HSH notation: By law, your lender or mortgage broker must provide you this Good Faith Estimate of Closing costs within three days of the date you applied for a mortgage. Not all of the fees listed may apply to your loan, and the dollar amounts listed for those which do are only estimates and may vary, depending upon the particulars of your loan.
Before the mortgage market meltdown, lenders were free to develop their own versions of the form, with mortgage market regulators requiring that all the information be displayed but caring little about the form in which it was presented.
With several studies noting that dissimilar documents from different lenders created more confusion that clarity -- and with borrower confusion implicated in the failure of at least some mortgage loans -- HUD now requires that all lenders use a standardized document, so the Good Faith Estimate of Closing Costs (GFE) you will get is exactly the same no matter where you go.
At the same time, new "variance" standards came into play. The new GFE spells out for the first time which fees may change and which may not, and for those that can change, how much they might vary from the estimate to what they actually cost when the loan gets to the closing table. For the most part, the fees listed on the GFE must be substantially similar to those laid out on the final settlement statement, known as the HUD-1 form.
The new document required by HUD can be seen here. We've kept an older version below, since it can help you to see the differences between old and new, and we've provided some explanations of the fees (just hover over the numbered link).
| Lender Name Address etc... |
Property Info Address etc... |
HSH notation: If you have applied for a mortgage through a mortgage broker who will then shop around for a deal for you, you won't see a lender name listed, but instead will see the following, either printed or checked off:
This Good Faith Estimate is being provided by [broker name], a mortgage broker, and no lender has yet been obtained.
The information provided below reflects estimates of the charges which you are likely to incur at the settlement of your loan. The fees listed are estimates -- the actual charges may be mor or less. Your transaction may not involve a fee for every item listed.
The numbers listed beside the estimates generally correspond to the numbered lines contained in the HUD-1 settlement statement (purchase transactions) or HUD-1A (refinance or home equity loan transactions) that you will be receiving at settlement. The HUD-1 or HUD-1A settlement statement will show you the final, actual cost for items paid at settlement.
| Item (see footnote 1) | HUD - 1 or HUD -1A | Amount or range |
| Loan origination fee | 801 | $______ |
| Loan discount fee | 802 | $______ |
| Appraisal fee | 803 | $______ |
| Credit report | 804 | $______ |
| Inspection fee | 805 | $______ |
| Mortgage broker fee | Use blank line in 800 section | $______ |
| CLO access fee | Use blank line in 800 section | $______ |
| Tax related service fee | Use blank line in 800 section | $______ |
| Interest for {x} days at $______ per day | 901 | $______ |
| Mortgage insurance premium | 902 | $______ |
| Hazard insurance premiums | 903 | $______ |
| Reserves | 1000 | $______ |
| Hazard Insurance | 1001 | $______ |
| Mortgage Insurance | 1002 | $______ |
| City Property Taxes | 1003 | $______ |
| County Property Taxes | 1004 | $______ |
| Annual Assessments | 1005 | $______ |
| Settlement fee | 1101 | $______ |
| Abstract or title search | 1102 | $______ |
| Title examination | 1103 | $______ |
| Document preparation fee | 1105 | $______ |
| Attorney's fee | 1107 | $______ |
| Title Insurance | 1108 | $______ |
| Recording fees | 1201 | $______ |
| City/County tax stamps | 1202 | $______ |
| State tax | 1203 | $______ |
| Survey | 1301 | $______ |
| Pest Inspection | 1302 | $______ |
| Other fees -- list here | $______ |
| Applicant | ___________________________________________________________________ |
| Date | ___________________________________________________________________ |
| Authorized Official | ___________________________________________________________________ |
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These estimates are provided pursuant to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, as amended (RESPA). Additional information can be found in the HUD Special Information Booklet, which is to be provided to you by your mortgage broker or lender, if your application is to purchase residential real property and the Lender will take a first lien on the property. Footnote 1: Items for which there is estimated to be no charge to the borrower are not required to be listed. Any additional items for which there is estimated to be a charge to the borrower shall be listed if required on the HUD -1. This was the required content to be displayed in the form through 2009. |
Note: The original freeform Good Faith Estimate of Closing Costs (GFE) was first replaced by a new and formal GFE and later by a new Loan Estimate form. At that time, the original HUD-1 Settlement Statement was also replaced with a new "Closing Disclosure" form.