RESPA REFORM RULE REVIEW CONCLUDED BY OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET (OMB)

RESPANEWS.COM is reporting that The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has concluded its review of the proposed RESPA REFORM rule that The United States Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been pushing for.

The proposed 2008 RESPA Reform rule seeks to give HUD the authority to impose civil money penalties for violations of certain RESPA sections such as Section 4 (HUD-1); Section 5 (Good Faith Estimate “GFE” and Special Information Booklet); Section 6 (Servicing); Section 8 (Referral Fee and Fee Spliting prohibitions); Section 9 (Required Use); and Section 10 (Escrow Accounts).

The public proposal gives HUD and State Regulators authority to enforce injunctive and equitable relief , expands the statute of limitations for government and private actions against those who violate RESPA, and requires the delivery of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement to the borrower at least three days prior to closing.

Although it is not official it does appear that the highly controversial Closing Script proposal has been yanked from the rule.