Blog | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Info for consumers

Published NOV 19, 2012

Buyer beware – Potentially deceptive mortgage ads are targeting veterans and older Americans

Today, along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), our Office of Enforcement sent letters to a number of lenders concerning potential violations of the...

By Skip Humphrey and Holly Petraeus

Policy and compliance

Published AUG 31, 2012

More time for comments on proposed changes to the definition of the finance charge

One part of our proposed rule to improve the disclosures consumers receive when applying for and closing on a mortgage was a change to the current...

By CFPB Mortgage Disclosure Team

Info for consumers

Published AUG 15, 2012

Meet Tom from Virginia

Since we launched on July 21st 2011, we've heard directly from consumers about the challenges they face in the marketplace, brought their concerns to the...

By CFPB Consumer Response Team

At the CFPB Policy and compliance

Published AUG 13, 2012

Your chance to weigh in on mortgage servicing

Your opinion is important – weigh in now. As we talked about on Friday, the Bureau is trying to put the customer service back in mortgage servicing. We are...

By CFPB Web Team

Policy and compliance

Published AUG 10, 2012

Putting the ‘service’ back in ‘mortgage servicing’

Today, we're proposing new mortgage servicing rules. So, what's mortgage servicing and why does it need the new rules? The short answer is that mortgage...

By David Silberman

Mortgages

Info for consumers

Published AUG 01, 2012

Foreclosure help is free, and scams are expensive

If you're having trouble paying your mortgage, we can help you get connected to a HUD-approved housing counselor at no cost to you. The counselor can help...

By Scott Pluta

At the CFPB Policy and compliance

Published JUL 31, 2012

Explainer: Why did it take 1,099 pages to propose a three-page mortgage disclosure?

Dear CFPB, Recently, I saw your notice of proposed rulemaking to combine and simplify existing mortgage disclosures. It's 1,099 pages long! Why does it take...

By CFPB Mortgage Disclosure Team

Info for consumers

Published JUL 23, 2012

Meet Ronald from Georgia and Nelda from California

Since we launched on July 21st 2011, we've heard directly from consumers about the challenges they face in the marketplace, brought their concerns to the...

By CFPB Consumer Response Team

Policy and compliance

Published JUL 09, 2012

Know Before You Owe: Introducing our proposed mortgage disclosure forms

With something as important as a mortgage, you ought to be able to get up-front, easy-to-understand information that lets you compare different offers and...

By CFPB Mortgage Disclosure Team

At the CFPB Policy and compliance

Published JUL 06, 2012

Know Before You Owe: How we learned to build a better mortgage disclosure

This is the post second in a series. Yesterday, we looked at the origins of the Know Before You Owe project for simplifying mortgages. Today, we look back...

By CFPB Mortgage Disclosure Team

Policy and compliance

Published JUL 05, 2012

Preparing for new mortgage disclosures: A look back at Know Before You Owe

The idea behind Know Before You Owe is simple: we believe in making disclosures simpler and more effective, and doing so with the input of the people who...

By CFPB Mortgage Disclosure Team

Info for consumers Policy and compliance

Published JUN 22, 2012

Help for Military Homeowners

The No. 1 topic they've raised with me is the decline in home values and the frightening prospect that – if their home is underwater – a Permanent Change of...

By Holly Petraeus

Info for consumers

Published JUN 06, 2012

Learn more about the Independent Foreclosure Review

We hear often from consumers with questions and concerns about foreclosure. Last week, the Federal Reserve released a video that may be helpful. Many...

By Ashley Gordon

Info for consumers Policy and compliance

Published JUN 04, 2012

Help the CFPB solve the most common consumer mistakes

We all make mistakes. That's part of what makes us human. When we can, we learn from our mistakes. That's why we at the Bureau want to understand more about...

By Dan Rutherford

Published MAY 10, 2012

Educating and empowering American consumers

There are certain occasions in everyone's life when one decision can have long-lasting effects. How will you pay for college? Which mortgage should you...

By Gail Hillebrand

Info for consumers Policy and compliance

Published MAY 09, 2012

New HAMP enhancements will help military homeowners

This post also appears on the Department of the Treasury blog. Our military families make many sacrifices for our nation, and not just when a servicemember...

By Tim Massad and Holly Petraeus

Policy and compliance

Published APR 10, 2012

What the proposed mortgage servicing rules could mean for you

Delinquencies. Defaults. Foreclosures. Let's face it: before the housing crisis, these and many other terms were foreign to many of us. Since 2008, however...

By Ashley Gordon

Info for consumers

Published MAR 12, 2012

Who is going to help with your complaint about an auto or installment loan?

We recently launched the first phase of a new system to help consumers who have problems with auto loans and other types of installment loans, such as loans...

By Sartaj Alag

Info for consumers

Published MAR 05, 2012

Our second National Consumer Protection Week

This week is National Consumer Protection Week. The Bureau and other federal agencies participate in this week to help consumers safely navigate the markets...

By Gail Hillebrand

Policy and compliance

Published FEB 21, 2012

SBREFA, Small Providers, and Mortgage Disclosure

The CFPB is mindful that new statutory requirements we are implementing can burden as well as benefit small financial services providers. We use many...

By CFPB Mortgage Disclosure Team

Policy and compliance

Published FEB 19, 2012

Know Before You Owe: The last dance…or is it?

This week we are in Austin, Texas! We're conducting the final round of testing of the integrated disclosures you receive at two different points in the...

By CFPB Mortgage Disclosure Team

Mortgages

Policy and compliance

Published FEB 13, 2012

A model form for mortgage statements

Last May, we began the Know Before You Owe project to improve mortgage disclosures. We improved these disclosures by including the consumers and lenders who...

By Whitney Patross

Mortgages

Policy and compliance

Published DEC 13, 2011

Know Before You Owe: Closer to closing (mortgage disclosure, that is)

Last month, we unveiled two new prototypes for a single mortgage disclosure to replace the HUD-1 Settlement Statement and final Truth-in-Lending disclosure...

By CFPB Mortgage Disclosure Team

Mortgages

Policy and compliance

Published NOV 08, 2011

Know Before You Owe: It’s closing time

Last month, as we tested another round of the initial mortgage disclosure, we mentioned that we'd be shifting our focus in the coming months. Today, we...

By CFPB Mortgage Disclosure Team

Mortgages

Policy and compliance

Published OCT 17, 2011

Know Before You Owe: What’s next

Four times since May, we have asked you to take a few minutes to help us create a simpler mortgage disclosure form. Each time, you told us what you liked...

By CFPB Mortgage Disclosure Team

Mortgages