- 1Page 1 — Loan termsLoan amount, interest rate, monthly principal and interest, and three yes/no boxes: does the rate rise, does the loan amount rise, is there a prepayment penalty or a balloon. Any "yes" is the first thing to ask about.
- 2Page 1 — Projected paymentsThe estimated total monthly payment, broken into principal and interest, mortgage insurance, and escrow. Look for the year mortgage insurance stops. If it says it runs the whole term, that is an FHA loan and the page will not tell you so.
- 3Page 2 — Section AOrigination charges. Points, application fee, underwriting fee. This is where lenders differ most and where a "no fee" claim usually unravels.
- 4Page 2 — Section B and CServices you cannot shop for, and services you can. Section C is negotiable in a way most borrowers never exercise.
- 5Page 2 — Section F and GPrepaids and initial escrow. These are not lender charges — they are your own taxes and insurance paid forward — so a lender with a bigger number here is not necessarily more expensive.
- 6Page 3 — ComparisonsIn five years, total paid and principal paid. Annual percentage rate. Total interest percentage. The five-year figure is the one that exposes a low rate bought with heavy points on a loan you will not keep.
Then run it here
Put the loan amount, the rate and the term into the payment calculator with the programme the estimate names. If the itemised payment on this site differs materially from page one of the estimate, one of you is missing something — and finding out which is exactly the point of a second look.