CFPB is taking over settlement statement regulation from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which previously created the format for the HUD-1 statements buyers and sellers sign at real estate closings.
Those of you who have signed one will remember that both buyers and sellers sign the HUD-1, essentially agreeing about the distribution of the myriad of charges to each for settlement attorneys, real estate commissions, credits for repairs, taxes, insurance, and loan fees.
The last page of the HUD-1 looked like this:
You will notice that both the seller and the buyer (borrower) sign it, as one would expect since it is their agreement and authorization for the settlement attorney to cut checks to pay all the entities involved in the transaction.
Here’s what the same page of the CFPB form looks like in its current draft:
See anything funny?
They forgot to add a place for the seller to sign. Only the borrower (loan applicant) has a place to sign.
Maybe the seller isn’t really giving you that house!
The Insomniac Libertarian 