Decode your Loan Estimate
PDF, JPG or PNG, up to 8 MB and three pages. The PDF from your lender's email works best. The file is read in memory by Google Cloud Vertex AI and is not stored by HomeTurf; the figures are kept for 30 days, with a note of which ad or link brought you here.
Google does not use your Loan Estimate to train or fine-tune AI models, and neither does 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 that request, including your Loan Estimate, for up to 90 days, and authorized Google employees may review it.
The words on the form
Interest rate
The yearly rate the lender charges on the amount you borrow. It sets your principal and interest payment.
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Your costs over the loan term expressed as a rate. It folds the interest rate together with points and most lender fees, which is why it is usually higher than the interest rate. The form says it is not your interest rate.
Total Interest Percentage (TIP)
The total interest you would pay over the full loan term as a percentage of the loan amount, assuming every payment is made on schedule and the loan runs to the end.
In 5 years
Two totals for comparing loans: everything you would have paid in principal, interest, mortgage insurance and loan costs after five years, and how much of the loan balance you would have paid off by then.
Points
An upfront fee paid to the lender in exchange for a lower interest rate. One point is one percent of the loan amount. The form lists points at the top of section A.
Lender credits
Money the lender puts toward your closing costs, usually in exchange for a higher interest rate. It appears inside section J as a negative line under D + I, so the J total already includes it.
Origination charges
Section A: what the lender charges for making the loan, including points and the application and underwriting fees.
Prepaids
Section F: items paid in advance at closing, such as the first months of homeowner's insurance and the interest between closing and your first payment.
Escrow
An account the servicer uses to pay your property taxes and insurance. Section G is the deposit that opens it; the monthly amount sits inside your total monthly payment.
Estimated cash to close
What you bring to closing: closing costs plus your down payment, minus any deposit already paid, seller credits and other adjustments. It is usually paid by wire or cashier's check.
Rate lock
A lender's commitment to hold the quoted rate for a set period. Page 1 shows whether the rate is locked and until when. An unlocked rate can change at any time.
Prepayment penalty
A fee for paying the loan off early, for example by refinancing or selling within the first years. The form states the maximum and the period.
Balloon payment
A single large payment due at the end of the loan term because the regular payments did not pay the balance down to zero.
Mortgage insurance
Insurance that protects the lender if the loan is not repaid, usually required when the down payment is under 20 percent of the price. The projected payments table shows when it is expected to stop.
Common questions
What is a Loan Estimate?
The three-page form a lender must give you within three business days of your mortgage application. Page 1 shows the loan terms, projected payments and cash to close; page 2 itemizes closing costs in sections A to J; page 3 carries the APR, the total interest percentage and the five-year comparison figures. Every lender uses the same form, which is what makes two estimates comparable.
What does the decoder keep?
The figures and form choices: the rate, APR, loan amount, each fee line and section total, the cash to close table and the comparison figures, plus a note of which ad or link brought you to the site, which is how we measure what each campaign costs. They are kept for 30 days so you can email the breakdown or start an auction from them. 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, and if its automated safety checks flag a request it may log the file for up to 90 days. The AI is told not to return names, addresses, loan ids or the lender's identity, and our software strips any it recognizes before the figures are kept.
Which closing costs can change before closing?
Federal rules sort them into three groups. Lender fees, required services you could not shop for and transfer taxes cannot increase without a change in circumstances. Recording fees and services you chose from the lender's written list can rise by up to 10 percent in total. Prepaid interest, homeowner's insurance premiums, escrow deposits and services you chose on your own can change by any amount.
Does this tell me whether the loan is a good one?
No. It explains what each number on your own form means and which questions the figures raise. HomeTurf is a technology marketplace, not a lender, and does not rate loans. If you want other NMLS-verified lenders to quote against the decoded figures, you can post them anonymously as a Beat My Rate auction.
More in our guides to reading a Loan Estimate, which closing costs can change and APR versus interest rate.
This page explains the figures printed on your own Loan Estimate. It is general information, not legal or financial advice, and not a verdict on the loan. HomeTurf is a technology marketplace, not a lender. We do not recommend lenders or guarantee any rate, terms or approval. Every offer is shown the same way and the choice of who to contact is yours. Lender fees only. Discount points are shown on their own line. Third-party costs (appraisal, title, escrow) and prepaids (taxes, insurance) are quoted separately and are not part of this comparison. Discount points are a prepaid cost, paid at closing, not a lender fee. One point is 1 percent of the loan amount and usually lowers the rate. The APR shown is the one printed on your form.