Two and a half years ago, we began a line of work we call Know Before You Owe. The work that we did as part of that project helped lead us to the TILA-RESPA final rule we issued Wednesday. Among other things, that rule requires new mortgage disclosures: a Loan Estimate the consumer gets when […]
When we first proposed the TILA-RESPA disclosure rule, we got a lot of questions about the length of the document containing the rule. We synthesized those questions into one representative question and wrote a post to give you some answers. Now that we’re finalizing the rule, we wanted to do it again to talk about […]
Today, we’re issuing the TILA-RESPA final rule. This rule improves the way consumers receive information about mortgage loans, both when they apply and when they’re getting ready to close. Alongside the rule, we’re publishing information to help industry understand what the requirements are, such as how to fill out the disclosure forms. Helping with that […]
One part of our proposed rule to improve the disclosures consumers receive when applying for and closing on a mortgage was a change to the current definition of “finance charge.” The finance charge is intended to reflect the cost of credit for consumers as a dollar amount. It’s used to calculate the Annual Percentage Rate […]
Dear CFPB, Recently, I saw your notice of proposed rulemaking to combine and simplify existing mortgage disclosures. It’s 1,099 pages long! Why does it take so many pages to create something that’s supposed to be easy to use and understand? Sincerely, Interested in your regulations Dear Interested, This is a great question, one you’re not […]
With something as important as a mortgage, you ought to be able to get up-front, easy-to-understand information that lets you compare different offers and find the one that’s best for you. The Dodd-Frank Act requires us to combine the disclosures that present this information into newer, simpler disclosures. After more than a year of research, testing, writing, and review, we’re proposing a rule to create new, easier-to-use mortgage disclosures.
This is the post second in a series. Yesterday, we looked at the origins of the Know Before You Owe project for simplifying mortgages. Today, we look back at how the project unfolded. Very soon, we’ll issue a new proposed rule to make mortgage disclosure more effective and easier to use. Hear from us when […]
The idea behind Know Before You Owe is simple: we believe in making disclosures simpler and more effective, and doing so with the input of the people who will actually use them. Over the past year, we’ve heard from thousands of people with insights into how to use, design, and regulate mortgage disclosure. Soon, we’ll propose a new rule to combine the disclosures you get when you apply for and close on a mortgage into a single, and ideally simpler, set of forms.
Learn more and sign up to hear from us when we do.
The CFPB is mindful that new statutory requirements we are implementing can burden as well as benefit small financial services providers. We use many methods to reach out to small providers to find out if any of these burdens are unnecessary and, if so, how we may be able to reduce them (within the limits […]
This week we are in Austin, Texas! We’re conducting the final round of testing of the integrated disclosures you receive at two different points in the mortgage process. You receive the first when applying for a loan, and you get the other at closing. After this, we’ll be shifting to the second phase of this […]
Last month, we unveiled two new prototypes for a single mortgage disclosure to replace the HUD-1 Settlement Statement and final Truth-in-Lending disclosure. Currently, you receive both of these at closing. Consistent with the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act, we are working to combine them. Our goal is to make this one combined form that is […]
Last month, as we tested another round of the initial mortgage disclosure, we mentioned that we’d be shifting our focus in the coming months. Today, we begin testing a new form in Des Moines, Iowa: the closing disclosure. Currently, when you go to the settlement or “closing” of a loan, you receive a stack of […]
Four times since May, we have asked you to take a few minutes to help us create a simpler mortgage disclosure form. Each time, you told us what you liked and disliked, and what you thought was effective at communicating important loan information. Receive Know Before You Owe updates Email address ZIP code Sign up […]
In May, we introduced the Know Before You Owe project to give consumers, lenders, and other industry participants a way to help us make mortgage shopping easier. Since then, you’ve responded with more than 18,000 comments, and we’ve listened. Today, we’re asking for your input once again. Just like last time, here are a few […]
Last month, we introduced the Know Before You Owe project to give consumers, lenders, and other industry participants a way to help us make mortgage shopping easier. You responded with more than 13,000 comments, and we listened. We appreciate the time you took to give us those comments. Your feedback was largely consistent with the […]
As you might recall, the Dodd-Frank Act instructed the CFPB to replace the Truth in Lending form and the Good Faith Estimate with a single integrated mortgage disclosure. Instead of two forms that are long and complicated and contain overlapping information, our aim is to design a single form that is easier to explain and […]
