Can my final mortgage costs increase from my Loan Estimate?

The CFPB says some mortgage costs can increase at closing and others cannot. Lenders are not allowed to deliberately underestimate costs on the Loan Estimate, but they may change some costs in defined situations.

Without a lock, the quoted rate can move until closing. A lock still can reopen if the application changes or you miss the lock window. The lock status appears at the top of page 1 of the Loan Estimate.

Closing costs fall into three categories unless a 'change in circumstances' applies: costs that can increase by any amount, such as prepaid interest, property-insurance premiums, initial escrow deposits, and certain shopped or unrequired third-party fees; costs that cannot increase at all, such as many lender or broker fees for required services and transfer taxes; and costs whose total may increase by up to 10 percent, such as recording fees and certain shopped required services. A change in circumstances can include choosing a different loan or down payment, an unexpected appraisal, a credit change from new borrowing or a missed payment, or income the lender cannot document. In those cases the lender may issue a revised estimate. If costs rise above the allowed limits and there was no change in circumstances, the CFPB says you are entitled to a refund of the amount above those limits. These are current legal tolerance rules and require currentness review before publication.