(a)

The Congress finds that significant reforms in the real estate settlement process are needed to insure that consumers throughout the Nation are provided with greater and more timely information on the nature and costs of the settlement process and are protected from unnecessarily high settlement charges caused by certain abusive practices that have developed in some areas of the country. The Congress also finds that it has been over two years since the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs submitted their joint report to the Congress on ''Mortgage Settlement Costs'' and that the time has come for the recommendations for Federal legislative action made in that report to be implemented.

(b)

It is the purpose of this chapter to effect certain changes in the settlement process for residential real estate that will result -

(1)

in more effective advance disclosure to home buyers and sellers of settlement costs;

(2)

in the elimination of kickbacks or referral fees that tend to increase unnecessarily the costs of certain settlement services;

(3)

in a reduction in the amounts home buyers are required to place in escrow accounts established to insure the payment of real estate taxes and insurance; and

(4)

in significant reform and modernization of local recordkeeping of land title information