March 12, 2012
On March 5, 2012, NAR President Moe Veissi submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on efforts to streamline regulations inherited by the CFPB. In its comment letter, NAR supports efforts to streamline competing definitions and recommends making the harmonization of certain rules and definition as they apply to seller financing a priority. Specifically, NAR’s comments ask that the CFPB harmonize the definitions of creditor and mortgage originator as they relate to seller financing, and urges that the seller financing exclusion in the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) be modified to be consistent with the intended purpose. NAR also asks for standardization in the ability-to-repay rule (referred to as the QM rule), by asking for an additional exemption for individuals providing seller financing who are exempt from licensing as a loan originator under the Secure and Fair Enforcement Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act).