A Second Reason to Smile About Mortgages This Week?

April 15, 2015 — We were just talking about how potential co-op and condo buyers with little-to-no-credit may have a shot at getting approved for a mortgage, even with credit scores as low as 620. Well, sit down, because we have some more good news on the mortgage front. Come August 1, reports The New York Times, mortgage terms will be simpler for potential buyers to understand. "Borrowers will receive one disclosure, the Loan Estimate, detailing the terms and projected closing costs shortly after application, and another, the Closing Disclosure, just before signing off," according to the article. The new forms were mandated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as part of its "obligation under the Dodd-Frank Act to integrate and simplify the four different mortgage disclosures currently required under the Truth in Lending and Real Estate Settlement Procedures acts." Jonathan Corr, chief executive of Ellie Mae, a provider of loan origination and other software systems for the mortgage industry, explains to The Times that the rule streamlines the forms but goes a step further and renders the terms of the mortgage in plain speak. "It [also] rewrites long-established rules about the timing and method of disclosing, what triggers a disclosure requirement, and under what conditions you might need to re-disclose," Corr was quoted as saying.