The Loan Estimate is a new form that goes into effect on October 3, 2015.

The only fee a lender can ask you to pay prior to providing a Loan Estimate is a fee for obtaining your credit report. Credit report fees are typically less than $30.

A lender cannot collect any other fees before providing you with a Loan Estimate. In fact, a lender must wait until you indicate that you’d like to proceed with the loan application before charging you any other fees. Until that time, a lender also cannot collect your credit card number or require you to provide a check for anything other than a reasonable fee to obtain your credit report.

Once you receive a Loan Estimate, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to proceed with that particular lender and that particular loan application. If you have received your Loan Estimate and you tell the lender that you want to proceed, then the lender can charge you additional fees. For example, lenders commonly charge an application fee or an appraisal fee after you decide to proceed with the loan application.