Free Mortgage Tools That Read Your Loan Estimate, Contract, and Appraisal and Tell You What to Ask

Three documents decide most of what happens when you buy a home, and each one arrives with a clock running: the purchase agreement, the Loan Estimate, and the appraisal report. HomeTurf now has a free tool for each. You upload your own document, an AI reader on Google Cloud Vertex AI reads it, and you get back the dates, figures, and rules in plain English, plus the questions to take to your agent, lender, or attorney. A fourth free tool, the Lender Calls Checklist, covers the phone calls that can start after you apply. No account is needed to run any of them.

Key takeaways

• HomeTurf's four free tools are the Purchase Agreement Reviewer, the Loan Estimate Decoder, the Appraisal Report Explainer with its Reconsideration of Value request builder, and the Lender Calls Checklist. No account is needed to run them.
• The Loan Estimate Decoder leads with the three figures lenders compete on, which are the rate, the A.P.R., and the lender charges in Section A, then sorts the remaining closing costs by who sets them.
• The Purchase Agreement Reviewer puts your contract dates in order with the days left to each, for a home in any state, and compares clauses with the standard form when yours is one of five statewide forms in Texas, Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, or Wisconsin.
• The Appraisal Report Explainer checks the facts and arithmetic in your report against published rules and common lender review thresholds, and builds a Reconsideration of Value request, which loans sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac allow once per appraisal. It never states what your home is worth and never grades the appraiser.
• In these tools, your uploaded file is read in memory and is not stored by HomeTurf. Figures and dates are kept for 30 days, stripped of the names, addresses, and ids the software recognizes.
• The tools explain; they do not decide. None of them tells you whether to sign, and the AI reader can misread or miss a term, so check each item against your own copy.

What free mortgage tools does HomeTurf offer?

Four, one for each moment in a home purchase when a document or a phone call raises questions. The three document tools each take one PDF, JPG, or PNG file: up to 15 MB and 40 pages for a purchase agreement, up to 8 MB and three pages for a Loan Estimate, and up to 15 MB and 80 pages for an appraisal report. A JPG or PNG holds a single image, so use the PDF for a multi-page document. The Lender Calls Checklist needs no upload.

Which tool do you need at each stage of buying a home?

The order follows the paperwork. The purchase agreement comes first, because its dates start the clock on your inspection, financing, and appraisal protections. The Loan Estimate follows your application: a lender must deliver it within three business days of receiving your name, income, Social Security number, property address, estimated property value, and the loan amount you are seeking, as Regulation Z requires. Calls can begin once a lender pulls your credit. The appraisal report comes later, and Regulation B requires your lender to give you a copy promptly upon completion or three business days before closing, whichever is earlier, unless you waived that timing, and it cannot charge you for the copy.

On a refinance there is no purchase agreement, so the Decoder and the Explainer are the two document tools that apply.

How do you check a purchase agreement before the deadlines pass?

Line up every date with the protection attached to it, then take your questions to your agent or attorney. The Purchase Agreement Reviewer does the first part. It reads the main contract and its addenda, signed or still a draft, and returns:

• Your dates in order, with the days left to each.
• Four protections at a glance: the inspection or option period, financing, appraisal, and earnest money, so you can see which exits you kept.
• Each clause, compared with the standard form when yours is one of the five below, plus any custom terms written into your agreement.
• Questions to ask before you sign or before a date passes.

The clause comparison covers five statewide standard forms: TREC 20-19 in Texas, the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar contracts, CBS1 in Colorado, Form 2-T in North Carolina, and WB-11 in Wisconsin. The reviewer identifies the form and its footer version from your document. For any other form, including a builder, investor, or attorney-drafted contract or a contract from another state, the review still reads your own dates, figures, and terms, and says there is no standard baseline to compare with.

It describes what your agreement says. It does not rate the transaction, predict how a clause would be enforced, or suggest contract language, and it is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. In North Carolina, take your questions to your closing attorney, who is already part of every closing there.

How do you read a Loan Estimate without being a mortgage expert?

Start with the three figures lenders compete on, then sort everything else by who controls it. The Loan Estimate is a standard three-page form, and every lender uses the same layout, which is what makes two of them comparable. The Loan Estimate Decoder reads yours and leads with the rate, the A.P.R., and the lender charges in Section A. Illustrative: on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's published sample form, those three figures are a 3.875 percent rate, a 4.274 percent A.P.R., and $1,802 in origination charges.

