It comes as no surprise that DocMagic's Compliance Department has been receiving an increasing number of inquiries regarding the upcoming, significant amendments to RESPA's Regulation X, which become effective January 1, 2010.  As many of our readers are aware, the practical effect of these amendments is that the form of each of the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1 Statement will change dramatically.

Although there is widespread industry and some legislative effort to postpone the implementation date of the GFE and HUD-1 Statement, DocMagic's compliance, integration and software programming teams are working diligently to make the necessary changes to meet a January 1, 2010 effective date.  A number of changes to the DocMagic application will need to be made, including collecting the necessary data, such as responsible party information and provider source information (i.e., lender required, lender identified, borrower selected), and re-classifying certain fees as "administrative and processing fees" that are to be included in the category of the "origination charge."

HUD continues to update its "New RESPA Rule FAQs," which are comprised of industry questions and are posted to facilitate implementation of the upcoming requirements.  As HUD continually updates the FAQs, it is definitely a challenge to make required upgrades in an environment that appears to be in flux.  For more information on the amendments to Regulation X, the new GFE and HUD-1 Statement, and to access the FAQs, please visit HUD's RESPA home page here. 

As of the date of publication of this article, DocMagic cannot yet provide a firm date as to when the required changes to the DocMagic application will be completed, but be assured that DocMagic will be ready when the current effective date of January 1, 2010 arrives.  Although DocMagic's November/December issue of The Compliance Wizard will not be published until December, the Compliance Department will not hesitate to update its customers with any further information that may be useful in preparing for the new RESPA Rule changes by posting articles and announcements to its compliance site in the month of November.  If you have any questions regarding the content of this article, please contact DocMagic's Compliance Department.