A New Bill to Watch

A new bill was introduced and referred to the House Financial Services committee on June 25th.  HR 3044 might be more important to you than it at first may seem.  Previously, we discussed the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (if you missed it check out the 6/24 post, Feeling The Ripple Effects …).  HR 3044 would impose an 18-month moratorium on the Home Valuation Code of Conduct.  This obviously impacts the settlement process, but might it also impact RESPA implementation?  Perhaps.
 
Basically, we can look for attempts to be made to attach amendments delaying RESPA implementation to anything in Congress related to mortgages.  You may have heard the phrase “anything that moves,” and this is exactly the situation we are looking at here.  If a bill begins making real progress of moving through the chambers, there will be attempts to get other measures added onto them.  ALTA, the MBA and other trade organizations monitor these closely and seek sponsorship for amendments when the prospects look at all promising.
 
Remember, HR 1728 has passed the House, so a complimentary measure must now go through the Senate.  At this time, there isn’t much related to mortgages to attach to in the Senate.  But if HR 3044 gets traction and is taken up or mirrored in the Senate, then that may breathe new life into hopes of a law delaying RESPA implementation.
 
Got your hopes pinned on it?  DON’T!  Remember, this bill is only the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee.
 
What should you do?  As you’ve heard many times, keep your ears to the ground, but your eyes and minds ready to roll-out RESPA reform by Dec 31st.  Of course, we will keep you up to date should things change.