• 
  During January 2010, State Regulatory Registry, LLC will launch a new Web site, which will be known as NMLS Consumer Access. The NMLS Consumer Access Web site will make a significant amount of information about licensees available to the public. The Web site will include, among others, detailed contact information for the licensee, a summary of the licenses and approvals held by each licensee, the status of those approvals and state-by-state registered agent information. The individual records for licensed mortgage loan originators also will include summaries of their employment history, including positions that were outside the financial services industry. Licensees should also be aware that, at some date subsequent to its launch, the Web site will include information on past administrative orders and actions that each licensee has experienced.
  

Q: When a mortgage broker receives an application or information sufficient to complete an application, when does the lender who agrees to go forward on the application have to provide the GFE?
A: No later than 3 business days after the mortgage broker received the application or information sufficient to complete the application, either the lender or the mortgage broker must provide a GFE. The lender is responsible for ascertaining whether the GFE has been provided.

Not expressly addressed by HUD are the implications of a situation in which a broker submits an application to a lender after three business days from the broker’s receipt of the application without the broker having issued a good faith estimate (GFE). If HUD takes the position that the lender would be responsible for the failure to timely provide a GFE in such situation, then

HUD should clearly state its position. Of course, if HUD were to take such a position, the likely result is that lenders would refuse to accept applications in cases in which brokers have not timely delivered a GFE.

The other FAQ regarding the lender-broker relationship provides as follows:

Q: If a lender agrees to proceed with a transaction for which a mortgage broker has provided the GFE to the borrower, may the lender provide a revised GFE?
A: The lender may provide a revised GFE consistent with the provisions of 24 CFR § 3500.7(f).

The cited section provides that a GFE is binding, subject to the tolerances and the exceptions set forth in the section for changed circumstances, borrower-requested changes and newly constructed homes. HUD has yet to state expressly what appears to be its position—if a lender accepts an application and GFE from a broker the lender is bound by the GFE as if the lender had issued the GFE.

The new FAQ addressing government loan programs provides:

Q: If a governmental loan program requires a borrower to select an “approved” service provider, such as a HUD approved housing counselor, should the service be disclosed in Block 3 or Block 6 on the GFE?
A: Even if a governmental loan program requires a borrower to select from only “approved” service providers (such as HUD approved housing counselors) the service must be disclosed in Block 6 on the GFE. If the loan originator selects a particular settlement service provider, the service must be disclosed in Block 3.

HUD does not address the requirement to provide the consumer with a list of available providers when the loan originator permits the borrower to shop for the providers of required services. In particular, if there is a list of approved service providers for a particular service under the government loan program, it is not clear if the loan originator must include one, any or all of the providers in the lender’s list of available providers in cases in which the lender will allow the borrower to select the provider of the service under the government program.

With the three FAQs addressed above, HUD continues the trend in the FAQs of not actually providing needed answers. Whether this is intentional or not, the result is the same—lack of clear guidance.