Let me first apologize is this has been asked/answered, I searched

Situation is this, a construction loan:
Current customer calls lender and says, "We want to build a new house. Not sure of the location, can we meet with you next week?"

Lender: Starts the application then and there, using old paystubs in their scanned file (over 2 years old). Customers come in 7 days (one week after their call) later and documents are printed and given to the customer. Thus, they have a date that is outside of the 3 day window.

I say since we have enough to make some sort of a decision, knowing these are strong customers and knowing that we'd be doing the end loan, we should have given all early disclosures. They weren't printed until the day that the customers came in.

Now, I am not versed on GFEs for construction loans, and am feeling like maybe I am off my rocker on this.

Can anyone back me up?
If not, can you concede that I am in fact off of my rocker?

"Not sure of the location...." indicates that you did not have a property address at the time of the initial call. That equals an incomplete application. The clock doesn't start until you have a complete application and I'm guessing they had the address when they came back in a week later??

IMO, I would argue that the lender did not have an application until the customer came in. It sounds like the lender did a little prework to get info to get a file ready based on the last deal, but I would not say using two year old data is enough to have a new, current application.

I say no app existed until the customer came in, prodided the location (if they had one) and was able to provide the Lo with current information particular to this deal.

Thank you both.

The clock doesn't start until you have a complete application

RESPA does not address the receipt of a "complete" application. It addresses the receipt of an application and it identifies certain items of information needed for it to be considered an application for disclosure purposes. One of those items is an identified property. Without an identified property you do not have an application subject to the GFE.

HOWEVER: "Customers come in 7 days (one week after their call) later and documents are printed and given to the customer"

If the loan officer provided a GFE without an identified property then once the property is identified it will not constitute a changed circumstance. If you disclosed the appraisal fee to be $350 and once the property is identified and the appraisal will increase to $700 you cannot make a revision to the GFE. You are obligated to the $350 for tolerance comparisons. IOWs any fee or charge affected by the identification of the property cannot be revised.