State and/or Federal Law govern certain aspects of the loan process. The Georgia Residential Mortgage Act requires that most lenders provide the following:
- If there is an application fee or third party fees such as appraisal or credit report fees, you should receive a disclosure stating what the fees are and whether or not they are refundable. You should receive this disclosure before paying any fees.
- Within three days of your application, the broker/lender is required to provide a good faith estimate of settlement charges. Pursuant to regulation 80-11-1-.01 the good faith estimate is a disclosure of the costs the applicant can reasonably expect to pay in obtaining a mortgage loan, indicates whether all or any part of these costs is refundable prior to settlement of the mortgage loan, and lists the terms and conditions under which all or any part of these costs is refundable. The good faith estimate of costs shall be mailed or delivered to the applicant within three business days after the application is received.
In addition, your lender is subject to federal law, including the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and the Federal Truth in Lending Act. These laws require additional disclosures from the lender throughout the loan process.