We've all heard the news: The new RESPA rules, including new forms and practices surrounding the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, start January 1st, 2010. To help get us ready for the new changes, we'll be posting one article a day between today, December 20th, and the end of the year. Each will be tagged "RESPA Reform" so you can easily access all of them on page later.
The blog post topics are planned as follows (subject to change):
1. Intro
2. Nature of GFE as an "estimate"
3. Need for a "cash needed to close" document from lender
4. HUD-1 as a "tie-in" to GFE
5. HUD-1's "bundled-pricing" as a better cost comparison
6. The 3 types of costs
7. Identified/Recommended vendors v. Buyer-selected vendors
8. The Shopping Cart
9. Online Resources: Helpful links we've found for the new RESPA rule
10. Title Insurance: Standard v. Enhanced Coverage
11. Enforcement of Rule Changes
12. Commissions as a dollar amount rather than a percentage
We hope this is helpful! If you don't want to check back every day, feel free to subscribe via RSS or email on the front page.
