Title Company Provides Service to Accurately Provide Fees for GFE

January 26, 2010

TitleVest, a Manhattan-based provider of title insurance and related real estate services, announced the launch of a free service that helps lenders comply with new stringent disclosure requirements imposed by recent revisions to the Truth in Lending Act or "Regulation Z."

The new regulations stipulate that, with few exceptions, the fees quoted by mortgage lenders in their Good Faith Estimates ("GFE") may not increase at the time of closing.

While some of the GFE-disclosed fees are charged by the lender itself, many are third party fees, which lenders are ill-equipped to calculate and disclose accurately. Under-disclosing puts the lender at risk for any charges that exceed the amount it discloses on its GFE. However, over-disclosing these fees can backfire if it causes an otherwise qualified mortgage applicant to not proceed with the transaction or to switch to another lender whose GFE disclosures are lower.

With TitleVest's complimentary GFE Closing Cost Guarantee, lenders complete a web-based form with the transaction details and receive an itemized breakdown of title insurance and related settlement closing costs in a format that allows them to plug these numbers into their GFE. TitleVest said it guarantees the accuracy of these fees.

On a simple refinance of a $500,000 mortgage in New York, the title insurance and related closing costs can vary by more than $10,000 depending upon a multitude of factors. According to Bill Baron, TitleVest's president, "It's in the best interest of both lenders and borrowers to obtain a Good Faith Estimate that is 100 percent accurate. With our new free service, there is no excuse for lenders to over- or under-disclose any of the title insurance and related settlement fees on their GFEs."


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