Good Faith Estimates for mortgages - HELP!!!

I've gotten two GFEs from different lenders (one credit union and one mortgage broker) and i'm totally confused.

(1) Both had very different "labels" and the ones that were the same/similar were pretty different. Any thoughts on this??

(2) How accurate are GFE's? we are working with a tight budget for closing because we need to do some renovations before we move in so i'm really concerned that we're not getting good estimates.

HELP PLEASE!

Re: Good Faith Estimates for mortgages - HELP!!!

I would definitely ask your contacts at the credit union and broker to explain further.

I do know that the closing costs with a credit union are generally lower.

There is some oversight of banks re: GFEs. After the closing, the bank has to submit the HUD-1 to the housing department so they can compare to the GFE. That's my understanding. So they can't pull numbers out of the sky, if that's your concern.

But I agree it's too important to be confused about, so I would go back to the source of the info in both cases to get explanations of each item.

Re: Good Faith Estimates for mortgages - HELP!!!

Your attorney should be able to review the GFEs with you and tell you which is more accurate. While banks try to be as accurate as possible, they also ALWAYS overstate the fees to be within RESPA guidelines.

Your attorney can give you a better idea of the title fees, taxes, etc, which is a large part of the GFE. The bank fees are usually nominal and definitely do vary from bank to bank.

I'd speak with your attorney regarding the title fees and then the loan officers regarding bank fees.

Also, keep in mind, some things included on the GFES are not "closing costs"- prepaid interest and insurance& tax escrow, for example.

Re: Good Faith Estimates for mortgages - HELP!!!

I wrote about this when I responded to your other post about lenders.

Basically when you compare banks, compare the fees that are titled "application fees", "underwriting fees" and "processing fees." Those are the ones that are set by the bank.

Transfer taxes, title insurance, government recording charges, etc. are not determined by the bank. However, each bank will ESTIMATE on the GFE what these fees are.

Re: Good Faith Estimates for mortgages - HELP!!!

My lawyer gave me a very different GFE than my mortgage broker so IDK what to think.

I cant wait until all this is over! Good luck!