Interestingly, the Good Faith Estimate, a backbone of the mortgage industry, will be changing on January 1, 2010 with some very major changes, designed to help consumers compare loans from one lender to another. Very major changes but unfortunately, we still don’t know what all of them are or how they are being interpreted because HUD hasn’t released the final information yet. This is something that will have a direct bearing on your Real Estate transactions in the Eugene/Springfield area and is supposed to make shopping for a mortgage easier, but will it?

The new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) is nearly written in stone. There are many parts of it that cannot be changed once given to a consumer unless there are “Changed Circumstance.” These include, Act of God, war, disaster or other emergency, inaccurate information provided by the borrower, changed information such as loan amount or property value and interest rate change due to rate lock.

What this means is that you won’t be able to get GFEs from several different lenders to compare when first shopping for a loan, because they won’t give them out without a full application and property. So, where is the shopping here. Also, you have 10 days to “shop” after getting a GFE and if you are doing that, the lender will not be proceeding with the loan during that period since they won’t have a commitment from the borrower, thereby delaying the process. Where does that help anyone?

Also, if a GFE does change during the process, it triggers another 10 day shopping period. Also, when I give out a GFE, I have to tell you how long the interest rate is good for. Some days, that may be only 10 minutes as rates are fluid and volatile. So, overall, this could be an interesting time with the changes that have taken place and the ones that will take place. Not everyone feels the same way about the new form. Here is a video from Title Guarantee in Hawaii that has some very valid points:

Whatever is happening in the market, you can be certain that I will be on top of it. I am constantly reading, researching and checking out the new things I need to know. If you have any questions about the mortgage changes or to start your application process, give me a call at 541-342-7576/541-221-3455 cell or e-mail me. You can also come to the office, Alpine Mortgage Planning, 1200 Executive Pkwy., Ste 100, Eugene OR. The coffee is always on. In today’s changing environment, you need a professional to help you navigate those changes. Call me.

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