Should the realtor helping you buy a house require you to present them with a good faith estimate?

Answer 1

they normally ask for it so they can give it to their 'inhouse' lender. they try to keep the business inhouse so that MAY receive kickbacks.

this is not always the case...but it does happen frequently...and it's against federal laws (RESPA)

Answer 2

A good Realtor will want to ensure that the home buyer has spoken with a lender and has been pre-qualified for a mortgage loan. This is done so they know that the houses they are showing you - you can truly qualify for (i.e. you want to see $700k homes but based on your income, you can only qualify for $500k).

This is usually verified by obtaining an LSR (Loan Status Report) from your lender. This is a form that shows that you have talked to a lender and have been pre-qualed for $X loan amount. When you find the home that you want and write a contract, you will need to submit a copy of the LSR along with the offer. The LSR will strengthen your offer as the home seller will know that you can actually get financing to buy their home.

I'm not sure why the realtor would want to see the GFE (Good Faith Estimate) unless they want to see what your closing costs are going to be to: (1) Make sure that the closing costs are not too high due to lender charging too much junk fees or (2) They want to ask for the seller to pay for closing costs and need to make sure they are asking for enough to cover te closing costs.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 3

Your question is really confusing. A good faith estimate refers to something your lender gives you, an estimate of all of your closing costs and what your monthly mortgage payment is going to be.

Many realtors want to be in the loop with your real estate company so that they can supply answers quickly, etc. Your lender should/could give your realtor the good faith estimate once it has been drawn up. If they don't have good contact with your lender, then yes, they might ask you for a copy, but to be quite honest, they shouldn't really care unless they are helping to protect you from predatory fees and lending.

Good luck!