What is a Good Faith Estimate?
January 26th, 2009 Posted in Real Estate
When you are in the process of interviewing lenders, the Good Faith Estimate is a document that is provided to you by each lender that lists all fees paid before closing, all closing costs and any escrow costs you will encounter when purchasing or refinancing a home. The lender must supply this to you within 3 days of your loan application to help you make an accurate assessment of which loan company is charging the least amount of fees.
To make sure you won’t become a victim of loan fraud, be sure to follow these steps when you apply for a loan:
- Be sure to read and understand all documents before you sign them. If you do not understand them, ask the loan officer to explain them to you.
- Do not overstate your income.
- Do not sign any blank documents.
- Never sign loan documents to purchase a home for someone else. There are loan programs that allow “gift funds” from family members and/or domestic partners to help with down payments and closing costs without having to pretend that you are the purchaser, and you can always make the purchase together if you wish.
- Always get a copy of all documents you signed prior to leaving the lender’s office.
If you would like to search the MLS for listings in and around Paso Robles, visit my website. If you have any real estate questions or general questions about Paso Robles or San Luis Obispo North County, please contact me via email or call me at (805) 235-0234 for more information.
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Tags: Good Faith Estimates, interviewing lenders, loan fraud, paso robles, refinancing, San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County