Nation

Nation

HUD TO BE MORE FORTHCOMING IN GUIDANCE ON RESPA
HUD General Counsel Keith Gottfried spoke at the National Settlement Services Summit in Cleveland on June 14, 2006. Mr. Gottfried spoke briefly about HUD's forthcoming RESPA proposal saying it would focus heavily on revamping the Good Faith Estimate (GFE). He gave little detail, indicating it was premature and that the proposal is not ready for publication, adding credence to comments by Secretary Jackson that the proposal is expected later in the summer.
Perhaps more interesting, Gottfried previewed a new approach to RESPA guidance that his office will soon unveil, acknowledging that RESPA guidance has been sparse. To correct this, Gottfried and his team are putting together a process by which HUD will give advisory opinions to those who present proposals to HUD seeking opinions with regard to RESPA compliance. HUD will issue "No Action" letters for proposals deemed to comply with RESPA. The announcement was greeted with near-universal approval. Gottfried viewed the change as positive step toward ensuring compliance and allowing for innovation. Finally, Gottfried made a strong push for FHA modernization. He reiterated Secretary Jackson's and Deputy Secretary Bernardi's commitment to home ownership and HUD's view that a modernized FHA will be a valuable tool to increase homeownership, especially among underserved populations. NAR is working with the industry and HUD on both RESPA and FHA modernization and is playing a key role on both issues.

SUPREME COURT SPLIT ON WETLANDS PROTECTIONS
In a five to four decision, The U.S. Supreme Court narrowly affirmed wetland protections under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). At issue was whether government can block development on wetlands that are not directly tied to interstate waterways, often located miles away from any connection to a waterway. The five Justice majority supported the continued vigorous enforcement of the CWA provisions saying the wetlands need only be determined to have a “significant nexus” to the waterway that is navigable for interstate commerce. In casting the deciding vote, Justice Anthony Kennedy noted that in so far as establishing the required nexus to a specific situation that it is largely technical and the courts should defer to federal regulators judgments.