Recent congressional amendments to Truth in Lending Act (TILA) known as the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act of 2008 (MDIA) have been included in a final rule amending Federal Reserve Regulation Z. Known as the “3/7/3 Rule”, these amendments went into effect July 30, 2009 and have a significant compliance impact on the operations of home loan lenders, mortgage and real estate brokerages, title and real estate agents, and others in the loan process. The new 3/7/3 Rule provides consumers defined time periods to review disclosures from their lenders. While the amendments provide additional protections to the consumer, they may postpone their closing date and the ability to receive funding for their mortgage on the day they originally planned for closing.
3 Days – Delivery of the initial TILA disclosure
The initial Truth in Lending Statement must be delivered to the consumer/borrower within 3 business days of the receipt of the loan application by the lender. The TILA statement is presumed to be delivered to the consumer 3 business days after it is mailed to the consumer.
- Faster Delivery. The Rule allows for delivery of the TILA statement by electronic communication or e-mail under the requirements of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (”E-Sign Act”), 15U.S.C. 7001 et seq., provided that the lender can provide “ evidence of receipt” of the mortgage loan disclosure by the consumer. eOriginal SmartSign® Web electronic signature and vaulting solution enables lenders to reduce the delivery time from 3 days to the same day by electronically delivering the mortgage loan disclosures in real time and capturing evidence of receipt by the consumer.
- Quicker Fee Collection. For the lender, the Rule prohibits collection of any fee, including those for applications or appraisals, other than a bona fide credit report fee reasonable in amount, until the initial TILA disclosure is delivered to the consumer. However, lenders “may impose such fees anytime after the consumer actually receives the early mortgage loan disclosure”. By enabling lenders to deliver the initial TILA disclosure as soon as it is available, eOriginal SmartSign® Web digital signature and vaulting accelerates the ability of lenders to collect the fees necessary to actually begin the loan approval and closing process. e.g., appraisals, surveys, reports, etc. even to the same day as the application.
7 days from initial disclosure – Mortgage closing waiting period
The Rule prohibits the lender and consumer from closing or settling on the mortgage loan transaction until 7 business days after the delivery or mailing of the TILA disclosures, including the Good Faith Estimate and disclosure of the final Annual Percentage Rate (APR), even when all parties are prepared and desire to do so.
- Quicker Closing. Surpassing the presumption of delivery of the disclosures 3 days after mailing, eOriginal SmartSign® Web again accelerates the ability to close by enabling lenders to deliver the initial TILA disclosure as soon as it is available,
3 Days prior to mortgage closing – APR waiting period.
The Rule also requires the lender to provide the consumer with an accurate APR at least 3 business days before closing. This applies when the APR changes more than .125% from the APR previously disclosed. If the APR changes again in the 3 day period more than the .125%, another delivery of disclosure and 3 day waiting period begins.
- Quicker APR Cure. Again surpassing the presumption of delivery of the redisclosures 3 days after mailing, eOriginal SmartSign® Web accelerates the ability to close by enabling lenders to deliver the TILA redisclosure as soon as it is available,
Mortgage closing costs savings beyond just quick.
Shortening the distance from application to closing, electronic transmission and delivery of disclosures streamlines the workflow process, assuring both the consumer and the lender of the timeliest closing. Of course, there are dramatic benefits to electronic delivery of the disclosure documents in addition to the ability to reduce the time lines. There are cost and expense reductions from the preparing and copying the disclosures, the mailing or overnight courier fees, the cost of staff for tracking and follow up of the delivery and possible fines that may accrue for delayed closings.
There are different twists in the application of the MDIA depending on the type of financing being considered, e.g., closed end home mortgages or home equity lines of credit, and there are many compliance aspects to consider in addition to the delivery of disclosures. eOriginal provides solutions to assist in compliance with the delivery thresholds so as to enable the commencement of the mortgage loan process as soon possible and to assure that delivery requirements will not delay mortgage closing any longer than possible under the Rule. eOriginal SmartSign® Web enables compliance with the eSignature requirements of the E-SIGN Act and provides the “evidence of receipt” of the mortgage loan disclosure by the consumer required by MDIA. eOriginal has enabled the secure, verifiable delivery of mortgage and other financial industry documentation for over a decade.
