Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)
Definition of "Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)"
The Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (RESPA) is a piece of law passed by the US Congress in 1974 to protect homebuyers and home sellers against bad settlement practices.
The Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (RESPA) regulates mortgage loans by requiring the lender to disclose certain information about a loan, including the estimated closing costs and annual percentage rate (APR). Its objective is to bring uniformity in real estate settlement practices when “federally related” first mortgage loans are made on one-to-four family residences, condominiums and cooperatives, and also to educate homeowners and prohibit abusive practices like referral fees, kickbacks, and the limitless use of escrow accounts.
Here are some of the things the Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (RESPA) forces lenders providing mortgages that are secured by federal programs like Ginnie Mae:
- Providing disclosures like the Mortgage Servicing Disclosures, Special Information Booklet, HUD-1/1A settlement, a Good-Faith Estimate of Settlement Costs (GFE), and the ability to compare these last two statements at closing
- Following certain escrow accounting practices
- Prohibiting the payment of kickbacks and referral fees to settlement service providers like appraisers, brokers and title companies
- Stopping foreclosure when the borrower submits a complete application for loss mitigation options.
Enforcement and Administration of the Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (RESPA) was originally done by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) but since 2001 became part of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Real Estate Advice:
For Sale By Owners (FSBO) will usually be unaware of the Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (RESPA) and become easier prey to people that take advantage of loopholes. So beware!
Popular Real Estate Terms
The grantee who is the tenant of a life estate. When the tenant dies, the estate goes back to the grantor. For example, President Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, were life tenants of the ...
(1) The interest rate used to convert future receipts or payments in connection with real estate property to their present value. The cost of capital is used as the discount rate under the ...
Organization that manages the relocation of the employees of client companies from one area of the country to another. A relocation service will manage home sales and purchases in another ...
The difference between the present value of cash inflows generated by real estate and the amount of the initial investment. The present value of future cash flows is computed using the cost ...
Provision guaranteeing the return of title to a mortgagor upon satisfaction of a mortgages conditions and terms. Causes the discharge of a mortgagees estate interest in a property. ...
You’ve put your home on the market and are receiving offers. The next logical step is to sell your house to the buyer who offers you the highest amount of money and start the closing ...
market in which there are comparatively few bids to buy or offers to sell real estate. The term relates to a single investment or to a particular investment market, such as the real estate ...
Accumulation of housing units deemed substitutable by homogeneous households, such as those having comparable attractiveness and usefulness. ...
Upgrading made by a lessee to leased property. Examples are paneling and wallpapering. These improvements revert to the lessor at the expiration of the lease term. As improvement costs are ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.