The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently revised the requirements for bidding at a foreclosure sale and for utilizing Claims Without Conveyance of Title (CWCOT), including Post-Foreclosure Sales Efforts through the issuance of Mortgagee Letter 2026-03. The changes apply to all single-family forward mortgages under the Title II program, except for Hawaiian Home Lands Mortgages and Insured Mortgages on Indian Land.… Continue Reading

We have previously reported on the tortured history of the disparate impact rule adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Fair Housing Act, most recently here. HUD now proposes to remove the rule from its regulations. Comments are due by February 13, 2026.

How did we get here?… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently issued a final rule increasing the asset exemption threshold under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).

Banks, savings associations and credit unions are not subject to the mortgage loan data collection and reporting requirements under HMDA for a calendar year if their assets as of December 31 of the prior calendar year did not exceed an asset threshold.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently issued a final rule increasing the asset exemption threshold for the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) requirement to maintain an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan (HPML).

Regulation Z, which implements the TILA, generally requires creditors to maintain an escrow account for the payment of taxes and insurance on a first lien HPML.… Continue Reading

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the 2026 loan limits for FHA insured forward mortgage loans and FHA insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs). The announcements were made in Mortgagee Letter 2025-23 and Mortgagee Letter 2025-22, respectively.

For forward mortgage loans in non-high-cost areas, the amount for a single unit home increased from $524,225 in 2025 to $541,287 in 2026.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently released its Spring 2025 Regulatory Agenda. In this post, we focus on various residential mortgage-related items included in the Regulatory Agenda. We will address other aspects of the Regulatory Agenda in separate blog posts. To register for our webinar on the Regulatory Agenda, click here

An initial observation regarding the Regulatory Agenda in general is that it is very ambitious, with a total of 24 rulemaking items, plus one long term action, yet it is not clear how the CFPB could engage in this level of rulemaking given the significant reduction in force planned at the CFPB that we have reported on extensively, and most recently here and here , and also addressed in a recent podcast.… Continue Reading

President Trump has signed a bill that would restrict the use of “trigger leads” in the mortgage industry. The legislation will become effective on March 5, 2026.

We previously reported on the passage of the legislation here.

The law amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit consumer reporting agencies from furnishing a trigger lead except in limited circumstances. … Continue Reading

Recently, a complaint was filed against loanDepot.Com, LLC (“loanDepot”) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland alleging violations of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)/Regulation Z loan originator compensation rule (Rule), which applies to closed-end consumer credit transactions secured by a dwelling.

The complaint alleges that loanDepot “unlawfully steered Plaintiffs and those similarly situated to loans with higher rates and fees and further created a system for the falsification of internal forms and federal disclosures to conceal those activities.”… Continue Reading