Legislative and Industry News
Remote Online Notarization
April 2020: Legislation introduced in NY’s Assembly and Senate this legislative session is supported by New York Mortgage Bankers Association. NYMBA provided both houses minimum standards that was developed by MBA and ALTA (American Land Title Association) and supported by MISMO. RON, the signing and notarization of electronic documents, is performed through the use of audio-visual technology.
Manufactured Housing Titling Conversion
October 25, 2019: NYMBA, with other industry professionals, met with the Governor’s staff about the need for titling conversion in New York. Currently, manufactured housing is titled as personal property/chattel and there is no mechanism to convert title to real property. New York is the only state that does not allow for title conversion for manufactured housing.
With over 190,000 manufactured housing units in New York State, primarily located in rural upstate, western New York, and areas of Long Island and Staten Island, manufactured housing remains a source of affordable housing and a means for low and moderate income New Yorkers to establish wealth and financial security.
The Governor’s staff was very receptive to having a process for title conversion as it benefits many New Yorkers around the state and we look forward to continuing the conversation.
APPRAISAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY (AMC) LEGISLATION
Legislation was passed by the Senate and Assembly in the 2019 legislative session and now awaits the Governor’s signature.
Regulatory Relief Legislation receives Trumps approval
May 24, 2018: President Trump signed S.2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act. The full House passed the bill earlier in the week by a vote of 258-159. This legislation is unchanged from that which passed the Senate in March by a filibuster-proof bipartisan margin of 67-31. This legislation contains a number of MBA-supported provisions, such as:
- SAFE Act amendments to provide 120 days of transitional authority for MLOs to originate when leaving a depository to join a sponsoring non-bank (or when crossing state lines);
- Applying TILA consumer protections to PACE/energy efficiency mortgage products;
- Added safeguards to protect veterans, surviving spouses and service members who utilize the VA Home Loan program’s IRRRL refinancing product;
- An improved, more workable regulatory regime for the eligibility of High Volatility Commercial Real Estate (HVCRE) construction loans; and,
- Partial TRID and HMDA relief
Thank you to those who took action on these important issues! Your advocacy makes a difference.
Brian Montgomery is confirmed as FHA Commissioner
May 22, 2018: By a comfortable 74-23 vote, the Senate approved Brian Montgomery as Assistant Secretary for Housing and FHA Commissioner, ending a nine-month process that saw his nomination repeatedly held up by Senate rules and a backlog of other Trump Administration nominations. Twenty-five Democrats joined 49 Republicans in approving Montgomery.
“BLACK HOLE” IS NO-LONGER, JUST IN TIME FOR THE SPRING SEASON!
On April 26, 2018 the Bureau of Consumer Finance Protection announced that it has addressed Regulation Z pertaining to TRID-RESPA, and re-disclosing changes of fees to borrowers before closing. Access the new ruling here.
CFPB ISSUES TRID AMENDMENTS FINAL RULE
On July 7, 2017, the CFPB published “Updates to [the] ‘Know Before You Owe’ Mortgage Disclosure Rule,” to provide more clarity and greater certainty, as well as include technical corrections and amendments. The 560 page document includes:
- Changes to the assistance loan exemption
- Expansion of the KBYO/TRID rule for loans on cooperatives
- Total of Payments calculations and related tolerances
- The use of informational Loan Estimates
- Clarifications regarding the Written List of Providers
- Greater clarity for sharing information among settlement service providers
- Changes regarding Construction Loans and Calculating Cash to Close
- and more. For a copy of the rule, click HERE
NY FIRST HOME BILL PASSES
The NY First Home bill A5616/S4058 passed both the New York State Assembly and Senate before the end of the 2017 legislative session. The legislation would allow individuals to deposit up to $5,000 per year ($10,000 for couples) of after-tax dollars into a tax-free savings account, to pay for the down payment and closing costs, in the case of a first-time homebuyer. In addition, the principal amount would be treated as a state income tax deduction. To view the legislation, click HERE.
NYS DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
PUBLISHES FINAL CYBERSECURITY RULE
Last Thursday, the NYSDFS published a cybersecurity rule that goes into effect on March 1, 2017. However, some parts of the regulation phase in anywhere from 180 days to 2 years in the future. The rule impacts banks, insurance companies, and other financial services institutions regulated by the Department. To view the press release and link to the regulation, click HERE.
NY DFS PUBLISHES “CONSUMER BILL OF RIGHTS”
Senate Bill 8159 Part Q, New York’s vacant and abandoned property legislation, became effective on December 20, 2016. According to the NYSDFS press release on December 7, 2016, a provision of the new law requires the court overseeing a foreclosure proceeding to provide homeowners a copy of the Consumer Bill of Rights at the initial mandatory settlement conference. However within the Consumer Bill of Rights, the borrower is informed of where to go to find out what to bring to the mandatory settlement conference. There are other notices that the lender/servicer is required to send to the borrower at least 90 days before commencing legal action against the borrower. Consult SB8159 Part Q for specifics.
