President's Message
Find Ways to Recharge During Busy Season
The busy season is upon us! In prior messages, I have been speaking about ways to make sure everyone has put themselves in the best position to take advantage of this market. There is no doubt it will be a tougher market due to rising rates and inflationary concerns. But as tough as it will be, there are still plenty of opportunities to uncover. Rents are rising all over the place so getting people out of the rent cycle and building wealth on their own is always a great selling point. I once heard that the interest rate on rent is 100% and it has never been more true than now. No matter where rates end up this year, it is still better to buy versus rent and that is something we all should be emphasizing.
The concern we all face as the busy season starts is burnout. We are blessed to be a part of a tremendously rewarding industry. We get to help people realize the dream of homeownership and guide them through one of the most important financial decisions they will make in their lifetimes. With those rewards comes a fair amount of stress. It is my hope that everyone takes time for themselves this year to unplug form work and celebrate their success. I know from experience this is much easier said than done. I have been guilty of putting vacation plans on hold or taking the focus away from my health because I got so wrapped up in what I was doing. While we all play an important role in our organizations, there is nothing that we do that is worth putting our mental or physical health on hold. So, I urge you all to find ways to recharge that will keep you sharp and engaged in all aspects of your life. Take that vacation you have been putting off. Start that workout plan. Go for that quiet walk. Whatever it is that can help keep the stress to a minimum is what should be the most important thing to you.
Enjoy the sunnier days ahead!

Chuck Simmons
Motto Mortgage
Association Updates
Register Now for IMA Fall Conference
The Iowa Mortgage Association Fall Conference will be Oct. 18-19 at the West Des Moines Marriott. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with peers, explore products and services available in the exhibit hall and gain perspective from educational speakers. Sessions include goal setting, mortgage compliance, sharpening sales skills, housing programs and more. The event will kick off with a golf outing Oct. 17 at Legacy Golf Course in Norwalk.
Nominees Sought for Mortgage Pro of the Year
The Iowa Mortgage Association will award the Mortgage Professional of the Year and Affiliate of the Year Awards at the 2022 IMA Fall Conference on Oct. 18. The awards recognize a distinguished mortgage professional from a financial institution and an outstanding associate member/affiliate partner. 

Nominees symbolize excellence in the following categories:
  • Represents themselves, their company and the industry with the highest standards of ethics and excellence
  • Demonstrates a continued commitment to community involvement
  • Has made a significant contribution to the mortgage industry
  • Is a member in good standing of the Iowa Mortgage Association 

The deadline to submit nominations is Aug. 19.
Industry News
IFA Onboarding Servicers for Iowa HAF Program
The Iowa Finance Authority is encouraging loan servicers to sign up for the Iowa Homeowner Assistance Fund program, which will open soon. The program provides eligible homeowners assistance with mortgage payments and related property expenses. To complete the loan servicer onboarding steps:
  • Visit the IFA Website.
  • Review, sign and submit the required servicer documents to ServicerCoordination@IowaFinance.com.
  • Complete required Iowa HAF portal system training.
  • Gather a list of Iowa borrowers who are delinquent by at least one payment.
  • Send outreach email to delinquent borrowers with instructions on how to apply for assistance (sample email included in servicer toolkit).

Loan servicers will be provided with login access to the Iowa HAF Loan Servicer Portal to exchange Common Data Files and set up ACH payments. Once onboarded, loan servicers can start receiving payments from the Iowa HAF Program on behalf of borrowers who qualify for the program.
Final Interagency Flood Q&A
Nearly two years after being proposed, the federal banking agencies issued their final revised Q&A regarding federal flood insurance law and implementing regulations. This Q&A replaces those originally published by the agencies in 2009 and 2011, and consolidates Q&As proposed by the agencies in 2020 and 2021. It reflects significant changes to the flood insurance requirements made by federal law in recent years, including escrow of flood insurance premiums, the detached structure exemption to the flood insurance purchase requirement, force placement procedures and private flood insurance acceptance. The Q&A has also been reorganized by topic to make it easier for users to find and review information related to the flood insurance rules. Read the Q&A.
Common CFPB Exam Findings
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released the Spring 2022 edition of its Supervisory Highlights. The report discusses the CFPB’s examination findings related to a number of compliance matters, including mortgage loan origination, for exams completed between July 2021 and December 2021. Specifically related to mortgage origination, the report detailed:
  • Lenders were found to have violated the Loan Originator Rule in Reg. Z by paying higher loan originator compensation where Fannie Mae conforming fixed rate loans exceeded a designated threshold percentage of the total loans closed by the originator. According to the CFPB, this constituted paying compensation based on credit product type, which violated the Loan Originator Rule prohibition on payment of compensation based on the terms of a transaction because “products are simply a bundle of particular terms.” 
  • Lenders were found to have also violated Reg. Z by failing to establish the validity of a changed circumstance that was claimed to be the basis for a revised Loan Estimate. The lenders claimed that consumers had requested rush appraisals, which resulted in the issuance of revised Loan Estimates with higher appraisal fees than disclosed on the initial estimates. The lenders failed to maintain sufficient documentation evidencing the consumers’ requests for the rushed appraisals. According to the CFPB, the documentation reflected either that the appraisal management company had notified the lenders that rush appraisals were needed or the lenders’ loan officers had requested the rush appraisals.
  • Lenders were also found to have provided Closing Disclosures that did not reflect the terms of consumers’ legal obligation because the disclosures did not reflect the fully-indexed rate as required by the promissory notes due to the software’s use of a rounding method that was different from the method in the promissory notes.
Published by Iowa Mortgage Association.