Unfortunately I continue to receive e-mails asking complex TRID questions, better directed to investors or the CFPB, about regulatory details, the odds of the CFPB delaying implementation, and about the penalties from making an innocent mistake. For example, a couple paragraphs down is information regarding prepaid property taxes - "zero" tolerance or "no" tolerance? Fun with words - is the CFPB purposely trying to confuse us? Couldn't its team have used "unlimited" instead of "no"?

This compliance issue came up last week. I have it on very good authority that prepaid property taxes fall under 1026.19(e)(3)(iii)(E) so fall into the no tolerance bucket (which is not the same, although somewhat confusing, as the zero tolerance bucket). Third party service not required by the creditor - good to know with 19 business days left until TRID. Let's hope that the CFPB doesn't expect LOs to be responsible for the accuracy and efficiency of the County Tax Assessor. But LOs know that when dealing with new construction it may be months before the buyer has a tax bill for the total assessed value.

Will correspondent investors have TRID overlays to protect themselves? Of course they will. Wells Fargo sent out a reminder saying, "As we do today, Wells Fargo Funding will continue to require evidence that the borrowers acknowledged the actual terms and costs of their Loan, as required by Regulation Z. Therefore, we will require that the final CD be signed and dated at Closing by all applicable, interested parties." "Although the regulation doesn't require a signed CD, if you were the servicer having to defend yourself against a related borrower claim, and there were numerous CD's in the transaction, how exactly would you stand up in court and claim that the particular CD on which you closed your loans WAS the correct one, without a borrower's signature?  The penalties and severity from the cure here is high, and there are plenty of class action attorneys who will undoubtedly add a new "TRID arrow" to their quiver....."

One top compliance person reminded me that, "'1026.19(e)(3)(iii)(E) Charges paid for third-party services not required by the creditor. These charges may be paid to affiliates of the creditor.' Property tax prorations are not third-party services not required by the creditor and they certainly are not paid to an affiliate of the creditor."

Vendor, Mortgage Insurance Company Updates

To lay some groundwork remember that back in March Morrison and Foerster released an article citing that the New York attorney general has investigated the credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion regarding credit reporting practices and addressing inaccuracies. The findings have prompted potential noteworthy changes to how information is furnished to the bureaus, the correction process when errors are identified and how the bureaus must monitor furnishers. The changes include, requiring furnishers to verify documentation indicating a consumer is deceased before reporting consumer as deceased and requiring the name of the original creditor when debt collectors report debt to the credit bureaus, as more identification of a lender as the original creditor could result in more consumer disputes for that lender. Regarding changes to error correction practices, the credit bureaus agreed that they will not automatically reject a consumer's dispute based upon a creditor's verification of the disputed item and the credit bureau's must employ specially-trained teams of employees to review documentation for any dispute involving fraud, identify theft or "mixed files." The bureaus will also create a National Credit Reporting Working Group in order to develop best practices and policies to enhance furnish monitoring and data accuracy. Finally, the bureaus will institute a 180-day waiting period before medical debt is reported on a consumer's credit report.

Effective with mortgage applications received August 24 United Guaranty increased the maximum loan amounts for second homes to $625,500 and $1,000,000 on 1-unit primary residences.

I know this is old news, but as a reminder MI applications received by United Guaranty now have new underwriting requirements.

Congrats to Valuation Partners as it was named as one of the top valuation companies in the USA by DS News. The June edition of DS News highlighted several outstanding valuation providers in the US and being privately held, Valuation Partners was a rare inclusion.  Jan Buchele, the SVP of Residential Services, stated "VP has excelled for over 30 years in large part due to being owned and managed by appraisers. "The reputation for quality of Valuation Partners' products and services has been 'legendary' for many years."

Mortgage Information Services, MIS, has integrated its title and settlement fees with Encompass360 in advance of TRID. Encompass360 users who utilize MIS's services are now able to view all title insurance, settlement and recording fees within the loan at no additional cost, without having to request a quote from an external source. Additionally, the Encompass360 user will not be required to add information in order for the fees to populate in the loan. Fees will pull directly from within the loan file and are automatically updated if changes to the loan are made.

As of August 28^th Arch MI expanded its program guidelines regarding eligibility requirements for its EZ Decisioning, Standard, and Down Payment Assistance programs.

Arch MI has added a new TRID resource to its TRID Information Center. Check out Arch's Readiness Roadmap webinar for loan originators to use with real estate partners.

a la mode answers some top appraiser questions regarding its TOTAL software. Click the link to see how TOTAL handles all your report building needs flawlessly and faster than your current software. a la mode short video answers to your questions.

LenderLive, a Denver-based, end-to-end mortgage services provider, announced it has completed the acquisition of Walz Group LLC, a provider of regulatory compliance solutions, full-cycle critical document fulfillment and Certified Mail Automation. As a result of the transaction, WALZ will be a stand-alone division of LenderLive, operating under its existing WALZ brand. The current WALZ management team will remain in place, led by founder and president, Rod Walz. 

