Home lenders will have a little more flexibility when loan costs change thanks to an update from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
A final rule being issued by the bureau
addresses disclosing changes to closing costs under integrated disclosures required under the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
According to the CFPB, which might soon be known as the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, TRID limited when an increased cost could be passed onto the borrower without triggering new a new Loan Estimate and the additional time need to close a loan.
“This situation, which may arise when the creditor has already provided a Closing Disclosure to the consumer when it learns about the cost increase, occurs because of the intersection of timing rules regarding the provision of revised estimates,” the CFPB said. “This has been referred to in industry as a ‘gap’ or ‘black hole’ in the TILA-RESPA rule.”
In some cases, lenders were denying the loan rather than passing on the cost to the borrower.
But following feedback from industry stakeholders, the regulator proposed an amendment in July 2017 removing that particular timing restriction in order to eliminate uncertainty in the market.
“Specifically, a timing restriction on when the creditor may use a Closing Disclosure to communicate closing cost increases to the consumer could prevent a creditor from charging the consumer for those cost increases despite a valid reason for doing so, such as a changed circumstance or borrower request,” a statement Thursday said.
So today’s statement indicated, that
after considering public comments on the proposal, the bureau is finalizing that amendment.
The final rule becomes effective 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register.
