CLTA News Express
An Express Article from the California Land Title Association
CLTA Comments on Proposed Integrated Mortgage Disclosure Rule
Bulletin 12/13-50 - November 8, 2012
The CLTA submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on the proposed Closing Disclosure Form that will directly affect CLTA members. The CLTA supported the proposed alternative of a joint preparation of the form by the settlement agent and the lender but suggested some modification to the preparation protocols. Also, the CLTA suggested that the current proposed disclosure of specific items could be confusing as currently written. An example of a required disclosure is providing for a listing of Owner’s title costs, with “Optional” as a parenthetical attached to the listing. This could cause confusion to California consumers since virtually all buyers in California residential purchase transactions obtain owner’s title insurance as a result of practice and California Association of Realtors purchase agreements.
The CLTA also pointed out that the reference to a basic owner’s policy rate in the Loan Estimate Form was problematic when considering the enhanced owner’s title coverage available. A similar issue was raised with respect to the disclosure of the costs of lender’s coverage proposed to be made without any adjustment for a simultaneous purchase of owner’s coverage. Neither provision reflects common California practices.
The actual delivery of the Closing Disclosure Form three business days prior to consummation was commented on by the CLTA in light of the fact that it fails to consider changes in numbers associated with the previously disclosed Loan Estimate Form. Finally, the CLTA also suggested that the requirement for data maintenance in machine readable format be postponed until appropriate protocols are defined for the collection of the data.
