Real Estate Settlement Fairness Act

This bill aims to lower the cost of buying a home by prohibiting certain hidden or "unearned" fees during the mortgage closing process. Specifically, it would prevent service providers from splitting fees or charging mark-ups for services they did not actually perform.

For everyday citizens, this means that lenders and real estate professionals could only charge you for the actual cost of services like appraisals or credit reports, rather than adding a profit margin to those third-party costs. By eliminating these extra charges and kickbacks, the bill seeks to make the final settlement process more transparent and affordable for homebuyers.