Law Letters

House Bill 831- Effective September 1, 2015   Texas Finance Code Section 343.103 Beginning September 1, 2015, residential mortgage servicers have a new responsibility to the surviving spouse of a deceased borrower.  Within 30 days of receiving a request for loan...

July 1, 2015   The United States Supreme Court’s decision on June 26, 2015  in Obergefell vs. Hodges will have an immediate impact on Texas residential lenders.  This Law Letter discusses some of the results of the Supreme Court’s ruling that same-sex couples have the...

CFPB Director Richard Cordray issued the following statement: “The CFPB will be issuing a proposed amendment to delay the effective date of the Know Before You Owe rule until October 1, 2015. We made this decision to correct an administrative error that we just...

The Texas Supreme Court has clarified that lenders may use a Power of Attorney to close a Home Equity loan provided the POA was signed at the office of the lender, an attorney-at-law or a title company. Finance Commission of Texas v. Norwood (2013) QUESTION:  How does...

We are all very aware of the voluminous residential mortgage lending regulations issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) over the past several years, regulations that have had a significant impact on residential mortgage lending throughout the...

This issue of Law Letter focuses on two CFPB rules that will become effective for consumer residential mortgage applications received beginning January 10, 2014.  I.  CFPB Requirement to provide Consumer Mortgage Applicants with Homeownership Counseling List II....

October 31, 2013   I. NMLSR ID Number on Application, Note and Deed of Trust/Mortgage Beginning with residential mortgage loan applications received on January 10, 2014, the lender’s name and the lender’s unique ID under the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System &...

On June 21, 2013, the Texas Supreme Court issued its opinion in the case involving certain parts of the Texas Home Equity Law (Finance Commission of Texas et al v. Norwood, et al, No. 10-0121).   The opinion was further clarified in a supplemental opionion issued on...

On January 10, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its final “Ability to Repay and Qualified Mortgage Rule”, which rule amends Regulation Z/Truth-in-Lending and will take effect on January 10, 2014. The entire rule may be reviewed at the CFPB...

RECENT TEXAS LEGISLATION I. H.B. 558 - Payoff Statements for Home Loans a. Texas House Bill 558, effective September 1, 2011, adds Section 343.106 to the Texas Finance Code and directs the Texas Finance Commission to create a standard payoff statement form that must...