As part of its plan to stimulate the U.S. housing market and address the economic challenges facing our nation, Congress has passed new legislation that:

• Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010.
• Expands the credit to grant up to $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.

Here is more information about how the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit can help prospective home buyers become part of the American dream. If you have specific questions or need additional information, please contact a tax professional or the Internal Revenue Service at 800-829-1040.

With less than two weeks left to go, the American Land Title Association has published new closing instructions to help provide guidance to both settlement agents and lenders.  The new instructions can be found at www.atla.org. 

Yesterday, November 17th, HUD released an updated set of FAQ's.  The new items deal with:

 

GFE/HUD-1 Font Sizes

Title Services

Document Retention

Tolerance Issues

Realtor Commissions - Rebates to Borrower(s)

http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/ramh/res/resparulefaqs.pdf

HUD has released an ammended set of FAQ's for the upcoming RESPA reform:

http://www.hud.gov/utilities/intercept.cfm?/offices/hsg/ramh/res/resparulefaqs.pdf

TSS Software Corporation, the leading provider of software and services for the title and settlement services industry, has released TitleExpress 6000M that includes the 2010 HUD-1.

Training plays such an important role in our industry, yet our schedules are often so busy we do not have the time.  Please feel free to use FreeHUD-1.com as a resource for your business to get your staff up to speed on the 2010 HUD-1.Within the site you will find a completely web based 2010 HUD-1 with helpful webinars, ready to educate you.

HUD has released an update to the FAQ’s as of 9/9/09.  All new information is in bold, you can check it out at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/ramh/res/resparulefaqs.pdf 

Important information on how to fill out the ‘Can your interest rate change?’ section has been added.

By proactively working to provide a preliminary HUD-1 with correct fees to your lenders and brokers, you will set the stage for a smoother closing.  This will enable them to issue the TIL and other required disclosers within 6 days of the scheduled closing date, giving adequate time for mailing and borrower review.