Is it normal for the final loan amount to differ from the Closing Disclosure?

Definitely want to know this before going to the closing table and your lender should be addressing this promptly. IF your loan amount ended up being lower, that's great, perhaps they miscalculated your cash to close, but we don't want to make assumptions. The lender I work with on most of my deals typically paints a "worst-case scenario" for my buyers, which will usually result in initial cash to close estimates being higher than the final number. While that's a good thing for my buyers, we still would be letting them know in advance of closing day. If something just got completely missed (it happens), better to be safe and ask your REALTOR to check with your lender right away. Or, just go directly to your lender. Either way but get the verification so you can sleep easy at night. :) -Thomas Scott | REALTOR 803-553-0771 | [email protected] Serving Fort Worth and the surrounding areas.

Do not sign until your lender explains the change, ideally in writing. A different loan amount is not automatically a problem, but it should never be a surprise at the closing table, and it changes how much cash you need to bring. One likely explanation: on a purchase, lenders generally base the loan on the lower of the purchase price or the appraised value. A higher appraisal by itself usually does not raise the amount you can borrow, so the loan may simply have gone back to the original approved number. That still needs to be confirmed, not assumed. Ask your lender: 1. Why did the loan amount change, and who approved it? 2. How much more cash do I need at closing, and does this change my rate, monthly payment or mortgage insurance? 3. Will you issue a corrected Closing Disclosure before I sign? Have your agent and the title or escrow officer on the call with the lender so everyone works from the same numbers. When I have a buyer closing in Billings, I want any change like this explained before signing day, not at the table. Gene Hauck, Real Estate Broker | The Morales Group at Engel & Völkers Billings

A last-minute change in loan amount can happen, but your situation is different from a routine small adjustment. This could mean the lender intentionally changed the loan terms, or it could be an error/missed update. I would speak with the lender so they can explain in greater detail. Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Real Estate Operations in ALL 50 States

Holden, short answer: nobody necessarily broke a rule, but you are owed an explanation before you sign, and you should not sign until you get one. Here is the rule people get wrong. Only three changes force your lender to give you a corrected Closing Disclosure and restart the three business day waiting period: the APR becoming inaccurate, the loan product itself changing, or a prepayment penalty being added. A change in the loan amount is not on that list. So a lender can hand you a revised CD at the table with a different loan amount and still be inside the rules. What they cannot do is let you sign without giving you a corrected Closing Disclosure showing the changed terms at or before closing. If a corrected CD is sitting in front of you today, that part is being handled correctly, even though it feels like an ambush. That said, "allowed" and "explained" are different things, and the detail you noticed is the important one. A higher appraisal does not reduce your loan amount by itself. Appraising high gives you a better loan to value ratio, it does not shrink the loan. So something else moved and then moved back. The realistic candidates are worth asking about by name: did underwriting cut the amount for debt to income or reserves, did a seller credit or concession get applied against the loan, was something that had been financed into the loan taken back out, or did an earlier version get revised upward after the appraisal and then simply revert. Any of those can be legitimate. None of them should be a surprise to you on closing day. The number to look at is not the loan amount. It is Cash to Close. If your loan dropped by 8,000 and nothing else changed, that 8,000 has to come from somewhere, and the somewhere is usually you. Put the old CD and the new one side by side and compare four lines: loan amount, cash to close, APR, and total interest percentage. If cash to close went up by roughly 8,000 and you do not have it wired, that is not a paperwork question, that is a today problem. What I would do in the room, in this order. Ask your closer for the corrected CD and the prior CD, on paper. Ask the loan officer, in writing by text or email so it is documented, what changed and why. Do not accept "it is just the final numbers." And know that you are not obligated to sign. A delayed closing is annoying. Signing a loan whose terms you do not understand is worse, and once you sign, your leverage is gone. I am a real estate professional and not a lender, so your loan officer and your closing agent are the ones who have to answer this, not me. But the question to put to them is specific: what line item moved, and does my cash to close change. I am Zoltan Peresztegi, and if it would help to have someone read the two disclosures side by side with you before you sign, ask your agent to do exactly that. It is a ten minute job and it is what they are there for. Zoltan

Holden, I would definitely question it before signing. Loan amounts can change before closing, but an $8,000 difference should have a clear explanation, especially if you weren’t expecting it. Contact your lender or broker immediately and ask why it changed and how it affects your down payment, cash needed to close, and monthly payment. Don’t assume it’s just a paperwork error.