​Question:
I was wondering do all checks over a certain dollar amount need to be verified for accurate signatures—can you tell me whether there is a requirement?
 
Answer:
There is not a particular threshold amount in the federal laws or regulations, or in the model UCC. So generally speaking, any specific threshold requirement would just be under the bank's internal policy.

Question:
I'm not sure how to handle deferred student loan payments. I have a borrower that is working as a teacher and stated that her student loans would be paid for by the state. Does Appendix Q state that I can in essence ignore these debts?
 
Answer:
The bank can exclude them if they can show written evidence that they are not due until after 12 months from closing. Otherwise, they would need to be included, unfortunately, as set out here:
1. Projected Obligations
a. Debt payments, such as a student loan or balloon-payment note scheduled to begin or come due within 12 months of the mortgage loan closing, must be included by the creditor as anticipated monthly obligations during the underwriting analysis.
b. Debt payments do not have to be classified as projected obligations if the consumer provides written evidence that the debt will be deferred to a period outside the 12-month timeframe.
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/policy-compliance/rulemaking/regulations/1026/Q/#5-1-a

Question:
For SCRA purposes, if a customer we know has been called into service comes into the bank to lower their rate, does the bank have to require proof of military service?
Answer:
No - there is not an actual requirement to collect or file proof of military status as license to reduce the rate under the SCRA. However, the bank may have internal procedures mandating personnel to do so, and this is quite common in the industry. In addition, ensure that if the bank does have a policy related to this, that it is applied consistently for fair lending purposes. 

​Question:
We have a commercial loan transaction where the borrower is purchasing a commercial building and repurposing it into 18 residential condos. Is this loan HMDA reportable?
 
Answer:
Unfortunately, the regulation does not specifically address the situation of a non-residential building is being converted to a dwelling after consummation. While there is an argument that this is not a "dwelling" at consummation, in grey areas, we'd generally interpret that it's more conservative to report than not. So the bank may choose to report this to be on the safe side, but whichever way it chooses, it should document its reasoning and apply it consistently to any similar situations that may come up in the future.