of the required loan disclosures, and
  2. Change the timing of some activities in the mortgage process.

Since TRID was just launched in Fall 2015, the new mortgage process is still a work in progress. Most lenders have new processes in place and, after a few initial glitches, lenders, REALTORS® and the have worked together to further improve the process.

According to a recent study by the Stratmore Group, the average number of days to close are now back to a normal “pre-TRID” level and customer satisfaction with their lender has gotten a slight boost from the process.

As a consumer here are seven facts you need to know about the mortgage process.

  1. Preapprovals and pre-qualifications are unchanged by the rule.
  2. The application process begins with a Loan Estimate.
  3. As the buyer, you must indicate your intent to proceed.
  4. Once you indicate your intent to proceed, lenders can charge a fee.
  5. A changed circumstance may mean a revised Loan Estimate or a revised Closing Disclosure.
  6. You must receive the Closing Disclosure at least three business days prior to closing.
  7. Extra three-day reviews are unlikely.

The more you know about getting a mortgage and the closing process, the smoother it will go for you.

The information in this article is not intended to replace expert advise. To learn more, contact your local REALTOR®, your lender and you can go to consumerfinance.gov to checkout their articles and online tools. 

*****

Find this and other articles you can share with your clients on NewMexicoHomeSearch.com/advice.php.