| The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) | | | | Lender disclosure |
| began 2010 with various changes in its lending policies, | | | | The most significant change in the policy has to do |
| most of which are intended to curb mortgage fraud | | | | with transparency the root cause of most mortgage |
| and prevent more homeowners from falling into | | | | fraud issues today. Under the new rules, real estate |
| default. But as with any other change, experts are | | | | Laguna Beach lenders and brokers are required to |
| seeing a mix of pros and cons in the new RESPA | | | | give clients a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) disclosing the |
| policy. Some of them are particularly of concern to | | | | terms of the loan, including the closing costs. The |
| Laguna Beach real estate, as it can affect the way | | | | closing agent will also have to provide the borrower |
| financing is assessed and granted for luxury homes. | | | | with a Settlement Statement, issued by the HUD, |
| Read on to learn more about how RESPA rules can | | | | which allows the latter to compare estimated and |
| affect Laguna Beach realty in 2010. | | | | final costs. |