Section 8 of RESPA prohibits the payment and/or receipt of a fee or thing of value in return for the referral of settlement service business for a federally related mortgage loan. There’s a lot going on there so to put it more simply, a creditor cannot give or receive anything of value for referrals related to mortgage loans. So, what exactly is considered a “thing of value”? It’s actually very broad and could be a monetary payment of some kind (i.e., a referral fee) or a gift (regardless of value). For example, a lender can’t give $25 (or a small gift) to a realtor every time they refer a customer to the bank for a mortgage loan. But “thing of value” goes even further. For example, a creditor can’t pay the entire cost of a joint advertisement with a realtor. That would be providing “free” advertising for the realtor in exchange for referring mortgage loans.
Kevin explains more in the video.
Published
2024/11/07
