Posted on: 17th Oct, 2010 09:16 am
I'm trying to shop for mortgages. However, banks are saying that they would have to charge me to provide me with a Good Faith Estimate (GFE). One bank even said that if I don't go with them after they provide the GFE, then they would charge me anywhere between $1000 to $7000. What is the purpose of getting a GFE if it cost this much? Is this really true - that you are charged this much to get a GFE from banks?
If not, then what is the typical fee, if any, they charge to get a GFE?
If not, then what is the typical fee, if any, they charge to get a GFE?
I don't think that the lender should charge such a high fee for GFE. In my opinion, you shouldn't go for a loan with a lender who is charging such a big amount for GFE.
Hi Desain4,
Lenders are not allowed to charge you for anything upfront other than a reasonable fee for a credit report. If any lender is trying to charge more than $15-$25 dollars for credit report, that's a pretty good sign for you to keep looking.
Lenders are not allowed to charge you for anything upfront other than a reasonable fee for a credit report. If any lender is trying to charge more than $15-$25 dollars for credit report, that's a pretty good sign for you to keep looking.
John, I would hope that credit reports aren't being provided at a cost to borrowers either. Unless there's a major shift in this area, a person ought to be able to have credit reviewed gratis. I thoroughly agree that a charge for a Good Faith Estimate is heinous and wrong, and probably not even legal.
If I knew of anyone charging, I suspect I'd tip off the regulatory agencies so as to put a stop to it.
There is way too much abuse in this industry these days - it's got to stop.
If I knew of anyone charging, I suspect I'd tip off the regulatory agencies so as to put a stop to it.
There is way too much abuse in this industry these days - it's got to stop.
gmakerley,
I think more and more lenders are charging for the credit upfront just to keep their overhead down which as we all know is paid for by the consumer one way or another.
Let's just look at some numbers.
Let's say you have an office with 20 loan officers and each loan officer pulls 100 credit reports per month. That's 2,000 credit reports per month.
Now split the number of reports so we end up with 1,000 individual and 1,000 joint credit reports.
For me an individual report runs $15.00 and joint runs $25.00.
1,000 X $15.00 = $15,000 + 1,000 X $25.00 =$25,000.00 for a total of $40,000.00 per month in just credit report fees.
We know that we're not going to close a loan for every single person me pull credit on which means the clients that do close with end up paying for that credit report bill.
I think more and more lenders are charging for the credit upfront just to keep their overhead down which as we all know is paid for by the consumer one way or another.
Let's just look at some numbers.
Let's say you have an office with 20 loan officers and each loan officer pulls 100 credit reports per month. That's 2,000 credit reports per month.
Now split the number of reports so we end up with 1,000 individual and 1,000 joint credit reports.
For me an individual report runs $15.00 and joint runs $25.00.
1,000 X $15.00 = $15,000 + 1,000 X $25.00 =$25,000.00 for a total of $40,000.00 per month in just credit report fees.
We know that we're not going to close a loan for every single person me pull credit on which means the clients that do close with end up paying for that credit report bill.
It is absolutely NOT legal to charge for a GFE. I also have to charge for the credit report due to the overhead reasons stated above.
Methinks the major players are getting discounts from the agencies; $10 a pop is exorbitant. I'm not talking about the pass-through here, but the ostensible charge from the credit repositories.