So You Want A GFE

Effective January 1, 2010 HUD implemented new rules governing the Good Faith Estimate (GFE).  In response some major adjustments are going to be necessary regarding when we provide a GFE and how useful it will be to you in shopping for a mortgage.

The first change you need to be aware of is now the regulations assume that we have received a complete loan application from you when we issue the GFE, and we are severely limited in our ability to issue a new GFE if we issue one only to discover later after receiving a loan application and credit report that something was incorrect.  Therefore, we will not prepare a GFE for anybody who has not submitted a complete loan application, and allowed us to pull their credit report.

Please note that HUD does not consider a loan application complete unless it contains a complete property address for the home you want to finance, and we won't accept a loan application for a purchase that contains a property address unless you also supply a copy of the executed purchase contract, and evidence that the option period has expired or been terminated early.  Purchase loan applications that do not comply with this requirement will be denied.  The rules require us to either send you a GFE or deny the loan within 3 days of receipt of a complete loan application, and since issuing a GFE for a transaction that may cancel is pointless and has the potential to cause numerous headaches, we have opted to deny those loans. 

You can always reapply when your option period is over, but the better option is to complete the loan application and list the property address as TBD.  If you do that, we can prequalify you, then when you successfully complete the option period on your contract you can send it to us, and we will proceed.

If you are applying for a refinance, disregard the above and submit a complete loan application including your property address.

The next thing you need to be aware of is that the new GFE is completely worthless for shopping for a loan.  I have written a detailed explanation regarding this which can be viewed by clicking here.  I recommend that you click the "Custom Rate Quote" button above if you want a quick, accurate and current rate quote that you can use to compare to what other lenders are offering.  If you have any questions, please call.