While it will remain unchanged in 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Reserve Board, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) have issued a final rule regarding future adjustments to the threshold for appraisal exceptions for higher-priced mortgage loans.  

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 amended the Truth in Lending Act, adding a requirement that lenders get a written appraisal based on an interior inspection of a home's interior.  Loans for $25,000 or less were exempted from this requirement with a provision that the exemption level be revisited annually and revised to reflect increases in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). 

The calculation method adopted in the final rule will allow the thresholds to keep pace with the CPI-W.  Among other clarifications, the final rule details that if there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, the agencies will not adjust the exemption threshold from the prior year.

The calculation method adopted in the final rule will allow the thresholds to keep pace with the CPI-W.  Among other clarifications, the final rule details that if there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, the agencies will not adjust the exemption threshold from the prior year.  Under this rule, the 2017 threshold will remain at the 2016 level of $25,500, based on the CPI-W in effect on June 1, 2016.