Compliance Business Network l Nationwide Business Networking

The Compliance Business Network is a community of compliance professionals nationwide brought to you by mortgage compliance and quality control guru Dr. Gary Lacefield.

Our business network not only brings together thousands of compliance professionals from across the county, but aligns them with hundreds of other professionals in their local area, dedicated on providing top quality service, and growing their businesses through mutual referrals. This assists them in easily grow their business properly, through business networking.CLICK HERE to watch a 2 minute video on how we can grow your business in the first 30 days...FOR FREE!

In fact, we can even get your business listed on the first page of major search engines FOR FREE usually within 30 days, check out the latest rankings of members via recent Keyword Searches.

We are committed to helping the city, providing top quality service, and growing our businesses through referrals. We are affiliated with over 400 other business networks throughout the United States, and are dedicated towards helping small businesses everywhere succeed. For a complete list of our other business networks, click here.

FREE Search Engine BOOSTER – We will help get your company's information on the first page of major search engines within 30 days. See Video
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Membership in the Compliance Business Network is FREE; however, you can upgrade your account to PREMIUM at any time for less than $20 a month and get ALL these additional benefits:

(To upgrade your free account, simply log in to your free SmartGuy.com account, select the Billing Tab, select "Premium" and enter your credit card information. "Premium" accounts always take precedent and priority placement over free accounts. You can also sign up here.)

The Compliance Business Network is operated by Dr. Gary Lacefield. He is also the President of SmartGuy University and Dean of the Mortgage College. Additionally he is President and Senior Consult of the Risk Mitigation Group and serves as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Texas at Arlington. He is an educator, trainer, and leading authority on facilitated communication having earned a Doctorate in Education from Texas A&M University at Commerce with a focus on supervision and conflict resolution.

Dr. Lacefield also earned a MBA in Management from Dallas Baptist University where he developed the Graduate Conflict Resolution Program and curriculum for the Graduate School of Business. His expertise includes corporate programs that promote reconciliation, settlement, and understanding involving disputes related to labor management issues, EEO complaints, partnerships, as well as, criminal matters. His professional experience includes expert witness testimony, consultation regarding civil rights related issues and the financial industry.

Prior to starting his consulting business, Dr. Lacefield worked ten years for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as their Supervisor of Investigations for their Southwest Region. He assists legal professionals, companies and others in complying with the Fair Housing Act, RESPA, mortgage fraud and regulatory compliance and quality control. Dr. Lacefield actively trains HUD field investigators, as well as other financial law enforcement entities, and is considered an "expert witness" that is highly utilized in lawsuits involving residential mortgage finance-related issues.

As President of Risk Mitigation Group, Dr. Lacefield spends much of his time training others and has created a series of online videos available at RiskMitigation.net . He also has developed other training DVD's and books to inform the mortgage and home building industry as to how to better comply with laws by utilizing common sense ideas and how to take advantage of some of their provisions.

I know that you find this hard to believe that a State Law or Regulation would ever be in conflict or disagreement with a Federal Rule or Guideline but to your disbelief, it happens quite frequently. When it appears that there truly exists a conflict, it is usually left up to the settlement service provider to make the right decision regarding which rule to follow. The considerations include: 1) which rules super cedes (preempts) which rule; 2) what happens if I choose the wrong path; and 3) where can I go to make sure that I take the correct course of action.

In this article we will explore such a conflict and provide some guidance and basis behind the reasoning. The most frequent question that I receive as a compliance expert is: “My State’s Real Estate Commission allows us to give $50 (or something of nominal value) for the referral of settlement service business or as a closing gift to their customers and people they worked with to get the deal done. This would be state guidance.
The Feds however, through the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) which applies to settlement services provided in the real estate related transactions for realtors, lenders, appraisers, home warranty providers, home inspectors etc. that “No one shall give and no one shall receive anything of value for the referral of settlement service related business.” This in Section 8 (a) & (b) as well as the implementing regulation, Regulation X. The federal guidance would seem to be pretty clear.

So which rule would preempt the other? In this case if you follow the state guidance, you would be safe with the state rules and with your state licensing. But a violation of RESPA could cost you a $10,000 fine and a year in federal prison. And the potential loss of your ability to conduct or be a part of any federally regulated loan (all 1-4 family mortgage loans are federally regulated).

So why does the state allow their rule to co-exist with the federal rule. Simple—limited communication between the states and feds. The states typically do not enforce the federal law and therefore leave the settlement service provider to fend for themselves in many instances because they (the state) know there is a conflict.

How would you know where to turn for the answer I just provided? Talk with someone you can count on to provide the best information possible, a member of the Compliance Business Network.

Be sure to check out the affiliate program which pays YOU for everyone you refer who signs up on our network. Our affiliate program enables you to make money, while building your business through referrals! Please note: We do not sell or rent our lists or contact information (see privacy policy). We review each registration to determine if the profession is compatible with our network. Not all registrations will be accepted. Acceptance is NEVER based on race, gender, religion, family status, or gender preference.