CLOSING COSTS AND

GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE

There are certain standard costs associated with closing of the purchase and sale of a home, a purchase mortgage, and a mortgage refinance. 

I will walk you through the closing costs, answering any questions you may have explaining which costs are decreed by law to be yours and which are negotiable.

Good Faith Estimate

Buyers and Borrowers will receive a "Good Faith Estimate" of closing costs at the time the loan application is submitted to the lender.  The estimate is based on the loan officer's past experience and may not include all the closing costs. I will be glad to review the "Good Faith Estimate," answering questions and highlighting missing costs and estimates I believe to be low.

By law, lenders and brokers are required to give you a Good Faith Estimate and a Truth In Lending Disclosure Statement within three (3) days of the date you provide a complete loan application.  If your lender or broker did not provide you with these documents, find another lender or broker! 

The Good Faith Estimate should include the lender or broker's best estimate for all of the loan charges, lender fees and points, title charges, prepaid interest, reserves for taxes and insurance, and the like.  Don't be fooled by a Good Faith Estimate that does not include all of these charges. 

I strongly believe in providing my clients with a Good Faith Estimate that encompasses any and all charges I believe will be associated with your loan.  I do not believe in just writing down numbers on the Good Faith Estimate without doing my homework and researching what your closing costs will be. 

With my "good faith" estimate of your loan charges and costs, you will have a good idea of the funds you will need to close and/or the funds you will receive in your refinance cash out transaction.  If those charges and costs change during the term of the loan process, I will notify you promptly of any changes, and I will explain why the charges or costs have changed.

Remember that a Good Faith Estimate is just that; it is an estimate of all costs, fees, and charges associated with your loan. 

Just make sure that your lender or broker is not playing games and not following the letter of the law by providing you with a good estimate of ALL charges and costs associated with your loan, including those up front costs required by the lender, such as prepaid interest and enough for your escrow of taxes and insurance.  

While brokers or lenders cannot accurately put down on the Good Faith Estimate the actual mortgage payoff or other debt payoffs included in your loan to the penny, and, while the bottom figure may change during the loan process, the broker or lender should be able to initially give you a Good Faith Estimate that shows a good and thorough estimation of your loan charges, closing costs, and the like. 

Also, always make sure that you ask for and receive a HUD-1 Settlement Statement well before you close on your loan.  This HUD-1 Settlement Statement will give you the final charges, costs, fees, payoff amounts, and the like, and the final amount you will need to bring to closing or the final amount you will receive as cash out of your refinance transaction. 

When you finalize your loan application and send it to me, I promise you that I will provide you with a Good Faith Estimate and Truth In Lending Disclosure Statement and all other disclosures that, by law, I am required to send to you.  I also promise you that I will thoroughly explain each and every document to you so that you understand what you are signing.

If you have a Good Faith Estimate and Truth In Lending Disclosure that you would like for me to review, please call me at 407.973-8614 (local Central Florida area) or 1.888.788.5551 (toll free), or fax these documents to me to 407-641-8111.

You can also scan and email these documents to me at:

kroberts@mybestmortgagesource.com.