At least one aspect of TRID appears to be working

The CFPB’s intent with TRID was for customers to ‘know before they owe.’ And a new survey indicates that more homebuyers are reviewing their mortgage documents prior to closing

TRID has caused a lot of problems for lenders – but it may be causing homebuyers to review their mortgage documents more carefully, according to a new study.

A study conducted by the American Land Title Association shows that there’s been a jump in the share of homebuyers who actually take time to review their closing documents. ALTA conducted the survey in two phases. First, the group assessed the closing experience of homebuyers prior to TRID implementation. Then the same information was gathered from homebuyers after implementation.

“Title and settlement agents went to great lengths to prepare and train staff prior to implementation of the regulation,” said Michelle Korsmo, CEO of ALTA. “The hard work of these professionals paid off as 92% of surveyed homebuyers are taking time to review their mortgage documents before the closing. This compares to only 74% of consumers who reported having reviewed their documents prior to the new regulation.”

ALTA did find that TRID implementation caused some closing delays – but according to survey results, the impact wasn’t earth-shattering. Prior to TRID implementation, 77% of closings took place on time. With TRID in effect, that dropped to 74%.

“Settlement agents reported that the top reasons for rescheduling a closing to another day were issues with lender underwriting, a delay from the lender and an issue with the three-day rule,” Korsmo said.