Comment by SamuelAdams
6 days ago
This seems odd. If you need certain fees and line items explained to you, why not ask your lender? Surely you have a loan officer that can explain every item and why it is there.
If you don’t like some of the costs, go with another lender, or negotiate those with your loan officer.
I’m not sure what this tool is offering that individuals don’t already have.
This is supposed to be the role of the mortgage broker / loan officer.
However in practice it's more complicated. Homebuyers receive these documents after they already signed a binding contract to purchase. Most people don't even know what questions to ask, much less how to properly negotiate, and they're under the stress of just getting the deal done which include affording a down payment, getting a home appraisal, and making sure they're not getting into a bad deal.
Also throughout the closing, the real estate agent/mortgage broker/lender aren't incentivized to get the buyer the best deal; they usually just want to close. In general the mortgage broker/lender are not going to advise and how the customer how to shop around since it's technically illegal for them to give a "bad" loan to a buyer.
A set of mortgage documents can have over 100 pages and include 20+ fees. It can be difficult for a borrower/homebuyer to understand all these fees, and most have no idea if they're competitive. Loan officers or brokers aren't incentivized to get you the lowest rates on every line item. Sounds like this tool helps you understand if you're being overcharged.