Your Loan Estimate, Line by Line
Three pages, federal form, the same layout at every lender making the kind of mortgage the rule covers. That sameness is the point — the form exists so you can put two of them side by side and actually compare.
Almost nobody does, because page two looks like a phone bill.
So here's what's on it, and — the part worth knowing — which of those numbers can legally move before you close.
First, what it isn't. A Loan Estimate is not an approval. It isn't a commitment to lend. It isn't a bill, and signing it doesn't obligate you to take the loan. One thing it does do: before you've received it and told the lender you intend to proceed, you generally can't be charged a fee in connection with your application, with one carve-out — a bona fide and reasonable fee for your credit report. If someone wants an appraisal fee before that point, ask why.
Check the rate lock line first. It says yes or no, and if yes, an expiration date and time. If it says no, every rate-dependent number on the form is a snapshot that can move. People compare two estimates without checking this line and then can't understand why the numbers didn't hold.
Loan Terms gives you the loan amount, the interest rate and the monthly principal and interest — each with a column headed Can this amount increase after closing? Read the column, not just the number. That's where you find out whether the loan is fixed or adjustable, and it's more reliable than the product name.
Projected Payments shows the payment across the life of the loan rather than at the start, so if it steps up later, or if mortgage insurance eventually drops off, you see it here instead of in year seven. The escrow line in it is an estimate of somebody else's numbers — your tax bill is set by the county, your premium by your insurer. Neither is a lender fee or a lender decision.
Costs at Closing is two summary figures. The work behind them is on page two.
Page two splits into Loan Costs and Other Costs, and the split is the useful part.
Loan Costs are about the loan and the lender:
Other Costs are about the house and the calendar:
When you compare two lenders, compare A plus B. That's the lender's own charges and the services the lender chose. Don't compare D or J - those sweep in costs that move for reasons that have nothing to do with the lender's pricing. Just don't mistake that for "the rest doesn't matter": C is shoppable and does vary, prepaid interest in F moves with the rate and the closing date, and the escrow deposit in G reflects the lender's own cushion policy. All of it is cash you bring.
Two labels on this page are rules rather than style choices. Anything that is part of title insurance or of conducting the closing carries a label beginning "Title —" — required in sections B, C and H, so those are the three places to scan. And a label ending in "(optional)" marks a separate insurance, warranty or guarantee product, most often an owner's title insurance policy.
General information, not legal advice: "optional" there means the lender isn't requiring it — not that it's a bad idea for you. The lender's title policy protects the lender's interest, not your ownership. In Colorado, who pays for an owner's policy is commonly addressed in the purchase contract, so check yours, and take the question to a Colorado real estate attorney rather than your loan officer.
This is the part that's worth the read.
Where there are services you're permitted to shop for, the lender has to give you a written list of providers, naming at least one for each and telling you that you may choose a different one. If you were told you could shop and no list arrived, ask for it — it's a requirement, not a courtesy.
That list decides which of three buckets a charge falls into if it later comes in higher than disclosed.
Bucket one — can't increase. Charges paid to the lender, to a "mortgage broker" as the rule uses that term for a third party in that role, or to an affiliate of either; charges for services you weren't permitted to shop for; and transfer taxes.
Bucket two — can increase, but only as a group. Recording fees, plus third-party services where the charge isn't paid to the lender or a lender affiliate and you were permitted to shop. The limit is cumulative: that group's total can't exceed the disclosed total of the group by more than 10 percent. A single line inside it can move further, as long as the group total holds.
Bucket three — no cap. Prepaid interest, property insurance premiums, money going into escrow, property taxes, services the lender didn't require - and charges paid to a provider you selected who wasn't on the lender's written list.
So what going off the list changes is the protection, not the price. Shopping is a right, off-list providers are sometimes cheaper, and choosing one can be the right call. What you trade is that charge's place in the 10 percent tolerance group. Make the trade knowingly.
Two qualifiers. "Can't increase" is measured against the most recent Loan Estimate the lender was entitled to revise, not necessarily the first one you got - so when a revised estimate arrives, the question isn't "why is this different," it's "which permitted reason is this, and what changed?" The reasons are a short, specific list, and "we repriced" isn't on it.
And if a charge does blow its bucket, the remedy isn't an argument - it's a refund. The rule gives the lender 60 days after closing to refund the excess and send a corrected Closing Disclosure showing it. Which makes this worth checking after you close: put your last Loan Estimate next to your final Closing Disclosure, compare the bucket-one lines one by one and the bucket-two group as a total, and if something exceeded its limit and no refund arrived, say so in writing inside that window.
This section describes federal disclosure rules in general terms. It is not legal advice, and how a rule applies to a specific file depends on its facts.
Your Closing Disclosure - the lender must ensure you receive it no later than three business days before closing. The verb is receive, not send.
Only three things restart that three-day wait: the annual percentage rate becoming inaccurate, the loan product changing, or a prepayment penalty being added. Everything else - closing cost changes, seller credit changes, a different amount of cash to close - requires a corrected disclosure but no new waiting period. If someone tells you a changed fee is pushing your closing by three days, that's worth a question.
Two less-known ones on the other side. A revised Loan Estimate must be received no later than four business days before closing. And the Loan Estimate itself has to go out no later than the seventh business day before closing, which puts a floor under how fast a closing can be pushed.
One trap: "business day" is counted two different ways inside the same rule, and it turns on which clock, not which document. For most of these deadlines - the Closing Disclosure's three-day receipt rule, the four-day revised-estimate backstop, the seventh-business-day rule - business days are all calendar days except Sundays and federal holidays, so a Saturday counts. The exception is the clock for delivering the initial Loan Estimate, which counts only days the lender's offices are open for substantially all business. If a date is tight, ask which count applies rather than assuming.
Read page two before page one. Circle every number you don't recognize and ask what it's for -there's a specific answer behind each one, and asking is normal. If a revised estimate arrives, ask which permitted reason applies. After closing, compare your last Loan Estimate to your final Closing Disclosure.
If you're comparing offers and something doesn't line up, bring both forms and we'll go through them.
A note on sending documents: your paystubs, tax returns and bank statements contain your Social Security number and full account numbers. Don't email them, and don't text them. Everything goes through our secure upload portal - call and ask, and we'll send you the link. If you've already emailed documents to anyone, tell us and we'll get them re-sent securely. We will never ask you for a password or login credentials by email.
This article is general information about federally required disclosure forms and the timing rules that apply to them. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, it is not a commitment to lend or an offer of credit, and it does not describe any particular loan. Regulations change, and how a rule applies to a specific transaction depends on its facts. For questions about title, ownership or the legal effect of any document, consult a Colorado attorney; for tax questions, consult a tax professional.
We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or any government agency. Statutes and regulations are cited for general reference.
Have a Loan Estimate you want walked through?
Send it t us- including one from somebody else. We'll go through it line by line. This is a conversation, not an application: no cost, no obligation, and nothing here is a commitment to lend. If you want pricing, we'll tell you up front what that requires, including whether it involves a credit check and your authorization for it.
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