Consumer Law

RESPA GFE Forms Still Have Problems

By Jeff Sovern

New RESPA Good Faith Estimate requirements and forms took effect in January of 2010.  At three pages, the new forms provide a lot of information, perhaps too much for some consumers.  Now that there's been some experience with the forms, critics are emerging.  Here's a quote from the Mortgages column in today's Times:

[I]ndustry experts say the three-page, line-by-line disclosure ? which lenders must provide within three days of receiving a loan application ? still falls short of telling borrowers exactly what they will be paying. Some in the mortgage industry complain that it can even distort or obscure the true cost.

The new Good Faith Estimate form ?is better than it used to be, but it?s not up to snuff,? said Kathleen Day, a spokeswoman for the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group. ?There are things that need to be unbundled and made clearer,? she said.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on March 27, 2011 (boomark / email).