2010 - The year of change in the mortgage industry.

"What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger". That sums up 2010, as it relates to the mortgage industry.

Regulatory changes have:

severely affected the appaisers livelihood. Those who chosen to stay in the industry, have taken a 25% pay cut thanks to appraisal management companies. I am all on board with appraisal assignments being selected at random, but you have to feel badly for anyone who takes that kind of pay cut.

taken a one page good faith estimate that was easily understood and turned it into a 3 page GFE that is so confusing it takes another form to explain to the customer how much money they will need to close and how much the monthly payment will be.

Truth-in-lending reform act: requires lenders to re-disclose after any change a customer makes on their loan that affects the APR by more than .125% and requires them to wait 3 business days before they can close. How does this affect you? Suppose you decide you need to raise your loan amount, and you do not discover the need until the day before you are scheduled to close. Guess what? It probably means you will need to re-schedule your closing because the change will likely change your APR, requiring a 3 business day delay. Can't come in to sign the new TIL and need it mailed to you? Sorry, 6 business day delay.

I know the intent "to protect consumers" is there, but mortgage lenders are not the bad guys the regulators make us out to be. After all, we are not the ones who created the mortgage products that caused the mortgage meltdown, nor did we rate the securities, or sell them on Wall Street.

Unfortunately, the fallout of this is a higher charge to the consumer, the same consumer our government is trying to protect.

Let's hope 2011 brings a little more common sense as it relates to regulatory issues.