New form follows FHFA recommendations for removing questions.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac unveiled the redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application, following a directive from the Federal Housing Finance Agency to remove the language preference question and housing counseling information from the updated URLA form. The move was welcomed by industry groups, including the Mortgage Bankers Association, claiming the language preference question may cause more problems than it solves. But not everyone welcomed the changes, including a group of Senators who called on the FHFA to undo the alterations to the URLA, claiming the changes could reduce access to credit for those who are already underserved. Under the changes proposed earlier this year by the FHFA, the language preference question and housing counseling information are being moved to separate voluntary forms. “Voluntary forms are not adequate disclosures,” the senators wrote. “Lenders will be under no obligation to use the new, voluntary form.” Beyond removing the language preference question and housing counseling information, the GSEs also state that the new form contains changes to the Borrower Information, Additional Borrower Information, Lender Loan Information, Continuation Sheet, and Unmarried Addendum sections of the form. The GSEs said that they will announce the updated implementation timeline and mandate “before the end of the year.”
Source: HousingWire -- Click Here for the announcement and access to the new form.