Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (RESPA)

A federal law that says a lender must give a borrower an estimate of closing costs within three business days of applying for a loan

After you apply for a loan, the lender must give you a Good faith estimate within 3 business days. The Good faith estimate is a document with a detailed breakdown of the costs that you will need to pay at closing. RESPA also requires that lenders give you a Uniform Settlement statement or HUD-1 before or at closing, which lists the final closing costs.

This law isn’t taken lightly - if lenders don’t supply you with this information, they’ll be slapped with a $10,000 fine and possibly jail time.