The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act is a consumer protection statute which regulates settlement practices within the real estate industry and promotes consumer awareness of the nature and costs of settlement. As its name implies, RESPA is primarily concerned with protecting consumers from unnecessarily high settlement charges and certain abusive practices relating to settlement and settlement services. RESPA also regulates certain servicing-related practices.

Congress charged the Department of Housing and Urban Development with the responsibility of enforcing RESPA. HUD wrote Regulation X, which defines precisely what industry players must do to comply with the RESPA statute. The implications of Regulation X are far-reaching throughout the lending process. Virtually everyone who works in loan production or mortgage servicing - and everyone who has ever purchased a one-to-four family residential home in the United States - is affected by Regulation X.

In this course, we will look at the basic purpose and highlights of the RESPA statute and Regulation X and their implications for players in the mortgage industry. In the first lesson, we look at the major provisions of the RESPA statute and Regulation X. In the second lesson, we look at the major disclosures required by Regulation X from the time of loan application until the end of the life of the loan.

Course Outline:

Lesson 1 - RESPA Overview

• Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and Regulation X
• Purpose and Highlights of RESPA
• Loans Under the Scope of RESPA
• Cost of Settlement Disclosures
• Kickbacks, Fee-Splitting, and Unearned Fees
• Affiliated Business Arrangements
• Seller-Required Title Insurance
• Escrow Accounts
• Servicing Transfers and Responding to Customer Inquiries
• Enforcement
• Proposed Rules
• A Closer Look at the RESPA Statute
• A Closer Look at Regulation X

Lesson 2 - RESPA Disclosures

• HUD's Special Information Booklet, "Buying Your Home: Settlement Costs and Useful Information"
• Good Faith Estimate
• HUD-1 and HUD-1A Settlement Statement
• Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure Statement
• Servicing Disclosure Statement
• Notice of Assignment, Sale, or Transfer of Servicing Rights
• Initial Escrow Account Statement
• Annual Escrow Account Statement

Course Credit:
Completion of this course earns five points toward MBA's Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB), or Certified Mortgage Technologist (CMT) designations. This course also earns five points towards MBA's Mortgage Compliance (CMCP Level I) Achievement Certificate, or Certified Residential Underwriter (CRU Level III) Specialist Designation.