I recently went through the mortgage process and learned just how much of a mess closing costs could be. Each broker that I compared against used slightly different terminology and broke down costs in a variety of ways. Some calculate various pieces like taxes and insurance using a different number of days, making it even more difficult to compare.
At the end it all went smoothly (I did manage to catch one mistake on my loan documentation), but the whole process had a ton of places where you could be led astray. Anything that can be done to improve this process is good for the consumer.
Yahoo ran an article titled Feds propose changes in mortgage rules today. This is exactly where we need to head:
HUD proposed a revised GFE document that would force lenders to give accurate estimates of closing costs.
GFE stands for “good-faith estimate” and is the document that the mortgage broker or bank shows to you prior to closing. Making this document uniform and clear would go a long way toward improving the entire process.