Every now and then, our Compliance Department is posed the following questions, "How do you maintain compliance? What resources do you use?"

At Document Systems, Inc. (DSI), our Compliance Department uses a slew of resources to keep our DocMagic forms and systems up-to-date. However, we would like to share with our readers a few of the resources that we use internally.

There are many, many subscription services (both online and in hard copy) available that provide "compliance" information in the residential mortgage industry. One of the online resources that we use is Counselor Library's HouseLaw Counselor. Visit www.counselorlibrary.com for more information. Another online resource we use is Westlaw. It has Residential Mortgage Lending and Banking Compliance libraries that we use regularly.

A couple of hard copy resources we use at DSI are:

1. Residential Mortgage Lending: State Regulation Manual. This is a multi-volume set (currently 12 volumes) published by West Group broken down by region dealing with first-lien, closed-end lending laws, regulations and practices. This Manual is also in electronic format in the Residential Mortgage Lending Library of Westlaw.
2. Pratt's State Regulation of Second Mortgages and Home Equity Loans. This is another multi-volume set (currently 6 volumes) available through A.S. Pratt & Sons publishers broken down by region dealing with junior liens and HELOCs. This resource is also in electronic format in the Residential Mortgage Lending Library of Westlaw.

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For access to other general compliance information, visit our website here. Some of the state agencies listed in our compliance area have published information about permissible lending practices in their state.

Another good, free resource is the Mortgage Bankers Association's website: www.mbaa.org - check under their "Residential Finance" section and you will find much useful information.

There are many other resources that we use to stay current on a daily basis. Not only has word-of-mouth from our industry contacts proved to be very helpful, but email alerts from various resources of changes in federal and state laws is one resource upon which we rely.

We at DSI need to rely on multiple resources to keep abreast of the latest developments in the residential mortgage lending industry. We hope that you find some of the resources that we have shared to be as helpful as we find them to be.

Melanie A. Feliciano is Assistant General Counsel of Document Systems, Inc. and a member of its Compliance Department.