As part of its Know Before You Owe mortgage initiative, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has rolled out a new toolkit that helps consumers with the process of shopping for a mortgage and buying a house.
The bureau says the toolkit will help consumers take full advantage of the new Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms that lenders are required to begin using in August.
In a release, Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB, says the toolkit ‘will help consumers make well-informed decisions about the biggest financial transaction of their life.’
‘The new mortgage disclosure forms coming in August will help consumers comparison shop for mortgages and avoid surprises at the closing table,’ Cordray says. ‘We are releasing this toolkit well in advance of the effective date to help the mortgage industry come into compliance with the new rules.’
The toolkit is based on a booklet previously developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that creditors provide to mortgage applicants.
In a statement, David H. Stevens, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), says the new toolkit will ‘help inform and educate consumers who are working through the complexities of the mortgage process.’
‘We look forward to reviewing the details in the Toolkit and providing our input,’ Stevens says. ‘Today's mortgage system has the safest and soundest protections and disclosures ever created for prospective home buyers. It is critical that all stakeholders work together to ensure that we continue to uphold the highest standards of consumer protection and an efficient marketplace.
‘This announcement is a helpful reminder that the mortgage lending industry is there for those entering the housing market and that the American home buyer should go out and shop for a home loan with confidence knowing that they will be backed by a national network of lenders all following the same set of consumer protection standards for their customers,’ Stevens adds.
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