The CFPB Empowers Homebuyers

By Nancy Wilberg Ricks, Senior Policy and Communications Strategist, Wealth-Building Policy Project, NCLR

Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released new online tools to help consumers be better informed when purchasing a home. Whether you dream of buying a home years down the line or are in the midst of closing now, these tools can give you helpful information specific to your needs.

Richard Cordray, Director of the CFPB, discussed the new tool, housing trends, and market improvements at The Brookings Institute. In the live webcast (also below), he emphasized the need to change the market culture by empowering homebuyers with better information when purchasing their house—the largest asset that many will ever acquire. “When people take out a loan to buy a home, they deserve to have confidence that they are not being set up to fail,” said Cordray.

Full speech below:

These essential tools also come at the one-year anniversary of the CFPB’s mortgage servicing standards. In January 2014, the Bureau implemented new standards to improve deplorable customer service to homeowners, especially for those who need help saving their home from unnecessary foreclosures.

To closely follow compliance with these standards, NCLR and the National Housing Resource Center surveyed its housing counselors and synthesized the findings in a report last week. We were encouraged that the new rules improved the market for families, but we also see room for improvement. Read more here!