Information, not advice
Mortgage Lens reports are information. They are not legal, financial, tax, or investment advice. A report is not an offer to lend, a commitment to lend, or a rate quote. Decisions about your mortgage are yours to make, based on your full financial situation and, where it makes sense, advice from a licensed professional.
Not your lender, broker, advisor, or attorney
Mortgage Lens is not a lender, a licensed mortgage broker, a mortgage loan originator, a loan officer, or a mortgage advisor in any state. We do not originate, broker, or negotiate loans. We do not contact lenders or anyone else in your transaction on your behalf, and we do not take part in your loan transaction in any way.
Using Mortgage Lens does not create a fiduciary, attorney-client, financial-advisor, or broker-client relationship. We are software that analyzes documents you provide and explains what it finds.
For advice on your specific loan, talk to a HUD-approved housing counselor (free; find one at consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor), a licensed mortgage professional in your state, or a real estate attorney.
What we cover
We analyze documents under the federal disclosure rules (the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule, or TRID, part of Regulation Z) that apply to most home loans in the United States. Where we've built coverage, we account for state patterns such as New York's mortgage recording tax or Texas having no state transfer tax.
We don't currently analyze loans on property outside the United States, commercial mortgages, HELOCs, construction loans, or reverse mortgages. If you upload one of these and we can't produce your report, email hello@mortgagelens.ai and we'll refund you in full.
How we read your documents
AI reads your documents and pulls out the details. It's most accurate on original PDFs from your lender and less accurate on scans and phone photos. When we can't read a Loan Estimate or Closing Disclosure with enough confidence, the report says so instead of guessing, and Estimate Compare leaves that estimate out of the comparison. We would rather give you no answer than a confident wrong one.
Any report is only as accurate as the documents and answers it's based on. If we can't produce your report, email hello@mortgagelens.ai and we'll refund you in full.
Calculations
Our code, not AI, does the math in your reports: payments, amortization, break-even points, affordability limits, and fee tolerance limits. Where you don't give us a number, we use reasonable defaults, such as typical property tax and insurance costs for your state. Your lender may use different assumptions, so its numbers can differ from ours. Always check against your own Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure before you act. Our methodology page explains what our code does and what AI does.
Market data
Current market rates come from Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which we get from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's FRED database. They are weekly national averages, not rates available to you. Your actual rate depends on your credit, your lender, your loan, and the market on the day you lock.
Closing Disclosure analysis
TRID rules are detailed. Our Closing Disclosure Audit compares your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure line by line and sorts each fee into the tolerance groups set by Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.19(e)(3)): fees that generally can't increase, fees that can increase by up to 10% in total, and fees that can change. A lender may be allowed a larger increase for a valid reason, such as a changed circumstance, and we can't always see that reason in your documents. If you think something is wrong, ask your lender for a written explanation. For a formal dispute, talk to a licensed real estate attorney.
How we estimate what a lender may owe you
When a Closing Disclosure Audit shows a cure liability figure (a refund the lender may owe you), that number is the sum of (1) increases in zero-tolerance fees, leaving out increases under $5, (2) the amount by which the total of the 10%-tolerance fees on your Closing Disclosure exceeds 110% of the same total on your Loan Estimate, when both forms put the same services in that group, and (3) any decrease in lender credits of $5 or more that we can't trace to amounts the lender paid toward specific fees on your Closing Disclosure. It is an estimate, not a guarantee. Whether you're actually owed that amount depends on whether the lender can document a valid reason for the change.
Lender refunds for tolerance violations
Under the federal TRID rule (Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.19(f)(2)(v)), when closing costs go over the legal tolerance limits, the lender must refund the excess to you no later than 60 days after closing. That 60-day window is the lender's deadline. It is not a deadline for you.
If you believe you're owed a refund and haven't received it, you can ask the lender about it in writing and keep a copy. The 60-day window doesn't mean your options end there, but legal deadlines can apply, and they may be counted from your closing date. We can't tell you which deadlines apply to you, so talk to a real estate attorney licensed in your state promptly. What you do at closing is your decision. A report gives you the facts to raise, not instructions.
If a lender pushes back
If a lender threatens to withdraw your loan, raise your rate, or otherwise pressures you after you ask about items in a Mortgage Lens report:
- Get the threat in writing if you can (email is better than a call).
- File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB sends your complaint to the company, which generally responds within 15 days.
- Talk to a HUD-approved housing counselor for free (find one at consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor). They can help you understand your options.
- For a formal dispute, consult a real estate attorney licensed in your state. We are not your attorney and can't represent you.
Forward-looking statements
Anything about future rates, future PMI removal timing, or future refinance opportunities is an estimate and can turn out differently. We calculate scenarios. We can't predict the market.
Refunds from Mortgage Lens
If we can't produce your report, email hello@mortgagelens.ai and we'll refund you in full. Our Terms of Service explain how to request a refund.