Under the law, bank and mortgage servicers must complete an inspection of a property subject to delinquency within 90 days and must secure and maintain the property where the bank or servicer has a reasonable basis to believe that the property is vacant and abandoned. Banks and mortgage servicers are required to report all such vacant and abandoned properties to DFS and submit quarterly reports detailing their efforts to secure and maintain the properties and the status of any foreclosure proceedings. If DFS determines that a property that has been deemed vacant and abandoned is not being properly maintained by the relevant bank or mortgage servicer, the Superintendent will exercise her authority to hold the bank or mortgage servicer accountable. Violations are subject to a civil penalty of $500 per day per property.
NY DFS RELEASES FINAL RULE FOR VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTY
On December 7, 2016 the New York State Department of Financial Services released the Final Rule pertaining to vacant and abandoned properties. The legislation takes effect on December 20, 2016. The New York Mortgage Bankers Association has performed a complete analysis of the changes in the Final Rule, as opposed to the Proposed Rule. The NYMBA Analysis, Proposed Rule and Final Rule can be obtained by clicking on the following links:
PROPOSED RULE
FINAL RULE
NYMBA ANALYSIS
NY STATE LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL TO ADDRESS
VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES
In the early morning hours Saturday, June 18, 2016, the NY State Legislature passed S8159, a bill that would require servicers to maintain vacant and abandoned property that they do not own, for the many years that a foreclosure takes in the state of New York. Federally and state chartered depositories are exempt from the requirement if they either originate, own, service, or maintain their mortgages, or a portion thereof; and have less than 3/10 of 1% of the total loans in the state which they either originate, own, service or maintain.
Lenders/servicers will be required to inspect properties within 90 days of delinquency to determine occupancy, and continue to inspect every 25-30 days. Within 7 days of determining the property is vacant, the lender/servicer must post a notice on the property stating that they are maintaining the property, and provide a phone number to call. If there is no response from the borrower within 7 calendar days of posting, the lender servicer must secure and begin maintaining the property. The lender/servicer may not remove any of the borrower’s personal property. There is a $500 per day fine to lenders/servicers for non-compliance.
The legislation also includes: a requirement to notify delinquent borrowers that they may stay in the property throughout the foreclosure process; a requirement for the NY DFS to publish a Consumer Bill of Rights; a requirement for a lender/servicer who acquires a property through a judgment of foreclosure to place a property back on the market for sale within 180 days of the deed of sale or within 90 days of renovation of the property, whichever occurs first; extension of “workout” options in the mandatory settlement conference; an expedited foreclosure process for a vacant and abandoned property, if the borrowers fails to appear at the mandatory settlement conference; and technical changes to the STAR Personal Income Tax Credit.
For full text of the bill, click HERE.
NYS 2016 Budget Reinstates the Refund of the Special Additional Mortgage Recording Tax
On Friday evening, April 1, 2016 the New York State Budget was passed. The budget included the following language:
PART LL
“Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 9 of section 210-B of the tax law, as added by section 17 of part A of chapter 59 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
(b) Carryover or refund. In no event shall the credit herein provided for be allowed in an amount which will reduce the tax payable to less than the fixed dollar minimum amount prescribed in paragraph (d) of subdivision one of section two hundred ten of this article. If, however, the amount of credit allowable under this subdivision for any taxable year, including any credit carried over from a prior taxable year, reduces the tax to such amount or if the taxpayer otherwise pays tax based on the fixed dollar minimum amount, any amount of credit not deductible in such taxable year may be carried over to the following year or years and may be deducted from the taxpayer’s tax for such year or years. In lieu of carrying over to the following year or years, the unused portion of credits attributable to the special additional mortgage recording tax paid by the taxpayer as mortgagee with respect to mortgages of real property principally improved or to be improved by one or more structures containing in the aggregate not more than six residential dwelling units, each dwelling unit having its own separate cooking facilities, such taxpayer may elect to treat such unused portion as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded in accordance with the provisions of section ten hundred eighty-six of this chapter, except that no interest shall be paid on such overpayment.
- 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on the same date and in the same manner as part A of chapter 59 of the laws of 2014, took effect.”
As previously reported, upon learning that the 2014 budget eliminated the refund, effective with the 2015 tax year, the NYMBA contacted the New York State Assembly and Senate; explaining the impact on non-depository lenders, and requesting a correction in the 2016 budget, retroactive back to January 1, 2015. In addition, we asked you to contact your legislators. As a result, there was bipartisan support in the NYS legislature for the correction, and it was added to both the Assembly and Senate One House bills, and inserted into the final bill, passed by both the Assembly and Senate. Our sincere thanks go out to all of you that assisted in this effort. Loss of the refund would have had a devastating impact on mortgage bankers doing business in the state of New York when filing their 2015 tax returns.