Provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will bring about the transfer of oversight on the SAFE Act from HUD to the newly-created Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) in July. That brings to light several issues, including competing definitions of a mortgage originator in the SAFE Act and the Consumer Protection Act. The challenges were discussed during a webinar on the act and its implications by the Manufactured Housing Institute Thursday. MHI Executive Vice President Thayer Long says in the meantime, HUD is still the regulator until July and is working on a final rule for the SAFE Act. The competing definitions, he says, cause confusion and problems. “We’d like to see one definition and we’d like that definition to be consistent and address manufactured housing needs,” Long says. “What we’re going to be doing next year is seeking a uniform definition of mortgage originator in the hopes that it would supersede the definition found in the SAFE Act.” To hear Long’s own words, listen to the audio clip below.