The rest of your closing costs are then grouped by who sets them:

Within Section F, the homeowner's insurance policy itself is still yours to shop. You also see the terms worth a second look, including whether the rate is locked, any prepayment penalty or balloon payment, whether the rate can change after closing, and any points or lender credits, along with a list of questions to take back to the lender. For the rules on what can move before closing, see which closing costs can change. For the whole form, see our guide on how to read a Loan Estimate.

The decoder explains your form. It does not tell you whether the loan is a good one, and HomeTurf does not rate loans.

What can you do if your appraisal comes in low?

On a conventional loan sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you can ask your lender for one Reconsideration of Value, known as an ROV, before closing. Under Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-12, your lender must have a process for it and must disclose that process when it gives you the report. Only one borrower-initiated request is allowed per appraisal, and none after closing, so include everything at once. Your request must contain:

• Your name, the property address, the effective date of the appraisal, the appraiser's name, and the date of your request.
• The areas of the report you believe are unsupported, inaccurate, or deficient.
• Additional data or comparable sales, no more than five, with their sources, such as an MLS listing number.
• An explanation of why the new data supports your request.

The request goes through your lender, not to the appraiser. The lender finishes its own review first, and an underwriter or appraisal specialist checks that your request has enough detail before sending it on. If it goes to the appraiser, the appraiser answers in a revised report with commentary whatever the outcome, and decides whether the figure changes. Freddie Mac's Guide section 5604.4 sets parallel rules. FHA, VA, and USDA loans follow their own routes, so ask your lender which applies. Section 704 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, enacted July 11, 2026, directs USDA, VA, FHA, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to require lenders of federally backed loans to keep a review and resolution procedure for these requests, with no deadline set.

The Appraisal Report Explainer helps with both halves of that. It reads the legacy Form 1004 family and the newer UAD 3.6 report, then walks through the figure and its condition, the comparable sales and their adjustments, what the report says about your home, and how the value was reconciled. Each finding reads In line, Ask, or Check, with its source cited beside it: a published rule or, where no rule sets a limit, a common lender review threshold. A four-step builder then assembles your request: your details, the facts you dispute and the points you raise, the comparables you question and the sales you know, and a final review of the letter.

Here is the line it will not cross. HomeTurf is not a licensed appraiser. The explainer does not produce or suggest a value, does not review the appraiser's work, and cannot promise a different figure, a second appraisal, or a deadline extension. Your lender decides whether to forward a reconsideration request. If the figure stands, what happens next depends partly on your contract, which is one reason to know whether you kept an appraisal protection.

How do you stop mortgage calls after you apply?

Work through five steps in order, starting with your phone's own settings. No single step ends every call, but together they narrow the main routes calls come through. The Lender Calls Checklist has the steps for iPhone and Android:

1. Silence calls from numbers you do not know.
2. Turn on your carrier's free call filter.
3. Opt out of prescreened offers at OptOutPrescreen.com or 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688).
4. Register at donotcall.gov.
5. Reply in writing to any text or email from a lender you can identify, asking to be removed.

The first two work the same day. The opt-outs can take up to about a month and do not recall numbers that were already sold. The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, in effect since March 4, 2026, narrows who can buy a mortgage trigger lead but does not ban them, and it does not reach a web form that a lead reseller passed to several lenders. The background is in our guide to mortgage trigger leads.

What happens to the documents you upload?

In these tools, the file itself is read in memory by Google Cloud Vertex AI and is not stored by HomeTurf. Google keeps it only as long as it needs to read it, though it may hold a temporary cached copy for up to 24 hours. If Google's automated safety checks flag a request as possible misuse, Google may log the file for up to 90 days, and authorized Google employees may review it. Google does not use your file to train AI models, and neither does HomeTurf. What HomeTurf keeps depends on the tool, and each is deleted after 30 days, along with a note of which ad or link brought you to the site.

The explainer needs names and addresses to build your letter, so those details come back to your browser only and last for that session. Nothing is taken from photos, sketches, and maps beyond words printed on them.

Emailing yourself the results is optional. If you do, your address is kept for 30 days, or until you unsubscribe if you also asked for guides. An emailed appraisal letter passes through HomeTurf's email service to reach you and is not kept.

What will these tools not do?

They will not make the decision for you. None of them tells you whether to sign, whether a loan is good, or what a home is worth. They are not legal advice, not an appraisal or an appraisal review, and no attorney-client relationship is created. The AI reader can misread or miss a figure or term, so check each item against your own copy before you rely on it. Running a tool does not contact a lender or start an auction.

