The new Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is asking the public to vote on two draft designs for the mortgage disclosure form. The goal is to make it easier for the borrower to understand the loan terms. They call it "Know What You Owe."
The new form, when it’s finalized, will replace the current Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and Truth In Lending forms.
The two draft designs are here: Ficus Bank and Pecan Bank. The bureau randomly marks them as Option A and Option B. Some people will see Ficus Bank as Option A, Pecan Bank as Option B; some people will see the other way around.
The deadline to enter your vote and comments is this Friday, May 27. Take a look at the draft forms and tell them which one you like and why you didn’t like the other one.
When I borrowed and refinanced, I’ve always paid attention only to the GFE and ignored the Truth In Lending form. I think the Truth In Lending form doesn’t add much value. It can even add to the confusion when there are closing costs and lender credits.
Although I don’t think the current GFE form is too bad, both new draft designs are an improvement. They don’t necessarily provide any new information not present in the existing form, but they highlight the more important items much better.
Of the two designs, I voted for the Ficus Bank design.
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KD says
I voted on this few days ago. I too chose Ficus Bank. Great minds think alike. 🙂