Opinion: Time For A Consumer Mortgage Bill Of Rights

By Taylor Stork, President CHLA and EVP, COO Developer’s Mortgage Company and Kelly Welch, Executive Vice President, Equity Resources, Inc. When a consumer goes into the market to obtain a mortgage loan, they enjoy consumer protections that are arguably more extensive and specific than any other financial product. A few examples: TRID requirements for disclosures which hold lenders to early fee estimates, RESPA prohibitions against charging for services not provided, and LO Comp prohibitions on loan originators steering loans or varying their fee based on how much they think the borrower would pay. The same is true for the servicing of mortgage loans. Servicers must follow detailed rules, and for the two-thirds of loans that are “federal agency loans” (FHA,…