Sorry for the sensored word. I didn't realize that c with a little rap was anything inflammatory.

How can I commit to a property if I don't have a clue what a loan might cost me? (That would be like buying a car before asking the MPG)

That is the point of the GFE. I tell you I am interested in 123 Main St. and want to apply for $150,000 and you request whichever of the other four triggers you feel you need. You give me a GFE. I come back later and say OK I want to proceed (turning the RESPA app. into a Reg B app.). You say, this is what we need to proceed: sales contract, paystubs, tax returns, etc. Anywhere down the road where a change of circumstances in uncovered, you re-issue the GFE.

I really don't see the problem......

Brock: I think it's pretty clear from the consensus of the responders, that a purchase agreement is a verification document and can't be required for an application. HUD has made it very clear that you are required to issue a meaningful GFE as soon as possible. You don't need a purchase agreement to do that. You can ask for more info than 5 outlined in definition of an "application", but they can't be verification documents. It makes sense to me to know the term, type of loan, etc, (fixed or variable; 5, 10, etc. years; home equity, purchase, refinance), but that's about it.