mortgage disclosure reform

First Time Homebuyer’s Guide to Saving Money at the Settlement Table

Every spring the articles start popping up everywhere, “The five most important things you need to know about buying or selling a house.” As someone who started out twenty-five years ago selling real estate and has now been in the title industry for more than twenty years, I find that the information in the majority…

The truth about real estate’s Controlled Business Relationships

By Frank Dowd

We recently received an email from a potential customer who was trying to be an informed consumer and get a fair deal on a mortgage. Here’s the opening line: “I’m considering a refinance to shorten term and lower rate. Lenders are unable to provide any kind of transparency (or patience) with questions on fees.” Unfortunately,…

Call for Mortgage Disclosure Regulation

By Frank Dowd

Have you ever purchased or refinanced real estate and had to deal with the stress of getting your final closing costs last-minute, because you were at the mercy of your lender? Hopefully, that may be changing soon! The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is currently considering a mortgage disclosure regulation in which lenders would…