What Appears on a Loan Estimate, and Can It Change on a New-Construction Home?
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A Loan Estimate is a standard three-page form that shows a loan's estimated interest rate, monthly payment and total closing costs. The lender must send it within three business days of getting your application, and every lender uses the same form, so you can compare offers line by line. If you are buying a home that is still being built, there is one extra rule to know: the lender may be allowed to send you a new Loan Estimate later, but only if the first one warned you in writing.
What is a Loan Estimate?
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) explains that a Loan Estimate is a three-page form you get after you apply for a mortgage. It lists the key details of the loan you asked for. All lenders must use the same standard form. That is the whole point: it makes comparing lenders easier.
A Loan Estimate is not an approval. The CFPB says that when you get one, the lender has not yet approved or denied you. It shows the terms the lender expects to offer if you move forward.
What appears on a Loan Estimate?
The CFPB says the form shows the estimated interest rate, monthly payment and total closing costs. It also shows estimated taxes and insurance, how the rate and payment could change later, and any special features to watch for. Two of those features are a penalty for paying the loan off early and a loan balance that can grow even when you pay on time.
The CFPB also notes that the cost of homeowner's insurance is listed on page one of the Loan Estimate, in the ""Projected Payments"" section. Because every lender fills in the same boxes, you can lay two estimates side by side and compare the same lines.
Our guide to APR vs interest rate explains one of the most useful comparison numbers on the form.
What do you need to give a lender to get one?
Less than most people think. The CFPB says lenders must give you a Loan Estimate once you provide six pieces of information:
Your name
Your income
Your Social Security number, so the lender can pull your credit
The property address
An estimate of the property's value
The loan amount you want
The CFPB also says lenders cannot require more than that before giving you a Loan Estimate. You do not have to hand over a signed purchase contract or papers proving your income first.
Federal rules also limit fees. Under 12 CFR 1026.19(e)(2), a lender cannot charge you a fee before you get the Loan Estimate and say you want to go ahead, with one exception: a reasonable fee to pull your credit report.
How long is a Loan Estimate good for?
The CFPB says a lender only has to honor the Loan Estimate's terms for 10 business days. If you wait longer than that to say you want to move forward, the lender can revise the terms and costs and send you a new Loan Estimate.
The lender also cannot treat silence as a yes. You have to tell the lender you intend to proceed. Once you do, you will usually pay an application or appraisal fee and send in your income, asset and other papers.
Which closing costs can go up, and by how much?
This is the part most buyers never read. Federal rules sort estimated closing costs into three groups. Here is how the groups work under 12 CFR 1026.19(e)(3), checked November 3, 2026:
Group | Examples | Can it go up at closing? |
|---|---|---|
Can't go up | The lender's own charges, and costs for services you were not allowed to shop for, unless a revision rule applies | No. The amount you pay cannot be more than first estimated |
Can go up 10% in total | Recording fees, and third-party services you can shop for when you pick from the lender's list (and the provider is not the lender or its affiliate) | Yes, but all of them together can rise no more than 10% |
Can change | Prepaid interest, property insurance premiums, money put into escrow, property taxes, and services you picked from outside the lender's list | Yes, as long as the first estimate was made in good faith |
When you shop lenders, focus on the first group. Those are the lender's own numbers, and they are the ones a lender should not be able to move without a reason the rules allow.
When can a lender send a revised Loan Estimate?
A lender cannot just send a new estimate with higher costs whenever it likes. Federal rules list specific reasons. The main ones:
A changed circumstance: something unexpected, or new or changed information about you or the home, that raises the costs.
You asked for a change: for example, a different loan amount or loan type.
Your rate was locked: if your rate was not locked when you got the first estimate, the lender must send a revised Loan Estimate within three business days after you lock.
You waited too long: you said you wanted to proceed more than 10 business days after getting the estimate.
A delayed closing on new construction: the rule that matters most for new-home buyers, below.
The new-construction rule most buyers miss
New homes take time to finish. Federal rules know that. Under 12 CFR 1026.19(e)(3)(iv)(F), when a home is being newly built and the lender reasonably expects closing to happen more than 60 days after the first Loan Estimate, the lender may send revised estimates. There is a catch, though. The first Loan Estimate must clearly say that the lender may issue a revised one at any time up to 60 days before closing.
If the first Loan Estimate does not include that statement, the lender cannot use this rule to send a new one. It can only revise for the other reasons listed above.
That gives you two practical steps:
Look for the statement. On a to-be-built home, check whether your Loan Estimate says the lender may revise it up to 60 days before closing. If it does, expect that your costs could be updated as the build gets close to done.
Compare apples to apples. If one lender's estimate has the statement and another's does not, ask each lender how they handle a build that runs long.
The timing also has an end point. Under 12 CFR 1026.19(e)(4), you must receive any revised Loan Estimate no later than four business days before closing, and the lender cannot send one after it has given you the Closing Disclosure. Our post on the Closing Disclosure and the 3-day rule covers that last step.
What this means for new-construction buyers
On a new build, you may sign a contract months before the home is finished. That makes the Loan Estimate even more useful.
Get more than one. The CFPB suggests asking three or more lenders for Loan Estimates and comparing them. Builders often offer help when you use their preferred lender. That can be a good deal, but compare it with at least one other Loan Estimate. Our guide to builder preferred lender incentives shows how.
Watch the rate lock. Rates move while homes get built. Freddie Mac's weekly survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.24% for the week of October 29, 2026, down from 7.32% the week before. Ask how long your lock lasts and what an extension costs. See when to lock your mortgage rate.
Ask about the tax line. Property taxes and insurance are in the ""can change"" group. Ask how the lender estimated the property tax on a home that is not finished yet. Our post on escrow shortages explains why a new home's first tax bill can make a payment jump.
For builder incentive amounts and today's numbers on a specific home, call 561-704-0091.
Common Questions
What is a Loan Estimate?
It is a standard three-page form that shows a loan's estimated interest rate, monthly payment and total closing costs. The lender must send it within three business days of getting your application. Every lender uses the same form, so offers are easy to compare.
What information do I need to give to get a Loan Estimate?
The CFPB says six pieces: your name, income, Social Security number, the property address, an estimate of the property's value and the loan amount you want. Lenders cannot require more, such as a signed purchase contract, before giving you one.
How long is a Loan Estimate good for?
The lender only has to honor its terms for 10 business days. If you wait longer to say you want to proceed, the lender can send a revised Loan Estimate with new terms and costs.
Can a lender charge me before I get a Loan Estimate?
Only a reasonable fee to pull your credit report. Federal rules bar other fees until you have received the Loan Estimate and told the lender you want to go ahead.
Can my Loan Estimate change on a new-construction home?
Yes, in one special case. If closing is expected more than 60 days after the first estimate, the lender may send revised estimates, but only if the first Loan Estimate clearly said it may do so up to 60 days before closing.
Which closing costs on a Loan Estimate cannot go up?
The lender's own charges, and costs for services you were not allowed to shop for, cannot go up unless a revision rule applies. Recording fees and services you pick from the lender's list can rise up to 10% in total.
Ready to take the next step?
Call 561-704-0091 to talk with a National House Search specialist, or Schedule a visit.
Related reading: Closing Disclosure and the 3-day rule · APR vs interest rate · Builder lender vs your own mortgage lender
Sources: CFPB: What is a Loan Estimate? · CFPB: What information do I have to provide? · CFPB: Intent to proceed · 12 CFR 1026.19 (eCFR) · Freddie Mac PMMS
This is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures checked November 3, 2026.