Consumer Law Library
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)
If your mortgage servicer makes a mistake, RESPA gives you a formal way to make them fix it.
What RESPA covers
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (12 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.) and the CFPB’s Regulation X (12 C.F.R. part 1024) govern the closing process and — most important for credit repair — how mortgage servicers handle your loan.
Notices of error and requests for information
You can send your servicer a written notice of error (for example, a payment not credited, a wrong escrow charge, or an improper late fee) or a request for information about your loan. Send it to the servicer’s designated address. For most errors, the servicer must acknowledge your notice within 5 business days and, within 30 business days, either correct the error or explain in writing why it believes no error occurred.
Loss mitigation
Regulation X requires servicers to reach out to delinquent borrowers, evaluate complete loss-mitigation applications for all available options, and — in many situations — not move forward with foreclosure while a timely, complete application is pending.
If you think your rights were violated
We are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice. If you think your rights under this law were violated, you can file a complaint with the CFPB and speak with a licensed consumer attorney about your specific situation.
Sources: RESPA, 12 U.S.C. §§ 2605, 2614; Regulation X, 12 C.F.R. §§ 1024.35, 1024.36, 1024.39–1024.41.
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