Lenders supply a Loan Estimate form for valid mortgage applications. This form documents these essential elements of the approved loan: Services borrowers CAN shop in relation to the loan Services borrowers CANNOT shop Loan terms Loan costs Project payments Cash and costs required to close the loan A loan summary to aid comparing this estimate to other estimates. Loan Estimate forms also provide details about loan assumption policies, appraisal, insurance, late-payment policies, and refinancing. The Estimate should also disclose whether the lender intends to service the loan directly. All Loan Estimates are not identical. Information that is NOT related to a specific application may be excluded. Careful reading and comparison is always a good practice.

Federal guidelines apply to most consumer loans — like mortgages — that are secured by property. Refinancing, vacant-land loans, construction-only loans, closed-end home-equity loans, and of course home mortgages are covered by these guidelines. Reverse mortgages and mobile-home mortgages are regulated separately, and the Federal TRID guidelines and disclosures do not apply in the same way. Guidelines are designed to apply to lenders who make such loans in the ordinary course of business; they do not apply to people or businesses that make 5 (or less than 5) qualifying loans in a given year.