Last year in anticipation of the CFPB Integrated Mortgage Disclosures under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth–In–Lending Act (Regulation Z) rules taking effect, we published poll questions in order to determine the readiness of settlement agents nationwide. Here are the results:

JANUARY: Are loans originated prior to August 1, 2015 going to be closed using the Closing Disclosure?

• 8.96% of you selected yes
• 91.04% of you selected no

If you said no, you were correct. As you know the CFPB did delay the implementation date to October 3, 2015, but even then the new Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure could not be used on any loan applications taken by lenders prior to that date.

FEBRUARY: True or False: After August 1, 2015 the HUD–1 Settlement Statement will be obsolete.

• 10.94% of you selected true
• 89.06% of you selected false

If you selected false, you were correct. The HUD–1 Settlement Statement will still be used for reverse mortgages and some HELOC's.

MARCH: Fill in the blank: _______ is the day the borrower becomes legally obligated under the loan.

Most respondents answered correctly with consummation. Consummation is the day the borrower becomes contractually obligated to the lender on the loan or the day the borrower signed their loan documents.

APRIL: Fill in the blank. The charges on the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure must be alphabetized in each section by the charge description. Title and Escrow charges must all be grouped together by the preceding word ________.

If you entered Title, you were correct. The charges must be preceded by the word title and then a hyphen, before describing the service or product.

MAY: True or false. The buyer and seller must accept all the charges on the Closing Disclosure by signing the last page.

• 42.97% of you selected true
• 57.03% of you selected false

Just over half of you were correct in selecting false. The seller's form does not ever have to be signed. The borrower's form can be signed, but the borrower is only acknowledging their receipt of the form and not their acceptance of the charges.

JUNE: The rule tightens the tolerances and does not allow changes to even more types of charges from the Loan Estimate to the date of consummation. Charges that cannot increase at closing now include (Select All that Apply).

• Fees charged by an affiliate of the creditor or broker: 77.45% of you selected this option
• Recording fees: 42.12% of you selected this option
• Owners title premium: 63.86% of you selected this option
• Creditor or broker charges: 79.08% of you selected this option
• Escrow/closing fee: 70.92% of you selected this option
• Charges for services the consumer shopped for using the creditor's provider list: 45.38% of you selected this option
• Charges for services for which the borrower is not permitted to shop: 80.71% of you selected this option

A large percentage of you answered with the correct answers: A, D and G.
Fees paid to the creditor, mortgage broker, or an affiliate of either or fees paid to an unaffiliated third party providing a settlement service the lender did not permit the borrower to shop for or Transfer taxes cannot increase at closing

JULY: True or false. The lender has to include a provider list reflecting at least one service provider for services they can and cannot shop for.

• 80.93% of you selected true
• 19.07% of you selected false

This was a trick question. The answer is false. The lender does have to provide a provider list of services the borrower may shop for, but the lender does not have to provide a list of services the borrower cannot shop for. They may provide a list of both, but are not required to.

AUGUST: Fill in the blank. If the borrower is paying for the Owner's Title Policy the charge on both the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure must be labeled as __________.

The answer is optional. The CFPB decided the Owner's Title Policy must be disclosed as optional if the buyer is paying any portion or all of the cost, since the product is not required in order to obtain the loan. Settlement agents asked to waive an Owner's Title Policy as part of a sale transaction must refer to Tech Memo 161–2014 for the steps which must be followed before proceeding.

SEPTEMBER: In all instances, the charge for the lender's title policy must be disclosed at the full premium rate, with no discounts applied on the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure.

• 79.80% of you selected yes
• 20.20% of you selected no

Almost 80% of you were correct in answering yes when the transaction involves a sale. On a refinance, the actual charge for the lender's title policy will appear on the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure.

OCTOBER: If the Closing Disclosure is delivered by mail, email, courier or fax on a Monday it is assumed the delivery period expires:

• On Thursday at midnight: 25.62% of you selected this option
• On Wednesday at midnight: 72.03% of you selected this option
• The same day and the waiting period begins: 1.09% of you selected this option
• I do not know what the delivery period is: 1.24% of you selected this option

The correct answer is the delivery period would expire Wednesday at midnight. The delivery and waiting periods start on the same day the action occurs and last for three business days.

NOVEMBER: The Waiting Period requires the lender to ensure the Closing Disclosure is delivered to the borrower how many days prior to consummation?

• The same day: 0.26% of you selected this option
• Three business days: 81.10% of you selected this option
• Three calendar days: 8.40% of you selected this option
• Six business days: 10.24% of you selected this option

The majority of you answered correctly with three business days.

At the time of this publication the results of the December issue were not available. Great job everyone, we know you are working hard on transactions subject to these new rules!