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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. The closing disclosure is the last document you’ll receive before you close on your home loan. Review this detailed five-pager carefully to make sure all the numbers look correct before . Lightbulb Key takeaways Closing disclosures are legally required and provide final details of your loan You will have a mandatory three-day period to review the closing disclosure and make any changes Errors can be corrected before closing, but the loan amount and interest rate cannot unless there is a change in circumstances What is a closing disclosure and why is it important
A closing disclosure is a legally-required five-page statement of your final mortgage loan terms and . It contains details about your loan terms, monthly payments, fees and closing costs. Your must provide you with the final details of your loan in the closing disclosure at least three business days before closing. That gives you time to compare the final terms and costs with the information you have previously been given on your , the three-page document you received when obtaining the mortgage offer. You should compare the closing disclosure with the loan estimate to see if anything has changed. If anything is unexpected or incorrect, you have time to ask the lender to clarify before the closing.
What s in the closing disclosure
Loan terms Check the figures and take note of whether the amounts of the following can increase after closing: the loan amount; interest rate; monthly payment including principal and interest; prepayment penalty, if any; and balloon payment, if any. Projected payments These add up to your monthly mortgage payment and include the principal, interest and private mortgage insurance (if applicable), as well as estimated escrow and estimated taxes, insurance and assessments, both of which can increase over time. Costs of closing This section shows your upfront costs, sometimes called “settlement costs.” It includes loan costs, lender credits and the amount you’ll be required to pay at closing. Loan costs This section includes origination charges such as application fees, underwriting fees and points that you have to pay. Items to be paid by the seller will be noted. Other loan costs are categorized as “services that the borrower did not shop for” — including the credit report and appraisal — and those that the borrower did shop for, such as the settlement agent fee and title search. Other costs These include recording fees, transfer tax and insurance premiums due at signing. Calculating cash to close This table breaks down your costs at closing, including any deposits you’ve already paid, credits and anything that has changed since your loan estimate was provided. Summaries of transactions This provides a detailed look at your costs, including the home price, closing costs and the seller’s costs. Loan disclosures Here you’ll see legal language describing important characteristics of your loan, such as assumption, demand feature, negative amortization and escrow. Loan calculations This disclosure shows the total amount you are agreeing to pay over the life of the loan, including interest charges. Other disclosures This includes more details such as the appraisal, missed payments and other aspects of your loan. Contact information This includes details on how to reach all the parties involved in your loan. Confirm receipt Signing this page at closing indicates that you’ve received it. Sample closing disclosure
This from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a helpful illustration of what your closing disclosure will look like. There is an interactive checklist on the right side of the document. If you’re not sure what to check, use the prompts for each section of the document to guide you.
What is the three-day waiting period
The “Know Before You Owe” mortgage rule, also known as TRID (the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule), went into effect in 2015. This regulation includes a requirement that you receive your closing disclosure three business days before closing. This was meant to protect borrowers from surprises at closing. By giving you three business days to review your closing disclosure, you’ll have time to check all the numbers and bring up any questions you might have before sitting down at the closing table. Take advantage of this time to look over all the terms of your mortgage loan, and talk to your lawyer, housing counselor or loan officer if you have any questions.
How to check your closing disclosure
With your most recent loan estimate handy, go through each line of the closing disclosure and compare the two documents, including: Review the spelling of your name. Verify the property address. Ensure the loan description and amount matches the description and amount on the loan estimate. Double-check the loan type, interest rate, monthly payment and other terms. Confirm you understand all of the fees, and check if any have been added. Look to see if your lender will be using an escrow account, and make sure you understand how it works. What can and can t change on the closing disclosure
When checking the closing disclosure, you need to know that some mortgage costs are allowed to change while others cannot. One thing that is certain: Lenders can’t deliberately understate your costs and then raise the prices at closing time. In general, if any of the following was changed from your loan estimate or looks unfamiliar, contact your lender and ask for an explanation. Loan information – The majority of the time, this section should match your loan estimate. If it doesn’t, ask your lender why. Loan amount – Note that the loan amount can change, for example, if your closing costs were rolled in. Interest rate – If there is a change from the loan estimate and you , ask for clarification from your lender. Estimated total monthly payment – This can change; be sure to ask for an explanation from your lender, if so. Closing costs/cash to close – These can also change. Services borrower did not shop for – Ensure there are no new services that were not on your loan estimate. Services borrower did shop for – If there are new services listed here, ask for an explanation from your lender on how these were chosen and why they were included. Note that some closing costs cannot increase, such as fees paid to the lender or mortgage broker, or fees for required services that you did not shop separately for, or that you paid for from an affiliate of your lender or mortgage broker. Transfer taxes cannot increase, as well. However, if there is a “change in circumstances” which requires a new loan estimate, these costs can change by any amount. A change in circumstances could be when you decide to get a different type of loan, put down a different amount, your home doesn’t appraise at the expected value, your credit file changes or your income documentation isn’t as expected. Other closing costs can increase without limit, including prepaid interest, insurance premiums, initial escrow account deposits and fees for some third-party services. These costs are not controlled by your lender. There is a third category of closing costs that are permitted to increase by up to 10 percent. These include recording fees and some third-party service providers. If there is a change in circumstances, these costs could increase by more than 10 percent.
What to do if there s an error on the closing disclosure
If anything on the closing disclosure looks incorrect, you need to notify the loan officer and title company to fix it before the closing. The document may need to be redone — which could delay the closing date — so it’s important to contact them immediately. SHARE: Lee writes about mortgages, personal finance and enjoys finding ways for people to hack their finances. Bankrate senior editor for mortgages Bill McGuire has been writing and editing for more than four decades at major newspapers, magazines and websites. John Stearns, CMC, CRMS is a Senior Mortgage Loan Originator with American Fidelity Mortgage.