Currently, Cx17874 is provided pursuant to the provisions of 12 CFR § 1024.20 which requires that borrowers be provided a list of housing counseling agencies shortly after applying for a loan subject to RESPA.
Corresponding with (and predating) this requirement, the State of Maryland has also required a list of counselors to be provided for most types of mortgage loans (see Md. Code Ann. Com. Law §§ 12-409.1[d][2] & 12-1303; and Md. Code Regs. 05.19.01.03 & 09.03.06.18[C][1][b]). The Maryland Department of Housing & Community Development provides a mandatory form, as well as a list of agencies in Maryland, for these requirements on their website (http://www.dhcd.state.md.us/Website/Housing/Counseling/default.aspx). We provide duplicates of these documents (Cx3824 and Cx15232).
In an advisory notice issued earlier this year (and available on their website), the Department has held that providing the list of housing counseling agencies in compliance with RESPA and Regulation X fulfills the corresponding Maryland requirements, as long as the list contains the following disclosure (or a substantial equivalent):
“When applying for a mortgage loan or line of credit, we recommend you receive homebuyer education or housing counseling.”
In order to streamline client document packages and our internal processes, we will be adding this caption to the beginning of Cx17874 and configure it to print when “State Code” equals “Maryland.” We will also be configuring Cx3824 and Cx15232 to print “upon request.”
These changes will take effect on August 13, 2014. If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please contact Client Support at 1.800.497.3584.
August 6, 2014
DR 155276