This page is designed for Realtors who attended the Dodd Frank Act Realtor Clock Hour class. These are the links we visited and/or talked about in class:
The NMLS Consumer Access Registry
Created as part of the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, this is where anyone can look up the licensing status of a loan originator. Depository banks are required to have their loan originators registered within the system. Non-bank lenders and mortgage broker LOs are licensed. Anyone holding himself or herself out to be able to make a mortgage loan, with some exceptions, must be in this national system.
Department of Financial Institutions
There is a DFI-type regulator in every state. They regulate mortgage brokers, non-bank lenders, independent escrow companies, state-chartered banks, finance companies and those payday lenders. For laws and rules and such, scroll down to the “industry” tab and hit “loan originators.” If you have questions on seller financing and obtaining a waiver, after you click through to “loan originators” see the menu on the right….scroll down to “staff directory” and start with Lorenda in the licensing unit.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The CFPB was the federal agency created after President Obama signed The Dodd Frank Act. It was the idea of his college professor, Senator Warren, and she was instrumental in creating the new combined GFE/TIL disclosure form and the new HUD I that will be rolled out in Aug of 2015. To submit a complaint, find the complaint button located at the upper right hand side of the website.
Here is the CFPB Consumer Complaint Dataset on Mortgage Lending
If you want to get there from the CFPB home page, hover over “participate” and see the link. From that page select “mortgages” in the middle of the page.
This is an embedded excel spreadsheet. Sort by mortgage company, state, etc. Remember some mortgage companies might be known by one name but are doing business in a different name, or maybe the company was absorbed by another firm. And realize the big banks have the most complaints because (1)loan servicing complaints are included, (2)big banks have the largest market share, (3)big banks do banking really well but historically have not been the best at serving the specialized need of Realtors and their clients.
Federal Housing Finance Agency
At this moment in time, Fannie and Freddie are still operating under government conservatorship. At some point in the future, they will no longer be insolvent and we will have to figure out what to do, at the congressional level, with Fannie and Freddie. Do we privatize them? Do we leave their charters alone and allow them to exist as a government-sponsored entity (GSE) with the full faith and backing of the U.S. government, should they become insolvent in the future? These are questions that we are talking about now within the industry and will likely need an answer sometime before 2021.
Information on Seller Financing under the Dodd Frank Act
Washington State has also put out some announcements regarding residential home sellers obtaining a waiver on this page. The above link will take you to a PDF. Go to pages 22-23.
Do women pay more for a mortgage than men? <–That’s one article. Here’s another study.