How do the tools connect to a HomeTurf auction?

Only if you choose. After the decoder, you can start a Beat My Rate auction with your decoded figures filled in, and verified lenders bid against the rate you already hold. After the reviewer, you can start a Purchase auction with your reviewed terms filled in. After the explainer, a next-step card links to the auction page. The figures carry over but the file does not: the wizard asks you to upload the Loan Estimate or agreement again so the auction can check it. That upload is stored, and HomeTurf deletes it no later than 90 days after the auction closes.

You are free to keep your current lender in every case. As of November 2026, auctions are open in Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin; the tools themselves read documents for homes in any state, and outside those five the next step is a one-field waitlist.

In an auction, lenders see ranges in Pre-Approval auctions, the exact rate and A.P.R. to beat plus ranges in Beat My Rate auctions, and exact property and loan figures in Purchase and Refinance auctions, because accurate offers depend on them. You stay anonymous to lenders while they bid, and HomeTurf does not pull your credit. Lenders cannot pay for placement, and HomeTurf never selects, ranks as best, or recommends a lender. Only the lender you choose receives your contact details, and it must reach out within 36 hours. HomeTurf does not lock rates or guarantee any rate. To check a quote against this week's public benchmarks first, see what a good mortgage rate is right now.

Frequently asked questions

Are HomeTurf's mortgage tools really free?

Yes. The Purchase Agreement Reviewer, Loan Estimate Decoder, Appraisal Report Explainer, and Lender Calls Checklist are free to use, and no account is needed to run them. Emailing yourself the results is optional. An account is needed only if you choose to start an auction afterward, and auctions are also free for borrowers.

Can AI read a Loan Estimate or purchase agreement accurately?

It can misread or miss a figure or term, so check each item against your own copy before you rely on it. The PDF from your lender's email or your e-sign service works best, and because each tool takes one file, a JPG or PNG works only for a single image. HomeTurf's tools run on Google Cloud Vertex AI, and they explain what your own document says rather than giving a verdict on it.

Is there a free way to review a purchase agreement before signing?

Yes. The HomeTurf Purchase Agreement Reviewer reads a residential purchase agreement, signed or still a draft, and returns your dates in order, your inspection, financing, appraisal, and earnest money protections, and questions to ask. It is general information and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney, so take your questions to your agent or to an attorney licensed in the property's state.

How many times can you request a reconsideration of value?

Once per appraisal, and only before closing, on a conventional loan sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The request goes through your lender and can include up to five additional comparable sales with their data sources. If your lender sends it on, the appraiser answers in a revised report with commentary whatever the outcome, and decides whether the figure changes. FHA, VA, and USDA loans follow their own procedures, so ask your lender which route applies.

Does using HomeTurf's tools affect my credit or alert lenders?

No. HomeTurf's tools read the document you upload and do not pull your credit. Running one does not contact a lender or start an auction, so no lender learns you used it. Lenders see your auction's figures only if you later start an auction, and only the lender you choose receives your contact details.

Do HomeTurf's tools work outside its auction states?

Yes. The three document tools read documents for homes anywhere in the United States, and the Lender Calls Checklist covers federal law and phone settings that apply nationwide. The clause comparison covers the standard forms in Texas, Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, the same five states where auctions are open as of November 2026. With any other form, the dates, figures, and terms still come from your own document.

Bring your own paperwork

You already have the documents, and you already have the right to read them closely. Run the one in front of you, take the questions it raises to the people handling your transaction, and when you want verified lenders to compete on the numbers, you can Start Your Auction. HomeTurf is a technology marketplace, not a lender or loan originator, and it is free for borrowers.

Remember that this is general information, not financial or legal advice, and every situation is different.

Sources

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.19(e), Loan Estimate delivery: consumerfinance.gov
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.2(a)(3), definition of application: consumerfinance.gov
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, sample Loan Estimate, fixed-rate loan: files.consumerfinance.gov
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation B, 12 CFR 1002.14, copies of appraisals: consumerfinance.gov
• Fannie Mae, Selling Guide B4-1.3-12, Appraisal Quality Matters: selling-guide.fanniemae.com
• Freddie Mac, Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide section 5604.4: guide.freddiemac.com
• Congressional Research Service, The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (P.L. 119-101), report R49354: congress.gov
• Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, Public Law 119-36: congress.gov
• Federal Trade Commission, National Do Not Call Registry: donotcall.gov

HomeTurf is a technology marketplace, not a lender or loan originator. This content is for general information only and is not financial or legal advice.