The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has revealed their latest proposals for the forms that may eventually replace our (seriously flawed) Good Faith Estimate that was mandated by HUD for use in 2010.  They received 13,000 comments from consumers and industry professionals and they’re asking for your “vote” on the newest editions by July 5, 2011.  And for the record, I don’t want to hear any mortgage originator complain about what ever form we wind up with IF you don’t take this opportunity to voice your opinions.

One noted improvement is that closing costs on page two are more detailed…funny how we’re reverting to something that resembles the “old” good faith estimate.   This set of documents do not have an “expiration date” and if it’s truly intended for consumers to shop, I wonder if mortgage originators will be liable if they issue the document without a property address (like our current 2010 GFE).

What I see happening is that many consumers are becoming numb to the plethora of disclosures that are now required thanks to our Governments efforts to dumb everything down.  I would still like to see what ever form is used as a “good faith estimate” resemble the HUD-1 Settlement Statement so that their is consistency for consumers.

Why not just add some boxes at the top of the existing HUD indicating “rate quote” (rate not locked, intended for shopping) and “rate locked” where the lenders fees are locked as well?

I cannot tell from the information that I’ve seen so far if mortgage originators will be required to have a “changed circumstance” before re-issuing a Good Faith Estimate.  I know this has been a major issue for consumers and mortgage originators alike.

Which disclosure do you prefer from this batch and why?