Notary signing agents will have more time to prepare for the new Closing Disclosure after the federal government announced its intention to delay the mandatory implementation of the form until October 3.
The rule that created the Closing Disclosure and Loan Estimate was originally scheduled to take effect August 1. However, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray announced that the agency was proposing to push back the deadline to October. The delay would allow the agency to correct an administrative error, Cordray said in a statement.
“We further believe that the additional time included in the proposed effective date would better accommodate the interests of the many consumers and providers,” Cordray said.
The agency formally set the date of the delay until October 3 and is allowing the public to comment on the proposal until July 7.
The Closing Disclosure, which is part of the CFPB’s TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) Rule, combines the HUD-1 Settlement Statement and final Truth In Lending Statement so borrowers will see one form instead of two for most residential mortgages.
The new Loan Estimate, the other part of the TRID rule, combines the initial Truth in Lending Statement and the Good Faith Estimate of Closing Costs. The new forms are intended to make it easier for borrowers to understand key terms of their mortgages.
The Deadline Rush
For more than a year, lenders, title companies and settlement services companies have been scrambling to meet the August 1 deadline while lobbying for more time. Industry executives also have been encouraging Notary signing agents to educate themselves about the new Closing Disclosure form and be prepared to start seeing it in loan packages.
The CFPB earlier this month announced an enforcement “grace period,” during which the agency would take into account the good faith efforts made to implement the rule before pursing enforcement action. The grace period was expected to last until the end of the year.
Then came the postponement announcement. It is unclear what effect that will have on the enforcement grace period. However, for several months after the rule goes into effect, NSAs will likely see some loan document packages with the new Closing Disclosure and some continuing to include the older documents.
Mortgage Bankers Association President & CEO David H. Stevens lauded the postponement. “The complexity of this rule, which impacts not just mortgage disclosures but also the business processes behind the entire real estate transaction, warrants the additional time to get it right and ensure that consumers are not adversely effected by the transition.”
Michael Lewis is Managing Editor of member publications for the National Notary Association.