—ARM rider: Repeats information in the note.
—Appraisal report disclosure: This document acknowledges receipt of the appraisal report.
—Attorney selection notice: This document acknowledges that you have been advised of your right to have an attorney at the closing.
—Authorization to release information: This document authorizes the lender to obtain information from third parties, such as banks and employers, for the purpose of verifying the information you have provided.
—Consumer privacy policy notice: This document performs much the same function, indicating the types of information about you the lender can disclose, and to whom it may be disclosed.
—Itemization of the amount financed: This document provides a breakdown of a useless number on the Truth in Lending form, which you can safely ignore. This and the item that follows will not appear in the package after August 2015.
—Affidavit regarding good-faith estimate, or GFE: This document requires you to acknowledge that the lender provided you with the GFE within the time period and under the circumstances stipulated by the law.
—Fair Credit Reporting Act notice: This document acknowledges that if you are delinquent or default on your payment, the lender will report it to a credit bureau.
—Equal Credit Opportunity Act notice: This document requires you to acknowledge that you have been informed a) that the lender cannot discriminate against you on the basis of race, color, religion and so on, and b) where to go to report violations.
—Tangible net benefit worksheet: On a refinance in which the lender is required by state law to assure that the borrower receives a net tangible benefit from the transaction, or elects to provide such assurance even if not required, the borrower must acknowledge receipt of the document attesting to the benefit.
—IRS forms W-9 and 4506-T: These documents certify that you are a taxpayer and authorize the lender to look at your tax returns.
—Escrow account waiver: In this document, borrowers who have paid lenders to waive the escrow requirement acknowledge responsibility for making the payments themselves, as well as the consequences if they don’t.
While no two document packages are exactly alike, you should have no trouble identifying junk documents in your package that are not in mine.
Jack Guttentag is professor emeritus of finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
©2014 Jack Guttentag
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