Back in May Strategic Vantage media relations announced Ellie Mae has partnered with DocuSign to deliver advanced electronic signature capabilities to mortgage lender clients. This integration into Encompass, Ellie Mae's all-in-one mortgage management solution, will allow more than 119,000 mortgage professionals and thousands of mortgage companies to create an easy, efficient and secure all-digital signing process for their home-buying clients.

American Tax & Property Reporting (ATPR) out of Dallas has been promoting its uninsured search product, SmartProp, in both the lender and settlement services segments. The company is the American subsidiary of SLK Global, and recently named industry veteran Shannon Cobb as its EVP, Operations. Shannon was a SVP with WFG National Title and, before that, LandAmerica.

TOTAL's MLS Text Importer makes life easier for appraisers as in just one minute it imports MLS data saving appraisers between 20-30 minutes from retyping comp data into their report.

With all of this going on interest rates are the least of our problems. Since Easter the yield on the 10-year T-note has pretty much ranged from 1.85% to 2.45%, and right now we're in the middle of the range we've been in since early July - in spite of changing expectations about the Fed making a move, about China's currency, the price of oil plummeting, our stock market tumbling, and so on.

Yes it is Tuesday already. Remember the employment data Friday? The August data initially pushed analysts to increase the probability of a September rate hike due to Hourly Earnings and the decline in the Unemployment Rate. But as the day went on equities extended their losses, the dollar retreated, and Treasury prices improved to moderate gains for the session.

What about scheduled economic news this week? Frankly there isn't much so we can expect overseas events to determine our rates. We have a couple of unimportant odds and ends today, as well as a $24 billion 3-year note auction. Tomorrow is the JOLTS Job Opening number, along with a $21 billion 10-year note auction. Thursday we can look forward to the usual Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending 9/5 and Continuing Jobless Claims, August Export Prices ex-agriculture and Import Prices ex-oil, July Wholesale Inventories, and a $13 billion 30-year auction. Friday has the August Producer Price Index & Core PPI along with several University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment figures. To figure out where rate sheets are heading today, we wrapped up last week with the 10-year T-note at 2.13% and this morning we're up to 2.16% with agency MBS prices worse about .125.

Jobs and Announcements

Wells Fargo Funding is hiring Mortgage Correspondent Inside Sales Account Executives who will be responsible for strategic business development to attain growth and financial objectives while ensuring compliance regulations and policies. Inside AEs will also provide oversight and leadership to clients through consultation and education to balance and maintain profitable relationships; ensure client program parameters, contract requirements and compliance with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage policy and procedures. Primary responsibilities include prospecting for new clients, Managing existing client base,  Negotiating pricing levels for clients to optimize production and profitability, Enforcing contractual obligations for clients within the geographic area and collecting receivables owed to Wells Fargo for loans purchased, as well as other duties assigned. To view this job description and to apply go to www.wellsfargojobs.com and search by Job ID# 5142564; the application deadline is 9/13/2015.

Apex Home Loans, Inc. an independent mortgage banker serving the greater Mid-Atlantic region is growing by leaps and bounds, and is searching for a Producing Sales Manager to oversee an existing sales staff of 21 originators and team members. The ideal candidate must have a minimum of 5-7 years of managerial experience with lofty relationship values.  Apex is searching for an Operations Manager to oversee an existing staff of 80 team members. The ideal candidate must have a proven track record in managing every aspect of the mortgage process. And lastly Apex is searching for several Mortgage Bankers to join anyone of its 5 area locations. Apex, a direct Freddie Mac Seller, is the largest independently owned mortgage banker headquartered in Montgomery County, Maryland, serves the Mid-Atlantic region through its offices in Rockville, Clarksville, and West Ocean City, MD, Wilmington, DE, and Norristown, NJ. It was recently recognized as an Inc. 5000 business as well as one of the fastest growing companies in the DC Metropolitan area per SMART CEO Magazine. Confidential inquiries should be directed to Chairman Michael Parsons (240.268.3053).

Pacific Union Financial, LLC recently announced the expansion of its Distributed Retail channel and the opening of several new branch facilities across the country. The most recent teams on-boarded in Corona (CA), Sandy (UT), and Colorado Springs with future locations scheduled in Georgia and southern California. "We continue to build on our Distributed Retail efforts and are pleased to welcome several new groups to the Pacific Union brand," said Rick Skogg, President and CEO of Pacific Union Financial. We have had phenomenal growth over 15 consecutive months and continue to welcome top retail talent as we expand our footprint in strategic regions." Want to make a move and become part of an exciting and productive team? For all the details, please contact Coleen Gama, Executive Assistant to CEO, Rick Skogg. Visit www.pacificunionfinancial. com for more career opportunities.

And coming off a successful 2014 recruiting year, Prospect Mortgage's momentum continues into 2015 as over 200 elite Originators have joined Prospect so far this year. Prospect's 2015 hires are on pace to surpass the nearly $2B in fundings 2014 hires have produced to date. Prospect Mortgage continues to seek and attract top-tier origination talent. Loan Officers serious about growing their business with a company focused on the purchase market should contact Chief Talent Officer Dan Nieto to learn how Prospect can help close loans on time, grow market share, and expand and diversify industry relationships."