Mortgages

Buckley is a leading provider of legal services to the mortgage lending industry and advises on all aspects of the origination process. We assist clients with product development, advertising and marketing, disclosures, loan originator compensation, underwriting/ability-to-repay, fair lending, applying Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and other anti-kickback requirements to business development efforts, appraisal management, vendor relations, and electronic disclosure and signature. Our clients include mortgage lenders, brokers and insurers, as well as securities broker-dealers, consumer finance companies, home builders, document preparation firms, real estate brokers, lead generators, and mortgage industry trade associations. Our attorneys are recognized authorities on the laws affecting this industry, including the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), Fair Housing Act (FHA), Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA), RESPA, Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA), Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), Homeowners Protection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the myriad state laws applicable to mortgage origination.

Our attorneys advise on mortgage servicing-related examination, enforcement, regulatory counseling, litigation, and transactional matters. We advise on all issues pertaining to loss mitigation foreclosure alternatives, collection activities, using affiliated providers for default or other services, payment application, managing escrows, portfolio retention, state licensing, and federal preemption for bank servicing loans given the impact of Dodd-Frank.  We are involved in regulatory and private litigation actions pertaining to lender-placed insurance, fair and responsible servicing; loss mitigation and loan modifications; foreclosure and bankruptcy; affiliated and unaffiliated vendor management matters; and False Claims Act (FCA)-related issues. We guide clients through Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) examinations and investigations, state regulator examinations and enforcement (including joint actions through the Multi-state Mortgage Committee (MMC)), Servicemember's Civil Relief Act (SCRA) investigations and enforcement actions, state attorney general investigations, and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigations.  We negotiate mortgage servicing right purchase and sale agreements, sub-servicing agreements, and various types of vendor agreements.  We also assist with remedial efforts to enhance servicing compliance policies, procedures, practices, and internal controls, including the preparation of comprehensive legal requirement inventories, risk assessments, policies, and procedures.

Our lawyers provide local, state, and federal compliance and risk management advice. We develop compliance management programs, including written policies, training, and ongoing monitoring to address compliance with evolving lending laws and regulations. We advise on the complex rules governing Federal Housing Administration lending and servicing. We have played an active role in federal compliance initiatives involving government agencies, including the various investigations and actions relating to the foreclosure crisis such as the interagency horizontal review of the mortgage servicing industry and related Independent Foreclosure Review process. We also regularly conduct 50-state surveys of laws governing the mortgage industry.

Our firm advises on mortgage-related enforcement matters initiated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Reserve Board (FRB), Federal Housing Administration,  state regulators (both individually and through the MMC) and state attorneys general. We resolve complex parallel proceedings involving concurrent government enforcement and civil litigation, congressional investigations, and class actions. We assist our clients in responding to bank regulatory examinations, as well as Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs (VA), and Ginnie Mae audits and inspector general reviews.

Our litigators defend mortgage-related class action and complex civil claims, ranging from multi-district class and mass actions and other complex civil litigation to arbitration and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) proceedings. Our experience involves allegations of fair and responsible lending, unfair competition and deceptive trade acts and practices, fraud, false statements, false claims, breach of contract, loan repurchase claims, and breach of fiduciary duties, as well as alleged violations of regulations and laws governing the mortgage industry. We offer our mortgage industry clients a strong appellate practice, and serve as amicus curiae counsel on cases that impact this industry.

Buckley is involved in the full range of transactions relevant to mortgage companies, servicers, settlement service providers, vendors, and investors. We negotiate the most favorable business terms possible for our clients by leveraging our knowledge of the mortgage industry and its business risks, our experience handling litigation and enforcement matters, and our deep understanding of the relevant laws, regulations, and the expectations of regulators, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSE), and Ginnie Mae. Our lawyers are experienced in regulatory and corporate due diligence of both acquisition or investment targets as well as service providers. We negotiate mergers and acquisitions of mortgage lenders, servicers, brokers, settlement service providers, and other service providers; asset purchase and sale transactions, including loans and servicing rights; and distressed asset purchases and sales agreements. We negotiate and document correspondent, wholesale lending, broker, servicing and subservicing, pooling and servicing, warehouse lending and other credit facility, outsourcing, co-branding, portfolio retention, and marketing and affinity marketing agreements. We are also involved in vendor transactions that include, loan origination, servicing, collections, settlement services, vendor arrangements, the provision of electronic/digital mortgage-related services, and joint ventures under Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act's (RESPA) affiliated business arrangement rules.

Our firm offers law-related licensing services to mortgage lenders, loan investors, and mortgage servicing rights-owners, brokers, and servicers, as well as debt collectors, consumer finance companies, and other non-depository financial institutions. We assist with every phase of the licensing process, from identifying potential target licenses to interacting with state regulatory agencies. We work with our clients to obtain licenses in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and most U.S. territories. Our experience includes federal and state licensing; mortgage, Federal Housing Administration, and loan originator/loan officer licensing; the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS); and license changes of control, modifications, upgrades, downgrades, and surrenders. We navigate our clients through amendments to corporate structure and change of control, management and location, and Certificate of Authority and DBA filings. Our attorneys have extensive experience working with state and federal regulators and licensing authorities on licensing and compliance matters. Our integrated approach to licensing give us an advantage when drafting initial applications and follow-on requests that have the best chance of obtaining timely approval.

Buckley delivers an in-depth understanding of mortgage lending operations, loan sale transactions, and market expectations in the representation of mortgage lenders in loan repurchase litigation brought by investors, trustees, and bond insurers alleging breaches of representations and warranties in loan purchase or credit enhancement agreements. We also assist clients in responding to repurchase demands made by private investors and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). As needed, our team can assist in the difficult, loan-by-loan analysis of the validity of repurchase requests.

Our attorneys routinely advise mortgage insurers on a broad range of compliance matters, including those involving the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA); federal, state, and international privacy laws; Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA); Fair Housing Act; Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA); and Truth in Lending Act (TILA). We also counsel clients on issues pertaining to federal and state fair debt collection laws, state insurance statues, and other state and federal laws and regulations. We assist our clients in drafting and negotiating mortgage insurance contracts and ancillary agreements, contract underwriting, and other arrangements with various settlement service providers. We represent mortgage insurers before Congress, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), FTC, and federal banking and state regulatory agencies.

Buckley advises corporate clients and industry trade associations on pending federal and state legislative and regulatory developments affecting the mortgage industry. Our lawyers draft legislative and regulatory language, prepare comment letters, and advocate client positions before Congress, regulatory agencies, and state legislatures.