The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, Pub.L 93-533, 88 Stat. 1724, as amended by the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Amendments of 1975 ("RESPA"), Pub. L. 94-205, 89 Stat. 1157, is codified at 12 U.S.C. secs 2601-2517.

The provisions of RESPA are designed to ensure that residential real estate consumers are provided with timely information regarding the nature of the settlement process and the cost associated therewith and to protect such consumers from certain abusive practices which have occurred in the home mortgage industry.

The Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is authorized to and regulations, make interpretations and grant exemptions as necessary to achieve the purposes of RESPA (12 U.S.C. sec 2617). Pursuant to this authority, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development has promulgated regulations commonly known as "Regulation X", which are found at 24 C.F.R. secs 3500.1-3500.14 (1985).

Transactions Covered

The requirements of RESPA and Regulation X (24 C.F.R. secs 3500.1-3500.14 (1985)) are generally applicable to all "federally regulated mortgage loans" except those made to finance certain specifically exempted transactions. A loan is a federally related mortgage loan if it meets each of the following requirements:

- Its proceeds finance the purchase of real property