Effective January 1, 2010 a new federally mandated Good Faith Estimate form is to be used by lenders and banks in quoting consumers/Buyers on a loan for a property.  In the past, lenders each used their own forms and sometimes not all costs were depicted (i.e. transfer taxes)  and consumers were surprised on closing day with unplanned costs.  The new "GFE" is standardized and provides the consumer with a true "apples-to-apples" comparison between lenders when shopping for a loan.  There are 3 levels of tolerance to the form of costs that can and can not change from the time it is denoted on the Good Faith Estimate form to the HUD Settlement Statement.