HUD Holding Free RESPA Rule Webinars
Mortgage lenders unsure about how to handle upcoming changes under the new Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule can participate in a series of online events hosted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The new RESPA rule takes effect on Jan. 1, 2010. Lenders and mortgage brokers will be required to provide prospective borrowers with a standard Good Faith Estimate that clearly discloses key loan terms and closing costs.

In addition, closing agents will be required to provide borrowers a new HUD-1 Settlement Statement that clearly compares final closing costs with initial estimates.
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Education Firms Tackle S.A.F.E. Requirements
Mortgage education providers are lining up courses to help originators meet upcoming state requirements under the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008. In other mortgage licensing activity, a huge net branch operation faced an order over unlicensed originators, while licensees in Florida and Pennsylvania face new requirements.

FHA Servicer Training Goes Online
Servicers that are approved to service loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration can now go online to learn about a range of servicing subjects.

Mortgage Education Dominated by NMLS
A host of education firms are rushing in to help loan originators meet new federal licensing requirements. Other available education resources for those in the mortgage industry include training on green lending, government underwriting and mortgage compliance.

Keeping High Producing Employees
A new banking study laid out a number of factors that inspire productive employees to stay with their current employers. The report suggests more needs to be done by banks to retain the best quality employees.

Reverse Wholesalers Help Brokers
Five of the biggest reverse mortgage wholesale lenders have joined an effort to educate mortgage brokers who are new to the business.

The FHA Insider
One of the few areas with consistent growth recently has been the origination of loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration. As government and industry call for more FHA resources, lenders and education service providers are capitalizing on the boom in FHA business.

FHA Daily
A net branch company is recruiting mortgage brokers by focusing on streamline refinances of loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, while a tour has been launched to help loan officers boost their FHA productivity. Also on the market is an FHA book and a new certification for government underwriters.

The Compliance Ledger
An online library of state mortgage laws has been released by a mortgage education firm. Two alliances promise to help mortgage companies maintain better compliance, while SunTrust Banks Inc. has signed on to utilize a service that helps it comply with internal and regulatory requirements.

Help With Building FHA Business
Mortgage service providers are going all out to help lenders manage the origination and servicing of loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.