I wrote a couple of months ago about the new Good Faith Estimate and HUD-1 forms that went into effect on January 1 2010, and they’re here – they’re now in the system and home buyers and sellers will now see them being used.

The mortgage process shouldn’t be smoke and mirrors; for a long time, borrowers would hide fees in different places,

making it seem like a lender’s fees were lower when in reality they were charging the same – or more, in some cases – than their competitors.  That’s not an indictment of the mortgage industry, just an observation that, as with anything in life, there are snakes in the grass and unscrupulous lenders would take advantage where they could.  In reality, a borrower ought to be able to look at multiple lenders through the same lens.  The new Good Faith Estimate, and HUD-1, allow for that.

Personally, I can’t wait to start using these forms – they’ve been available to lenders for a couple of months now, but I haven’t seen anyone in the New River Valley area using them yet.  And speaking of lenders in the area, Brandon Nicely of Alcova Mortgage wanted to remind you:

One item that they actually left out of the Good Faith Estimate is total funds to close (they show closing cost but do not show total cash needed for closing anywhere on the form).

I’m reasonably confident that most borrowers would know that “total funds to close” is the amount of money that they’ll need to bring to the closing table, but nevertheless it’s worth pointing out.