?Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status.? ~ Laurence J. Peter Thank?you?regulators!?This?month?s?commentary?is?dedicated?to?all?the?fine?state?and?federal?regulatory agencies?whose?actions?kept?me?from?worrying?about?a?decline?in?the?mortgage?market?the?first?two months?of?this?year. Comparing?the?first?two?months?of?2010?to?the?same?period?of?2009?is?surprising.?Dollar?volume?of mortgages?with?a?stated?loan?amount?between?$50,000?and?$500,000?(mortgages?that?typically?represent first?mortgages)?declined?a?whopping?46?percent?from?$123?million?to?$66?million.?That?s?significant. In?fact,it?s?the?slowest?first?two?months?since?the?year?2000?when?only?$50?million?in?mortgages?were?originated. (see?charts) Yes,?the?bureaucrats?made?sure?that?I?was?busy,?even?if?the?market?was?off.??If?the?mental?energy?expended on?compliance?issues?could?be?harnessed,?the?U.S.?Defense?Advanced?Research?Projects?Agency?would?not need?a?LOTS?of?Energy?program. Had?it?not?been?for?the?regulators,?I?d?be?sweating?bullets?worrying?about?silly?little?inconveniences?like payroll?and?rent.?So?instead?of?begging?my?employees?to?bring?back?office?supplies?from?home,?I?m?trying?to understand?and?explain?new?RESPA?rules?and?learn?the?new?software?acquired?to?comply?with?them. Closing?statements?are?being?done?twice?one?way?for?RESPA?and?then?another?way?for?Truth?In?Lending. The?Title?Insurance?Division?(that?s?the?TIEFF?fee?funded?regulator)?of?the?Indiana?Department?of?Insurance is?weighing?in?on?a?myriad?of?customary?title?industry?practices.?Clair?Voyant,?our?vice?president?of?things we?don?t?know,?is?busily?staring?into?her?crystal?balls?trying?to?predict?what?s?coming?from?that?direction. The?names?and?license?numbers?of?all?the?professionals?that?do?work?on?each?residential?file?that?we?close must?now?be?entered?into?a?temperamental?online?state?licensing?data?base?(INREAL).?It?s?supposed?to eliminate?mortgage?fraud.?We?ll?see. Who?d?have?thought?that?I?should?be?worried?about?the?market!?So?here?s?a?big?shout?out?to?the?regulators. Thanks?so?much?for?the?distractions! ~John?Bethell
?Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.? ~ Arnold Bennett Many of us are directing an enormous amount of energy towards understanding and complying with the new RESPA rule changes. The new rule is over 100 pages long. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, the RESPA …