NEW 2010 GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE (GFE)

HUD now require banks, mortgage lenders and brokers to provide borrowers with the new "Industry-Standarized" Good Faith Estimate (GFE). This is designed to clearly disclose and answer key questions when applying for a mortgage, such as:

  » What are the loan terms?

  » What are the total closing costs?

  » Is the loan fixed or adjustable?

  » Will there be a pre-payment penalty?

In addition, it now includes an instructional page to help consumers better understand their loan offer and closing costs. The closing costs have been consolidated into fewer categories to prevent junk fees from being hidden, and now displays the total estimated closing costs prominently so the consumer can easily compare with other loans offers.

You'll now be given up to 10 days to accept the terms disclosed in the GFE, and failure to accept will result in the terms being subject to change, should market conditions worsen. Once you've accepted the terms, the lender is now bound to the agreed upon terms. Of course, this would be subject all parties performing as specified.

While the new GFE will indeed help to clearly disclose your loan costs and can allow for an "apples-to-apples" comparison, it doesn't help you at determing which loan is best for you and your budget. That's where we come in. We'll perform an analysis based on the offers you received and review with you so that you truly understand what's being disclosed. This new standarized GFE is an excellent way to get true disclosure, but understanding the information is whole different issue.

Keep in mind, not only is the burden on lenders to fully disclose, but it's your job to know and understand what is being disclosed so that you can make an educated decision. Let us help you to better understand your offers.

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Click Here: http://www.hud.gov/content/releases/goodfaithestimate.pdf

To get printable version of 2010 Good Faith Estimate (GFE)