July Compliance Roundup

Welcome to the First American Docutech compliance roundup blog, recapping compliance-related document changes and updates that occurred in July. There were some changes from the states and federal government agencies last month, as well as several important document changes.

Government Compliance News

Fannie Mae. On July 7, 2021 Fannie Mae released updated versions of all their uniform instruments – security instruments, notes, riders, addenda, and special purpose documents. The new instruments were designed to enhance their clarity and usability. We are currently reviewing this announcement to determine any impact, and evaluating any modifications to our document library and/or systems. Learn more.

Florida. Witness fields have been added to our standard Florida security instruments as a result of a routine audit. According to Florida statues, in order for an instrument affecting the title to real property to be recorded, it must include “the name of each witness to the instrument [to be] legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped upon such instrument immediately beneath the signature of such witness[.]” As a result a number of documents have been updated. Learn more. 

Kansas. We have made an adjustment to the loan-to-value (LTV) calculation used to determine when the Kansas Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC) Addendum (Cx4448) prints by default. The law in subsection (28) defines “Loan-to-value ratio” as a fraction expressed as a percentage. New field “Loan to Value Based on Loan Amount Plus Second Loan Amount and Appraised Value” (FI 149440) is calculated by dividing the sum of the first and second lien loan amounts by the appraised value. Learn more.

North Dakota. The state’s “North Dakota Money Brokers Act” has been amended. Therefore, we have updated the ConformX Late Fee Defaults to reflect these changes. This modification went into Production on August 1, 2021. Learn more. 

Veterans Administration. Recent changes published by the VA have resulted in a number of changes, specifically to “Request for a Certificate of Eligibility for VA Home Loan Benefits,” VA Form 26-1880 (CX 3957); “Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Worksheet,” VA Form 26-8923 (CX 5535), and “Description of Materials,” VA Form 26-1852 (CX 17488). The changes take effect on August 6, 2021. Learn more.

Document Changes
The First American Docutech compliance team delivered a couple of significant document updates in July. The changes have been summarized below with links to the full descriptions of the updates.

• The Washington, D.C. mortgage disclosure form has been updated. This form is unique in that the law requires it to be printed on red paper. Because the red paper requirement only applies when the disclosure is printed on a physical piece of paper, we are modifying the cover sheet that prints before the disclosure on our DC Mortgage Disclosure Form (Cx13354). Learn more.
  
  
• A minor change has been made to Nevada security instruments. Nevada law requires security instruments to contain “[t]he mailing address of the grantee or, if there is no grantee, the mailing address of the person who is requesting the recording of the document;” as a result we have added logic to our Nevada first lien and FHA deeds of trust (Cx342 and Cx19386, respectively) to allow clients to send beneficiary information to be contained in the document. Learn more.
  
  
• A change has been made to our version of the INSTRUCTION AND INFORMATION SHEET FOR SF 180, REQUEST PERTAINING TO MILITARY RECORDS (our form Cx17072), to align with the model form available on the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) website, which is provided in connection with VA Loans pursuant to the VA Lender’s Handbook Ch. 2, 4-e. Minor verbiage changes and other updates have been made. Learn more.
  
  
• Subsequent to a document review, we have decided to add an enhancement to the notary block on our New York Consolidation, Extension, and Modification Agreement (CEMA), along with other minor changes.​​ Learn more.
  
  
• We are updating our version of the TEXAS HOME EQUITY LOAN CLOSING INSTRUCTIONS ADDENDUM (CX5004) to remove the reference to an Owner’s Affidavit. The Instruction Addendum (CX 5004) has also been revised. Learn more.
  
  
• We are updating our version of NJ Application and Disclosure (our form Cx21702), to align with the model form that is published by the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance. Learn more.

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