As part of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) “Know Before You Owe” mortgage initiative, the bureau released a new toolkit on March 31 to guide consumers through the process of shopping for a mortgage and buying a house.
The toolkit is designed to be used in connection with the new Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms that go into effect Aug. 1.
The CFPB stated that the bureau was releasing the toolkit well in advance of the effective date to help the mortgage industry come into compliance with the new rules and to give industry time to order and receive or print the new toolkit and integrate electronic versions into their mortgage origination system.
“Creditors must provide the toolkit to mortgage applicants as a part of the application process, and other industry participants, including real estate professionals, are encouraged to provide it to potential homebuyers,” the CFPB said.
Designed to replace an existing booklet that creditors currently must provide to mortgage applicants, which initially was developed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, this new toolkit features interactive worksheets and checklists, conversation starters for discussions between consumers and lenders and research tips to help consumers seek out and find important information.
David Stevens, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), said, “This announcement is a helpful reminder that the mortgage lending industry is there for those entering the housing market and that the American homebuyer should go out and shop for a home loan with confidence knowing that they will be backed by a national network of lenders all following the same set of consumer protection standards for their customers.”
Stevens added that the MBA fully supported the CFPB’s efforts to help inform and educate consumers working through the mortgage process and looked forward to reviewing the details in the toolkit and providing its input.
The CFPB has provided an electronic version of the toolkit that includes fillable text fields and interactive check boxes so the consumer can save and print their progress as they work through the kit. A Spanish language version also will be made available later in 2015.
The electronic version of the toolkit is available at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore/#respa.
But if lenders wish to order print copies, those can be ordered from the Government Publishing Office website: http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/048-013-00009-1 (large) and http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/048-013-00010-4 (small).